The Community Community Foundation's Community Impact Project (CIP) for 2014 awarded funding to three area projects. The CIP is the vehicle that turns donations made for NIP tax credits into support for valuable community projects.

The Community Impact Project supported the efforts of The Wade Center in providing educational, recreational and nutritional support for low income families in the Bluefield area, as well as local volunteers who raise money locally for the Blessings in a Backpack food program, and supported the efforts of Friends Unlimited to improve the lives of Mercer County's developmentally disabled residents.

The largest of these three projects involved helping The Wade Center provide recreational and relational activities for 100 residents of its general neighborhood in a family-friendly, safe environment.

In the photo at right, The Wade Center's Darius Carper, Director of Missions and Missions Coordinator and Jessica McDaniel, Director, receive the $32,000 award for their project recreational and relational project. The Foundation also funded the Center's Backpack program with a $2,000 grant.

The CIP also assisted Friends Unlimited provide monthly activities for 100-150 developmentally disabled residents to help develop personal habits, social skills, nutritional selection, in safe and appropriate activities with a grant of $2,000.

Another grant of $2,000 helped provide backpacks containing weekend food supplies for children of low-income families in several elementary and middle schools in the Bluefield area.

Applications for the Community Impact Project will be accepted through the last business day of May. Non-profit organizations and government agencies interested in applying for for the CIP should call or email the Foundation for information and an application.

Area students now have two more potential funding sources from the Community Foundation that were established just before the end of 2013.

The Margaret "Trika" Smith-Burke Scholarship Fund was established to benefit graduating seniors at Richlands High School, Richlands, Virginia, and to college students who graduated from Richlands High School and have received this award in one or more previous years. This Fund was started by a trust fund established by Margaret Smith-Burke, a descendent of Thomas Righter, who founded Pocahontas Mining Company in 1906, which operates today under the name Pocahontas Resources, LLC.

The Bluefield High School Class of 1963 Scholarship Fund benefits graduating seniors at Bluefield High School, Bluefield, West Virginia who will pursue one of two major courses of study. It was started by Bill Daugherty, a 1963 graduate of BHS, who wanted to provide assistance for graduates wishing to study business or education. Preference is given to students majoring in Business, and if no qualified applicants for Business are found, applicants majoring in Education will be considered.

Foundation Grant Assists

Town of Bluefield, Virginia

Pictured left to right, James Shott, Foundation executive director, and representatives of the Town and the Beautification Commission Donna Kelly, Linda Heneger, and Kim Hernandez.

Grant Recipients for 2014

The Community Foundation of the Virginias, Inc. is pleased to announce the award of 38 grants for 2014.These awards totaling $72,818.20 represent the Foundation’s 18^th annual grant cycle supporting local nonprofit groups. The Foundation received a total of $97,012.50 in requests from applicants. 

With the inclusion of the 2014 awards, the Foundation has returned more than $1,000,000 to the area since 1997 in grants and scholarships.

The Grants Committee is chaired by Robert Perkinson and comprised of: Rich Bezjak, Mary Jo Babbitt, Kathleen Blaydes, Carole Dodson, Kermit Moore, Doris Sue Kantor.

The Board of Directors of the Foundation unanimously approved the following grants on September 9, 2014, and are listed below by Area of Interest, and alphabetically:

I - Education:

Bluefield College New Opportunity School for Women - $1,275.00 program support, Alfred and Shirley Wampler Caudill Fund and the Ghia Borg Memorial Fund

Memorial Primary School - $2,743.00 to purchase 200 Wiggle Seats, Warren Ashby and Elizabeth Featherstone Thornhill Memorial Fund

Memorial Primary School - $575.00 to purchase stability balls for classroom of 25, Jeffrey Edward Shott Memorial Fund

North Tazewell Elementary School - $2,000.00 to purchase stability balls for classrooms, Ruth Creasy and A. Elmo Fleshman Fund

Quick Start Tennis of Central Virginia, Inc. - $2,000.00 to purchase tennis equipment for Tazewell County Schools, Ruth Creasy and A. Elmo Fleshman Fund

Read Aloud West Virginia, Mercer County - $2,000.00 to provide books to low income children in Mercer County, Bluefield Dailey Telegraph Fund and the Ghia Borg Memorial Fund

Bible in the Schools - $2,151.37 - Donor Designated, B. G. and Rachel Blalock Fund

II - Health:

Mercer Charitable Clinic - $722.63 - Donor Designated, Charles and Jerry Ann Myles Fund

III - Human Services:

Abel Crisis Pregnancy Center - $1,500.00 to purchase Pack N Play and car seats, Fund for Mercer County

Appalachian Agency for Senior Citizens, Inc. - $2,000.00 to purchase cribs, refrigerator, microwave and other items for the child day care, William D. Evans Fund

Blessings in a Backpack (Dudley, Graham Intermed., Ceres) - $2,000.00 to fill backpacks with food every Friday for low income children at Ceres Elementary, Graham Intermediate & Dudley Primary; Judge Jerome and Hilda R. Katz Memorial Fund and Community Impact Project

Blessings in a Backpack (Memorial, Whitethorn and Blfd. Intermed.) - $2,000.00 to fill backpacks with food every Friday for low income children at Memorial, Whitethorn & Blfd. Intermediate; Community Impact Project and the AEP Fund

Bluefield State College Foundation - $2,100.00 planters for the entrances to campus, Charles A. and Marjorie M. Peters Fund and Unrestricted Fund

Buckskin Council Boy Scouts of America - $2,000.00 to fund membership fees in Tazewell and Mercer Counties, Charles A. and Marjorie M. Peters Fund and Unrestricted Fund and the Perkinson Family Fund

Child Protect of Mercer County - $2,000.00 to purchase car seats, Pack N Play and clothing for families in need, Fund for Mercer County

Children's Home Society of West Virginia - $2,000.00 monthly Family Support Group expenses, Jeffrey Edward Shott Fund and the Fund for Mercer County

Children's Home Society of West Virginia WE CAN - $1,747.00 support of activities for low income children, Jeffrey Edward Shott Fund, Rotary Club of Bluefield Fund and the Community Impact Project

F.U.N. Friends Unlimited - $2,000.00 support for the annual prom for disabled adults, Community Impact Project and the Sandra Gayle Monk Fund

Marine Toys for Tots - $2,000.00 Toys for Tots Program support, Fund for Mercer County

Princeton Police Department - $2,040.00 Friends for Life packet for children Unrestricted Fund

Royal Family Kids Camp of Mercer County - $2,000.00 Constant Person Program for children in poverty, Ghia Borg Memorial Fund

SATIRA - $1,000.00 to support the "PURPOSE" program for crafts and snacks, Unrestricted Fund

Save A Pet Food Bank - $2,000.00 program support, Unrestricted Fund

Second Chance for Cats - $1,050.00 program support, Fannie Kate and Betty Gardner Bailey Fund and Unrestricted Fund

Sunrise Center - $2,000.00 to purchase classroom supplies, Unrestricted Fund

The Wade Center - $2,000.00 support of the back pack program, Judge Jerome and Hilda R. Katz Fund Community Action Grant Fund, Bluefield Rotary Club Fund and Community Impact Project

Young Life of Bluefield - $2,000.00 expenses for Young Life Graham High School, Ghia Borg Memorial Fund

The Wade Center - $994.20 - Donor Designated, Sylvester C. and Janice M. Myers Fund

IV - Arts & Humanities:

4 Pals Productions, Inc. - $2,000.00 support of the Annual 4 Pals Theatre Festival for high school students, Unrestricted Fund

Alliance for the Arts, Ltd. - $1,320.00 Banners for the Bluefield Area Arts Center, Janie Poteet Light Fund for Art Studies and the Unrestricted Fund

Blue Mountain Performing Arts - $5,000.00 to help fund "Live From Nashville" concert, Fannie Kate and Betty Gardner Bailey Fund and Unrestricted Fund

Bluefield Beautification Commission - $2,000.00 to purchase benches and trash receptacles for Commerce Street, Ammar Family Fund

Bluefield Fine Arts Commission - $3,000.00 program support for several fundraising projects, Unrestricted Fund

Bluefield Preservation Society - $2,000.00 to purchase 20 white canopy tents and 20 sets of LED decorative lights, Unrestricted Fund

Bluewell Improvement Association - $3,000.00 to purchase 4 new welcome signs in Bluewell, Unrestricted Fund

Charles T. "Chuck" Mathena, II Foundation, Inc. - $2,000.00 to provide tickets to low income in Mercer and Tazewell County, Unrestricted Fund

The Trails at Bluefield City Park - $600.00 to build a footbridge on the Creek Trail at the City Park Trail, Unrestricted Fund

Town of Bluefield, VA Beautification Commission - $2,000.00 playground equipment at Pinehill Park Playground, Unrestricted Fund

Foundation's Annual Dinner to be Held October 28

Charles A. Peters of Emerson Electric Co. to Speak

The 2014 Annual Dinner will be held on Tuesday, October 28 at Fincastle on the Mountain, with the social period beginning at 6:00 p.m. and dinner around 7:00 p.m.

We are pleased that our speaker will be Charles A. Peters, the son of long-time Bluefield business leader Charlie and the late Marjorie Peters. The younger Charlie grew up in Bluefield, and today is Senior Executive Vice President of Emerson (Emerson Electric Co.) headquartered in St. Louis, MO, and has been with Emerson since 1975, holding several corporate level positions. He and his wife Kimberly live in St. Louis, and are the parents of five children.

Foundation Grant supports Quilters Jamboree

The Community Foundation's Grants Committee begins formally reviewing the applications from the 18^th annual Grants Application Period this week. The review process extends through July and August, and the Committee's recommendations will be presented to the Foundation Board of Directors at its September meeting. Successful applicants will be notified that their application was approved following action by the Board.

The Community Foundation of the Virginias provides grants support to nonprofit organizations serving the people of Mercer County, West Virginia and Tazewell County, Virginia, and has awarded more than $1,000,000 in grants and scholarships to worthwhile organizations and students in its service area since its inception .

Area Students Receive Scholarships from the

Community Foundation of the Virginias, Inc.

The Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of the Virginias, Inc. met Tuesday, May 13, and approved scholarship recommendations from the Scholarship Committee for 56 students who are graduating seniors at high schools in Mercer, McDowell and Fayette counties in West Virginia, and Tazewell County, Virginia, or are college students who have been awarded a scholarship on a continuing basis.

Scholarship recipients are chosen through a competitive application process by the Scholarship Committee, which is chaired by Carole Dodson, with members Mary Azzo, Gene Bailey, Carl Gillespie, Eugenia Hancock, Harry Kammer, Mary Raub, Jim Steorts, Bettye VanDyke, and Susan Whittaker.

Eighteen individual endowed funds awarded a total of 70 scholarships totaling more than $68,000. The scholarships came from the following endowed funds:

Alex B. Mahood, Jr. Scholarship; Alfred and Shirley Wampler Caudill Scholarship; C.B. and Ora Hunter Hancock Memorial Scholarship; Dr. Jack Walter Witten Scholarship; E.R. Gillespie Scholarship; Graham High Scholarship; Grants Supermarket Scholarship; James and Rebecca Steorts Fund; Joetta Collins Hooker Memorial Scholarship; Joshua Lee Shutt Memorial Scholarship; Kendrick Family Scholarship; Lindsay Rebekah Haun Memorial Scholarship; Marsha A. Mead, PhD. Scholarship; Maurice and Grace Hanna Weinberg Scholarship; Max L and Virginia S. Kammer Family Scholarship; Rose Sinicrope Scholarship; Roy R. Raub, M.D. Memorial Scholarship; and the William G. Skewes Memorial Scholarship.

Marine Corp League and Foundation exchange "gifts"

In the photo at left, Rodney Mayberry of the Marine Corps League receives a check for $2,000 from Foundation Executive Director, James Shott.

The award came from the Fund for Mercer County to support the League's efforts in the Toys for Tots program that provides toys for disadvantaged children each Christmas.

BHS Science Department Receives Funding

for Equipment and Materials

The Community Foundation of the Virginias, Inc. presented a grant award in the amount of $10,000 to fund a request by the Bluefield High School Science Department for computer equipment and materials for the chemistry, biology, Earth science and physics labs.

The grant was funded by the Bluefield High School Endowment Fund, which was created by Marshall Miller, Ray Ratliff, Jr. and the Bluefield High School Foundation in 1999.

On hand for the presentation were (left to right): BHS Foundation Chairman Stephen Hopta, BHS Principal Michael Collins, Science Teacher Anna Lilly, Community Foundation Executive Director James Shott, Science Teacher Kerry Richmond, and Craig Hammond, member of the Board of Directors of both the BHS Foundation and the Community Foundation of the Virginias.

Foundation Celebrates 20th Birthday

A large crowd was on hand Thursday, Nov. 14 to help the Foundation celebrate its 20th year of service to the Mercer/Tazewell County area. The audience heard brief descriptions of the formation of the two parent organizations — the Bluefield Area Foundation and the Greater Mercer County Charitable Foundation — and the formation of the Doctor Jack Witter Scholarship Fund, a fund begun in honor of Dr. Witten and his many good works benefitting young boys.

In its 20th year the Foundation has crossed two significant threshholds, surpassing the $4 million mark in invested assets, and awarding more than $1 million in grants and scholarships to support organizations and students in Mercer County, West Virginia and Tazewell County, Virginia.

Featured Grant Recipient:

Appalachian Agency for Senior Citizens, Inc.