2018 Donald R. Myers Legacy Fund Grantees Announced
Hope House Christian Counseling Center and the Junction Elementary School Library Receive Grant Awards
Walnut Creek, OH – The annual meeting of the Eastern Ohio Development Alliance (EODA), held on April 27, 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 provide essential tools to kids in Appalachian Ohio,” said Eric Myers, a member of the Donald R. Myers Legacy Fund committee and Don Myers’s son. “These grants reflect my father’s commitment to our neighbors, especially children, as well as his passion for literacy.”
This year’s grantees include Hope House Christian Counseling Center and the Junction Elementary School library, part of the New Lexington City School District. Both grantees received $550 awards to make a difference in their local communities by addressing basic needs and education of youth.
Hope House Christian Counseling Center of Highland County received a grant award to support its Children’s Counseling Suite. Hope House provides counseling services in five areas – addiction, marital, general, grief, and children’s – to people of all economic backgrounds. Nearly 40% of Hope House’s current client population is under age 18. In order to focus on the needs of their youngest clients, funding from this grant will support the purchase of specific therapeutic tools to work with youth in the children’s therapy room. This will help educate and equip the youth with tools and strategies to bring out the best versions of themselves today and tomorrow.
The Junction Elementary School library, part of the New Lexington City School District in Perry County, also received a grant award to support its Passion Projects initiative. Funding from this grant will go towards updating the school library, which is in need after reporting 45% of the books are currently out-of-date. Students will be a key piece of this project, helping to select books that correspond to their passions and interests with an emphasis on nonfiction books. Third grade students in particular will use the new collection to work on their Passion Project, a topic that is of particular interest to them, but over 400 students in the rest of the school will also benefit and use the new additions to the school library collection.
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.
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 the Foundation’s 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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