Community Foundation of
the Virginias, Inc.
"We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give."
- Winston Churchill
Welcome to the Community Foundation of the Virginias, Inc. Web site.
The Community Foundation of the Virginias, Inc. promotes philanthropy by fostering charitable giving, serving our donors' interests, and effectively responding to the needs and opportunities of communities in Mercer County, West Virginia and Tazewell County, Virginia.
Through scholarships and grants in the areas of Education, the Arts, Culture and the Humanities, Health, and Human Services, the Community Foundation matches the generosity of the people of our area with the needs of area organizations and individuals.
Latest News from the Community Foundation
New! - 2008 Was a Good Year for Foundation - Details
Foundation Returns More Than $90,000 to Communities in 2008 - Details
Grants Recipient Profile - Tender Mercies - Link
Fund Raising Concert Draws Enthusiastic Crowd - Details
List of Grants Awarded in 2008 - Details
First-half 2008 Contributions to Foundation - Details
Bev Blalock Memorial - Link
Used Office Furniture for Sale - Details
Community Foundation Compiling Email Lists
The Foundation is compiling a master email list to keep interested parties informed of our activities.
If you would like to hear from us via email, please send your address to admin@cfvinc.org
Help make your community a better place to live through a tax-deductible
charitable contribution to the Community Foundation of the Virginias, Inc.
For a list of the many area organizations that have received financial assistance from the Community Foundation, go here.
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Community Foundation of the Virginias, Inc.
128 North Street ● P.O. Box 4127 ● Bluefield, WV 24701
Phone: 304-324-0222 ● Fax: 304-324-7716
Email: admin@cfvinc.org
Member of the South Bluefield Merchants and Professional Association
Foundation Has Good Year in 2008
Despite the economic problems toward the end of the year, 2008 was a good year for the Community Foundation, with the establishment of two fully endowed funds, the Joshua Lee Shutt Memorial Fund, and the Alfred and Shirley Wampler Caudill Scholarship Fund, and the Lindsay Rebekah Haun Memorial Scholarship Build-a-Fund.
In January, Linda and Ed Shutt of Princeton endowed the Shutt Memorial fund in memory of their son Josh, who died in a car accident in October of 2005. This fund is directed toward aiding youths in Mercer County.
The Caudill Scholarship Fund was established by Don Caudill last spring as a partner to the grant fund of the same name. The scholarship is designated for children of employees of Bluefield College, Bluefield State College and other local colleges.
Deborah and James Haun, Jr. established the Build-a-Fund in memory of their daughter Lindsay in December. This fund is designed to assist students at Princeton Senior High School who have studied fine arts.
Together with two successful fund raising events, the Annual Dinner and the NJO Quartet Dinner and Concert, and with contributions through the year, the Foundation collected donations of approximately $106,000. Of that amount, $5,800 came in year-end contributions,
Actor and playwright Ed Trotta was featured speaker at the Annual Dinner in September. Ed, who is known for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln, among other things, began in character as Lincoln, and evolved out of character and talked about the Stage II project of the Summit Players, which is what brought Ed here from Hollywood last year.
In November, an enthusiastic audience enjoyed a great dinner and an evening of jazz featuring the NJO Quartet and Annie Sellick. The Nashville-based group is associated with the Nashville Jazz Orchestra, a non-profit musical organization founded to perpetuate jazz. The Quartet is comprised of members of the Orchestra along with Annie, who is a frequent guest vocalist with the NJO.
In 2008, the twelfth year of grant making, the Community Foundation awarded Grants and Scholarship in the amount of $95,463 in support of area students and 501(c)(3) charitable organizations. The Foundation awarded scholarships totaling nearly $43,000 to 32 deserving area students, and grant awards went to 40 area organizations totaling more than $50,000.
Foundation put more than $90,000
back into local communities in 2008
As 2008 draws to a close the Community Foundation of the Virginias, Inc. wants to thank the people of Mercer and Tazewell counties for their continued support of the Foundation’s efforts to help fund worthwhile local projects, and assist local students in furthering their education.
This year the Foundation awarded Grants and Scholarship in the amount of $95,463 in support of area students and 501(c)(3) charitable organizations.
The Community Foundation awarded scholarships totaling nearly $43,000 to 32 deserving area students, and grant awards went to 40 area organizations totaling more than $50,000.
Grant awards were made in the following fields of interest: Human Services received 57 percent of the total awards; Arts and Humanities received 23 percent of total awards; Education projects received 17 percent; and Health projects received 3 percent of the total.
Each year, the Foundation receives more requests from Human Services organizations than all the other fields of interest combined, and in 2008 more than 60 percent of requests for funding came from those organizations. This reflects the need in Mercer and Tazewell counties for the services provided by Human Service organizations. The Foundation always has more requests than it has funds available to support them.
Please consider the Community Foundation for your charitable contributions, and particularly your year-end giving. Your donations will go directly to assist organizations in Mercer and Tazewell counties that are solving problems in your community.
Contributions should be mailed to the Community Foundation of the Virginias, Inc., P.O. Box 4127, Bluefield, WV 24701
Fund Raising Concert Draws Enthusiastic Crowd
The Foundation's dinner/concert fund raiser attracted an enthusiastic crowd to the Summit Theater on Thursday night, Nov. 13. The event featured the music of the NJO Quartet featuring Annie Sellick, a jazz group from Nashville, Tennessee.
The NJO Quartet is a sub-set of the Nashville Jazz Orchestra, a non-profit traditional big band with a mission statement that can be summed up in two words: "perpetuate jazz." The Community Foundation is fortunate to have been able to present this exciting group of musicians and vocalist Annie Sellick to a local audience.
The crowd of more than 100 enjoyed the great music and the delicious dinner, and the Foundation raised additional funds to add to its investments.
Dinner was catered by Your Grate Escape from Tazewell, Virginia, which did an outstanding job with food preparation and service.
Thanks to everyone who supported this event, and to all who support the Community Foundation of the Virginias, Inc.
Foundation Announces Grants for 2008
The Community Foundation of the Virginias, Inc. is pleased to announce the award of 43 grants for 2008.
These awards totaling $52,513 represent the Foundation’s 12th annual grant cycle supporting local nonprofit groups. A total of $82,535 was requested from the Foundation. With the inclusion of the 2008 awards, the Foundation has returned approximately $523,372 to the area since 1997 in grants and scholarships.
The Grants Committee is chaired by Betty Gardner Bailey and is comprised of ten other members, including Mary Azzo, Dr.Phyllis Beaver-Horwitz, Kathleen Blaydes, Charlie Carter, Carole Dodson, Doris Sue Kantor, Al Modena, Libby Perry, Bettye VanDyke and Pat Whittaker.
The Board of Directors of the Foundation unanimously approved the following grants on September 9, 2008:
I. EDUCATION:
Bluefield College - $625 for the Enhance Opportunity Program (Alfred and Shirley Wampler Caudill Fund)
Bible in the Schools – $550 Donor-designated for the Mercer County Program (B.G. and Rachel Blalock Family Fund)
Brushfork Elementary Library - $1,800 to purchase tables and chairs for the library (Unrestricted Fund)
Education Alliance - $1,500 Mercer County Teachers’ Technology Initiative Program (Unrestricted Fund)
Montcalm High School - $1,105 to purchase a folding portable screen (Unrestricted Fund)
Princeton Public Library - $1,000 for children’s books (Bluefield Daily Telegraph Literacy Fund and Unrestricted Fund)
United Way of the Virginias, Inc. - $1,850 for the First Book Mercer County Program (Warren Ashby and Elizabeth Featherstone Thornhill Memorial Fund and Unrestricted Fund)
Virginia YMCA - $1,000 for Tazewell County Teen Leadership Program (Unrestricted Fund)
II. HEALTH:
Four Seasons YMCA (Tazewell, VA) - $1,000 towards the physically handicapped accessible pool (Sandra Gayle Monk Memorial Fund)
Mercer Health Right, Inc. - $450 Donor-designated for the program (Charles E. and Jerry Ann Myles Fund)
III. HUMAN SERVICES:
Appalachian Teen Challenge - $1,500 in support of paving the parking lot of the new girl’s center (Ruth Creasy and A. Elmo Fleshman Fund and the Community Action Grant Fund)
Barns-Beavers Post No. 7136 VFW (Tazewell, VA)- $500 to replace the post colors unit flag banner and the United States flag (Warren Ashby and Elizabeth Featherstone Thornhill Memorial Fund)
Bluewell Lions Club - $500 to purchase new United States flags (Warren Ashby and Elizabeth Featherstone Thornhill Memorial Fund)
Child Protect of Mercer County - $2,000 to update the case tracking database (Fund for Mercer County)
Child Law Services, Inc. - $1,500 for the “Taking Charge” program (Fund for Mercer County)
Children’s Home Society of WV/Mercer County WE CAN - $925 training session for mentors (Fund for Mercer County)
Children’s Home Society of WV - $1,000 for supplies for the visitation center (Jeffrey Edward Shott Memorial Fund and the Judge Jerome and Hilda R. Katz Fund)
City of Bluefield Fire Department - $1,000 for landscape on the west side of the central fire station (Unrestricted Fund)
East River Ruritan Club (Oakvale, WV)- $1,000 new tables and chairs for the community center (Unrestricted Fund)
Graham High School Cheerleaders - $1,000 for cheerleading mats (Unrestricted Fund)
Mothers Against Drunk Driving - $500 program materials for Mercer County (Unrestricted Fund)
Mercer County Civil Air Patrol - $1,000 for a conference table in the new CAP building (AEP Community Services Fund and Unrestricted Fund)
Mercer County Fellowship Home - $1,963 for outside renovations and intercom system (Charles A. and Marjorie M. Peters Fund and Unrestricted Fund)
Mercer County Opportunity Industries, Inc. - $1,880 for a copier with a document feeder and collator (Sandra Gayle Monk Memorial Fund)
Mercer County Spay Association - $1,000 for low cost spay and neutering services (Unrestricted Fund)
Princeton City Police - $1,800 for a traffic light preemption emitter (Unrestricted Fund)
Princeton Fire Department - $1,300 for two laptop computers for emergency vehicles (Unrestricted Fund)
Princeton Health and Fitness Center - $1,000 for child-friendly mobile benches (Unrestricted Fund)
South Bluefield Merchants and Professional Association - $2,000 for surveillance cameras for south Bluefield (Anonymous Fund and Unrestricted Fund)
Sunrise Center (Richlands, VA) - $1,000 for a copier and up-to-date GED materials (Unrestricted Fund)
Tender Mercies Ministries of Princeton - $2,000 to help with the purchase and installation of a heat pump (Unrestricted Fund)
Vision Quest Neighborhood Foundation of WV (Princeton, WV)- $1,365 to renovate the picnic shelter at the Oliver Street playground (Unrestricted Fund)
Westminster Presbyterian Church - $650 to help with costs of the big games at the annual Winter Youth Conference at the Bluefield Auditorium (Unrestricted Fund)
WV Community Services for Women, Inc. - $500 for training materials and brochures (Unrestricted Fund)
IV. ARTS, CULTURE & THE HUMANITIES:
Alliance for the Arts, Ltd. - $1,800 to support Summit Stage II (Janie Poteet Light Fund for Art Studies and Unrestricted Fund)
Bramwell Theatre Corporation - $1,000 for the John McClutcheon Concert (Unrestricted Fund)
City of Bluefield Beautification Commission - $1,500 for landscape for five new stone entrance signs (Ammar Family Memorial Fund and Unrestricted Fund)
City of Bluefield Fine Arts Commission - $1,300 for the painting and supplies for the mural downtown (Janie Poteet Light Fund for Art Studies and Unrestricted Fund)
Blue Mountain Performing Arts (Bluefield, WV) - $2,000 for the Swingle Singers Concert (Fannie Kate and Betty Gardner Bailey Fund and Unrestricted Fund)
Historic Crab Orchard Museum & Pioneer Park(Tazewell, VA) - $2,000 to purchase oak barrel receptacles with liners and lids (Fannie Kate and Betty Gardner Bailey Fund and Unrestricted Fund)
Mercer County Historical Society (Princeton, WV)- $1,000 for the renovation of museum restrooms (Unrestricted Fund)
Town of Bluefield, VA Beautification Commission - $1,500 for banners and poles in downtown (Ammar Family Memorial Fund and Unrestricted Fund)
The Board of the Foundation is gratified to share this report with the community and those whose support and encouragement have made it possible. Be assured of the Foundation’s continued best efforts in the year ahead. Organizations may request and submit grant application packets for the Year 2009 during the months of April, May and June. Evaluations will be conducted in July and August; the Board will finalize approval of grants in September. Grant payments will be made upon request thereafter.
Donor Generosity Benefits Community Foundation
The first half of 2008 has seen charitable donations of nearly $27,000 pour in to the Community Foundation.
The contributions are the result of the establishment of two new funds, the Joshua Lee Shutt Memorial Fund and the Alfred and Shirley Wampler Caudill Scholarship Fund, along with memorial contributions to existing funds.
The nearly 50 endowed funds held by the Foundation go to provide scholarships for area students, and to fund worthwhile area projects in the areas of Health; Education; Human Services; and the Arts, Culture and the Humanities. Donations to individual funds or to the Community Foundation of the Virginias, Inc. are tax deductible.
2008 Scholarships Recipients Announced
Community Foundation Scholarship Committee Chair Carole Dodson is show at left presenting Graham High School senior Marco Leung his scholarship check from the Alex B. Mahood, Jr. Scholarship Fund at a recent meeting of the Civitans, who participate with the Foundation in selecting recipients for the award. Alli Forlines (second from right) is shown receiving her check from Civitans President Greg Shrewsberry
The Community Foundation of the Virginias, Inc. is pleased to announce the recipients of Foundation scholarships for 2008. Carol Dodson, chair of the Scholarship Committee, presented the committee’s recommendations to the Board of Directors for approval at its May 13 meeting, and the scholarships were presented to most students at awards ceremonies during the rest of the month.
This year, the Foundation assisted more than 36 area students in furthering their education through financial support from 15 endowed scholarship funds. These students are primarily high school seniors from area schools, although some are current college students. Scholarship awards for 2008 totaled $43,450.
C.B. and Ora Hunter Hancock Memorial Scholarship:
Charlie Merritt, Bluefield High School
E. R. Gillespie Scholarship Fund:
John Lilly, Bluefield High School
Paige Belcher, Bluefield High School
Laken McReynolds, Tazewell High School
Grace Hanna and Maurice Weinberg Scholarship Fund:
Bethany Rotenberry, Bluefield High School
Rose Sinicrope Scholarship Fund:
Catherine Staten, Concord University
Catherine Mitchell, Princeton High School
Kelsey Mills, Princeton High School
Bluefield College Fund:
Shawn Howell, Graham High School
Harman Masonic Lodge #222:
Sarah Stacy, Graham High School
Alfred and Shirley Wampler Caudill Scholarship Fund:
John Gomez, Graham High School
Graham High School Scholarship Fund:
Brittany Osborne, Graham High School
Shelby Ward, Graham High School
Ralph H. and Shirley D. Kiser Family Scholarship Fund:
Austin Mathena, Princeton High School
Roy R. Raub M.D. Memorial Scholarship Fund:
Allyson Scruggs, Graham High School
Shelby Elise Ward, Graham High School
Angel Cline, Iaeger High School
Ashley Nicole Ball, Iaeger High School
Megan Estep, Iaeger High School
Chakara Bianca Johnson, Mt. View High School
Justin Fuller, Southwest Virginia Community College
Kayla Harman, University of Virginia
Sarah Church, Bluefield State College
Wendell Harris, Southwest Virginia Community College
Monica Harris, Council High School
Jonathan Brown, Tazewell High School
William G. Skewes Memorial Scholarship Fund:
Ethan Stacy, Iaeger High School
Craig Cardwell, Bluefield High School
Ian Godfrey, Bluefield High School
Doctor Jack Walter Witten Scholarship Fund:
Hannah Beach, Tazewell High School
Kara Neal, Tazewell High School
Alex Mahood Fund: Yiu Fung Leung, Graham High School
Kendrick Family Scholarship Fund: multiple recipients, Concord University Athletics
The Foundation’s Grants Application period began April 1, and runs until June 30. Information on applying for a grant can be obtained from the Foundation’s Web site, by contacting the Foundation at 304-324-0222, or by email at admin@cfvinc.org.
Grant Funds Improvements for Sun Valley Ruritans
The
Ruritan Community Building at Lerona, W.Va., near Athens, has new tables
and chairs purchased with funds from a 2007 grant from the Community
Foundation of the Virginias, Inc.
The replacement of the tables and chairs is part of an on-going project of renovation and maintenance to the building, which will host more than a thousand people in a year’s time. The photos show a dramatic improvement in the appearance of the Ruritan facility.
In addition to functioning as the headquarters for the Ruritan club, the building is used for a wide variety of community events, such as family reunions, club meetings, wedding receptions, health screenings, educational meetings and community gatherings, and is also used to store food and clothing for the needy, and to host travelers to and from nearby Pipestem State Park.
The Foundation funds projects to benefit communities, such as the $2,000 grant to the Sun Valley Ruritan Club, and projects that assist low-income and needy individuals and families in the areas of healthcare, human services, education and the arts arts and humanities.
Foundation Scholarships Committee Reviewing Applications
Members of the Scholarships Committee of the Community Foundation are shown reviewing applications for this year's scholarship cycle. Altogether, the committee had 125 individual applications to evaluate for the 12 scholarship funds to be awarded this year. The recommendations of the Scholarships Committee were approved by the Foundation Board of Directors at its May meeting. Pictured above, left to right, Betty VanDyke; Carol Dodson, chair; Jim Steorts; Don Caudill and Mary Raub.
New Officers and Directors Elected, New Staff Assume Positions
At its Annual Meeting on February 12 the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation elected the following officers for 2008: Bob Perkinson, President; Julie Johnson, Vice President; Betty Gardner Bailey, Secretary; Ron Campbell, Treasurer; Matt Martin, Assistant Treasurer.
In addition, the Foundation welcomes five new members to its Board of Directors: Loretta Corte and Mary Raub, to fill unexpired terms ending in 2010, and Don Caudill, Matt Martin, and Tammy Toler to fill four-year terms expiring in 2012. Re-elected to four-year terms expiring in 2012 were: Mary Azzo, Betty Bailey, Libby Perry, Betty VanDyke, and Jenny Ware.
In addition, after several years as Executive Director, B. G. "Bev" Blalock has taken the position of Development Director, and outgoing president James Shott has taken the position of Executive Director.
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