The Western Reserve Health Foundation and Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation have approved $101,875 in grants for local health-related initiatives, including $25,000 for a YMCA exercise program for cancer survivors.
The YMCA of Youngstown’s 12-week Livestrong program, developed with the national Livestrong Foundation, includes fitness and strength activities in a supportive, small-group setting for adults completing cancer treatment.
“This program fulfills the important need of the increasing number of cancer survivors who find themselves in the transitional period between completing their cancer treatment and the shift to feeling physically and emotionally strong enough to attempt to return to their normal life,” the YMCA said in its grant application.
The foundations also approved these grants:
Community Legal Aid Services received $22,000 from the two foundations to help low-income individuals address legal matters impacting their health, such as housing, domestic violence and education. The organization will be specifically working with the Mahoning County Pathways HUB to reduce infant mortality and Akron Children’s Hospital Pediatrics in Warren to improve health outcomes for women and children.
Homes for Kids received $19,000 from the two foundations to train and certify their Treatment Foster Care and Community/Home Based Mental Health Treatment staff in trauma-informed care. The training aims to support better service and care for youth who have experienced trauma, and help prevent adult onset of chronic disease, mental illness, violence, and other health related issues.
Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership received $15,000 from the Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation for its nutrition programs geared to low-income residents, including nutrition and gardening classes, farmers markets, transportation to the markets and funds that double the buying power of public assistance funds spent at the markets.
The Trumbull County Health Department received $10,875 from the TMHF for 150 naloxone kits, designed to reverse heroin overdoses, for individuals who complete an established training program and have family, friends or clients at risk of an overdose.
Sight for All, a network of 36 Youngstown-area eye doctors, received $10,000 from the WRHF for eye care services for low-income patients beyond the care the doctors provide at no charge. The funds also support a referral specialist.
Both foundations are successors to organizations that supported local hospitals. The WRHF was established in the 1980s as the fundraising arm of the Western Reserve Care System but expanded its mission in 2012 when it became an affiliate of the Community Foundation. The TMHF began as the Trumbull Memorial Hospital Foundation in 1976, but has operated separately from the hospital since 2012, also as a Community Foundation affiliate.
About the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley – The Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley is an advocate for strategic philanthropy, partnering with donors to anchor a permanent and growing endowment making investments in the Mahoning Valley. The foundation and its affiliates hold more than $56 million in assets and distributed over $2.1 million in grants and distributions in 2015. The Community Foundation has certification from the Community Foundation National Standards Board.
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