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The Robert H.
Mollohan Family Charitable Foundation awarded three community
grants totaling $12,000 in October. The Foundation awarded
$5,000 to Genesis Youth Crisis Center, $5,000 to Stepping
Stones, and $2,000 to Heartwood in the Hills. Each of these
organizations has made tremendous strides to provide the West
Virginia community they serve with either cultural or
educational programming.
Mollohan Foundation Grants Money To Local Support Group
The Robert H. Mollohan Family Charitable Foundation, Inc. has given the North Central West Virginia Parkinson Patient and Family Support Group a community grant for $1,440. This money will be used towards the purchase of videos, books, and pertinent medical periodicals, as well as the development of a webpage.
Dominick Policano was diagnosed with Parkinson Disease in 1994. Feeling frustrated with the lack of information available to him, he took matters into his own hands and began conducting research on the disease. After talking with other Parkinson patients, he decided that a support group for north central West Virginia was needed. Thus, the North Central West Virginia Parkinson Patient and Family Support Group was founded. The mission of the group was to provide current information for Parkinson patients and their caregivers.
Nine years later, the group continues to thrive and fulfill the hopes of Mr.
Policano. With monthly attendance nearing 60, the group continues to move forward by recruiting new members and providing patients and their families with the latest information on the disease. Local guest speakers come and share their professional knowledge with the group, which allows time for patients and their families to ask questions. Not too mention the group has successfully established a viable emotional and medical support network for Parkinson patients and their families in north central West Virginia.
For more information on this group, please contact Tracey Robertson at 304.623.1028.
Genesis Youth Crisis Center
Genesis provides a temporary safe haven and nutritional,
educational, and supportive services for children who have
been removed from their homes as a result of domestic
violence, abuse, neglect, or have runaway or are homeless.
Other components of the program include empowering children by
addressing life skill development opportunities in problem
solving, positive values, self-discipline, and techniques to
cope with stress. The population served by their programs face
barriers to their physical, social, and economic opportunities
in life. Over 99% of the children served by Genesis, due to
their life circumstances, experienced childhood traumas and
have not been given the opportunity to learn skills designed
to overcome barriers to success.
The $5,000 grant will be used to supplement the salary of an
on-site, professionally certified teacher to work with these
children on a daily basis in the year-round educational
program at the Alta Vista Children’s Shelter.
For more information on Genesis Youth Crisis Center, contact
Debra Armes or Polly Clutter at (304)622-1907.
Stepping Stones
Stepping Stones has been serving disabled citizens of
north-central West Virginia since the 1930s. With a mission to
help people with disabilities achieve their maximum level of
independence, Stepping Stones offers programs in recreation,
computer classes, assistive technology, speech therapy, and
loan equipment.
The $5,000 grant awarded to Stepping Stones will be used to
purchase adaptive and non-adaptive recreational equipment for
new programming that will be offered at their new facility,
which will be built in the spring at Mylan Park on Chaplin
Hill in Morgantown, West Virginia.
For more information on Stepping Stones, contact Bob Pirner at
(304)296-0150.
Heartwood in the Hills
Heartwood in the Hills is a non-profit school for the arts
located in Calhoun County. Since 1982, Heartwood has offered
classes in the arts, dance, music, maskmaking, and acting for
adults and children. School enrollment comes from a five
county area, including Wirt, Wood, Gilmer, Roane, and Calhoun.
Classes are held during two twelve week programs in the spring
and fall; in addition, students are given the opportunity to
perform in special events and theatre productions.
For many years, Heartwood borrowed lighting equipment for
their December Celebration, a showcase of student work from
the Fall Program, and for other special events. This often
proved to be costly and required many volunteers to transport
the lights from one venue to another; often, Heartwood would
have difficulty securing the lighting that they needed on the
days that they wanted. In 2002, the Robert H. Mollohan Family
Charitable Foundation granted the organization $2000 for the
specific purpose of purchasing a permanent light system for
their annual December Celebrations and other theatrical
productions. In 2003, Heartwood requested an additional $2000
to complete the project, and the Foundation was quick to
support this endeavor.
For more information on Heartwood in the Hills, please call
Susan Grahame at (304) 655-7203 or visit www.heartwoodinthehills.com.
For more information on our community grant program, to make a
donation, or to learn how you can get involved with our fall
golf tournament, please contact us.
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