Williamsburg Health Foundation is making good on its commitment to help numerous organizations within the community that share the common goal of improving local health.
“In December of last year, the Board of Trustees committed to a new strategic plan with the vision of individuals making healthy choices in a community with health opportunities for all,” said Jeanne Zeidler, Preseident and CEO of the Foundation.
The first donation cycle has seen more than $3 million in grants disbursed among a variety of area nonprofits and government agencies.
The School Health Initiative Program, or SHIP, was among the largest beneficiaries of these grants, receiving a total of $626,000. This program addresses the overall health Williamsburg-James City County public school students by emphasizing eating right and exercising. One of its main focuses is providing nutritionally balanced school lunches.
Additionally, more recent SHIP initiatives include attracting students to participate in local 5Ks. This emphasis on exercise as well as diet reflects the belief of the Williamsburg Health Foundation that health issues often benefit from being addressed holistically.
“Health is complex. It’s more than the absence of illness,” Zeidler said.
The multifaceted nature of health issues was the impetus behind the creation of the Williamsburg Health Foundation, which has now been active for 11 years.
“The Foundation provides grants to organizations to help improve the health of the community, and it brings together multiple groups to solve health challenges that cannot be addressed by a single agency,” according to a news release from the Williamsburg Health Foundation.
The most recent cycle brings the total of distributions made by the Williamsburg Health Foundation up to a total of $63 million, making it the largest private grant-making foundation in Greater Williamsburg.
The complete list of grants awarded is as follows, with the organization behind each specific program listed in parenthesis:
- Multicultural Counseling & Outreach Program for the Greater Williamsburg Area (Child and Family Connection) – $38,000
- Better Ways: A Therapeutic & Transitional Substance Abuse Program (Colonial Community Corrections) – $22,000
- Williamsburg Intensive Outpatient Program (Colonial Behavioral Health) – $45,000
- Greater Williamsburg Child Assessment Center (Colonial Behavioral Health) – $294,000
- Grove Community Playground (KaBOOM!) – $86,730
- Health Education and Literacy (Literacy for Life) – $60,000
- School Health Initiative Program (WJCC Public Schools) – $626,000
- Health Priorities in Action (FISH, Inc.) – $10,000
- Chronic Care Collaborative (Angels of Mercy Medical Mission) – $113,000
- Chronic Care Collaborative (Colonial Behavioral Health) – $127,000
- Chronic Care Collaborative (Gloucester- Mathews Care Clinic) – $260,000
- Chronic Care Collaborative (Lackey Free Clinic) – $420,000
- Chronic Care Collaborative (Olde Towne Medical and Dental Center) – $250,000
- Chronic Care Collaborative (Rx Partnership) -$30,000
- Research on Local Social and Environmental Barriers to Diabetic Self-Management (Olde Towne Medical and Dental Center) – $11,000
- Greater Williamsburg Medication Assistance Program (Virginia Health Care Foundation) – $390,000
- Child Health Initiative (City of Williamsburg) – $260,000
- Geographic Expansion to Serve Williamsburg Health Foundation Service Area (Free Foundation For Rehabilitation Equipment & Endowment) – $38,000
- Senior Health Assistance Resource Project (Peninsula Agency on Aging) – $128,000
- Medical Transportation (Williamsburg Area Faith in Action) – $22,000
Local Girl Receives Numerous Awards Upon Graduation
A Yorktown girl has recently begun an impressive collection of accolades while away at college.
Christian Jones is the recipient of the Duffy Family Ambassador Scholarship and the Linda S. French ’85 Memorial Award in Business Administration, and is a member of the Hartwick College Honor Society and Honors Program.
Jones, daughter of Calvin and Karen Jones, is majoring in business administration and Accounting at Hartwick College, a private liberal arts school in New York state.
Jones was awarded the Duffy Scholarship, which is given to students seeking “global experiences experiences from which they are particularly likely to gain insights into themselves, and others, across national, cultural, and language borders.”
The Linda S. French award is given to the graduating senior within the Business Administration major who has been the most influential leader within the department.
Finally, membership in the Hartwick College Honor Society is offered to students who are graduating in the top ten percent of their class.
