MANSFIELD, Ohio — The Women’s Fund of the Richland County Foundation held its grant awards program Wednesday, giving grants to three local organizations to support women of all ages.
The grant recipients included the Community Health Access Project (CHAP), Parent Aide Program, Inc. and Pioneer Career and Technology Center.
The Women’s Fund awarded a combined total of over $10,600 to these organizations.
Carol Chambers, a member of the Women’s Fund Advisory Committee, described how the grant monies will be utilized.
CHAP’s grant will benefit its Help Me Grow program. “The goal of this program is to educate mothers about the proper way to feed, diaper and clean their babies,” Chambers said. “Through education, training and support group, along with emergency supplies, such as formula, diapers and wipes, CHAP and the Help Me Grow program will help mothers care for their babies.”
Parent Aide’s grant will support its Enriching Foundations for Moms program.
“The grant fills the gap in funding to provide mentoring services and workshops for mothers who are facing challenges,” Chambers said. “Mothers who complete this program will demonstrate an increased ability to manage stress, set and accomplish meaningful goals, and learn problem-solving skills.”
And Pioneer’s grant will go toward its GRADS field trip. “GRADS focuses on knowledge and skills related to healthy prenatal and neonatal care, nurturing the health of children, establishing healthy families and economic independence, Chambers stated.
“GRADS students will take a field trip to North Central State College to encourage them to continue their education following high school graduation. The students will learn about financial assistance, the child care center, admission procedures, career services and campus life.”
Community Action for Capable Youth was one of the grant recipients the previous year, and there to discuss how the funding positively impacted CACY over the last year was the organization’s executive director Tracee Anderson.
The money went toward CACY’s Not One Puff program, a tobacco prevention and cessation program for adolescent and young adult females.
“Tobacco addiction is very real and is stronger than even the most powerful illicit drugs available, such as heroin,” Anderson said. “It is tougher to kick than any other drug available.”
She listed startling statistics about tobacco use, noting that worldwide, there are five million deaths from tobacco use each year.
And while some progress has been made in helping stop tobacco use in the community, “We still have work to do, she said.
“And that’s why CACY was so grateful for the opportunity to provide a tobacco prevention and cessation service to Richland County to one of the most vulnerable tobacco-use groups.”
Participants of the Not One Puff program received quitting support services, self-help material, and quitting tools, such as stress balls, gum, journals and bracelets to serve as reminders, she said.
“We had resources available that were distributed based on the individual topic needs of each person,” she said.
She said they served 71 females and 27 “support people,” which could include the parents or significant others of those involved in the program. She said 88.7 percent of program attendees reported that they reduced or no longer would use tobacco products, and 74 percent of the support people who attended also agreed to reduce their tobacco use or not smoke indoors or inside a vehicle.
“Ninety-eight percent of the participants said that they increased their knowledge, confidence, and above all else, the motivation to stop using tobacco and nicotine products. One hundred percent of those participants noted an increase in knowing what tools to use of the tools that were purchased and provided through your grant, and the techniques on how to use them to quit tobacco,” she said.
The continuation of the program, she said, was assimilated into the contract with the Richland County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board and United Way of Richland County, “so the program will continue as is,” she said.
The Women’s Fund encourages philanthropy to empower women and girls. The Fund was established in 1996 as a permanent endowment to support innovative programs at nonprofit organizations to promote the physical, intellectual, emotional, social, economic or cultural growth of women and girls.
Women’s Fund Advisory Committee Chair Edie Humphrey said the Fund has given away approximately $270,000.
“These funds do impact the lives of women and children and, therefore, they make a difference in the community,” she said.
