2017 Donald R. Myers Legacy Fund Grantees Announced
W4C Recovery Ministries and Oasis Food Ministry Receive Grant Awards
Walnut Creek, OH – The annual meeting of the Eastern Ohio Development Alliance (EODA) held on April 28, brought together individuals and organizations working to improve quality of life throughout Appalachian Ohio. Two grant awards from the Donald R. Myers Legacy Fund to Support Partnership in Appalachian Ohio, a fund of the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO), will help do just that.
“This year’s grantees will help provide essential basic needs to our most vulnerable populations – kids – in communities throughout our region,” said Eric Myers, a member of the Donald R. Myers Legacy Fund committee and Don Myers’s son. “These grants to W4C Recovery Ministries and the Oasis Food Ministry reflect my father’s commitment to our neighbors, especially children.”
This year’s grantees include W4C Recovery Ministries and Oasis Food Ministry. Both grantees received $500 awards to make a difference in their local communities by addressing basic needs of youth.
W4C Recovery Ministries of Jackson County received a grant award to support its Hope Totes program. Recognizing the challenges that addiction presents in their local community, particularly opiate addiction, the Hope Totes program provides toiletries and other personal items, along with notes of encouragement, to teens and children impacted by addiction who have trouble meeting their basic needs. W4C Recovery Ministries works with Jackson County Jobs and Family Services and Wellston City Schools to identify individuals who might benefit from the Hope Totes program, spreading hope to these individuals.
Oasis Food Ministry, a ministry of the First Christian Church of Columbiana in Columbiana County, also received a grant award to support its School Backpack Program. Oasis Food Ministry partners with Joshua Dixon Elementary School, part of the Columbiana Exempted Village School District, to provide breakfast and lunch for children in need on the weekends. This program will take place not only during the school year, but will continue in the summer as well to ensure that students have this essential basic need to better focus on their school work.
The Donald R. Myers Legacy Fund to Support Partnership in Appalachian Ohio was created to honor the legacy of Don Myers in 2008. The Fund recognizes the service of Mr. Myers as the longtime executive director of the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Alliance (OMEGA) and president of EODA. The Fund is a permanent source of funding to encourage and support Appalachian Ohio’s nonprofit and government organizations in collaborative activities that support quality of life. Open to organizations throughout the 32 Appalachian counties in Ohio, the Fund focuses on projects that improve quality of life with an emphasis on concerns that Mr. Myers worked so passionately to address, including education, regional networking opportunities, support for community leaders, and fulfillment of basic needs.
The Donald R. Myers Legacy Fund to Support Partnership in Appalachian Ohio grant application opens annually in February. To learn more about the Fund and how it honors the legacy of Don Myers, please visit www.AppalachianOhio.org or call 740.753.1111. Gifts to the Donald R. Myers Legacy Fund to Support Appalachian Ohio are tax deductible and can be made in a number of ways, including cash, gifts in wills, and life insurance. To make your donation, please designate the Donald R. Myers Fund to Support Partnership in Appalachian Ohio and mail to the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, PO Box 456, Nelsonville, OH 45764. Donations can also be made online by visiting our online giving page and selecting the Donald R. Myers Legacy Fund to Support Partnership in Appalachian Ohio when making a donation.
To learn more about how you too can honor the legacies of individuals making a difference in Appalachian Ohio, please visit www.AppalachianOhio.org or call 740.753.1111.
About the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio
The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO) is a regional community foundation serving the 32 counties of Appalachian Ohio. A 501(c)(3) public charity, the Foundation creates opportunities for Appalachian Ohio’s citizens and communities by inspiring and supporting philanthropy. For more information about FAO, visit www.AppalachianOhio.org.
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