Skip to content


Harrison County Community Foundation Connects All
Seventh and Eighth Grade Harrison Hills Students with Books

As part of HCCF’s “Love and Literacy” event, each seventh grader in the Harrison Hills Local School District received a copy of Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt.

Cadiz, OH – This Valentine’s Day, the Harrison County Community Foundation (HCCF) played matchmaker – by matching every seventh and eighth grade student in the Harrison Hills Local School District with a free book. That’s a lot of love in the air!

As part of HCCF’s “Love and Literacy” event, each seventh grader received a copy of Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, and each eighth grader received a copy of House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. The book giveaway was intended to help encourage a love of reading in the students of the Harrison Hills City School District.

The Harrison County Community Foundation, a fund of the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO), was able to connect so many students with books in part through FAO’s partnership with the national nonprofit social enterprise First Book. After registering with FAO and First Book at www.FirstBook.org/FAO, any educator or person working with children in Appalachian Ohio’s communities can order free and low-cost books through First Book’s Marketplace and Book Bank. The HCCF leveraged this partnership, and funding through First Book’s OMG Books program, to maximize the impact for Harrison Hills students by matching every seventh and eighth grade student with a book.

Each eighth grader received a copy of House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

All those with a love for Harrison County’s communities have the opportunity to join HCCF in playing matchmaker thanks to matching dollars available through the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio.

Through this match opportunity, all gifts to the Harrison County Community Foundation’s endowment will be matched dollar-for-dollar while the matching funds last. But the Harrison County Community Foundation only has until May 31, 2020 to secure $300,000 in matching dollars for Harrison County. If Harrison County doesn’t reach this goal, the match dollars will become available to other communities.

The Harrison County Community Foundation ensures permanent support for the people and communities of Harrison County, and works with FAO to grow dollars for projects that improve quality of life in Harrison County and across Appalachian Ohio. In addition to projects like HCCF’s “Love and Literacy” event, the community fund also provides support to a wide range of community projects.

To help the Harrison County Community Foundation grow its annual grantmaking to Harrison County communities, nonprofits, and children so that an additional $24,000 in grants can be invested in Harrison County each and every year, and to see your gift matched dollar-for-dollar, mail your donation to the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, PO Box 456, Nelsonville, OH 45764 and designate the Harrison County Community Foundation. Gifts can also be made online at www.AppalachianOhio.org by selecting the Harrison County Community Foundation when donating.

For more information on how you can play matchmaker with a gift to the Harrison County Community Foundation, contact the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio at 740.753.1111 or info@ffao.org.

About the Harrison County Community Foundation
Created by anonymous donors to inspire and support philanthropy in the Harrison County community and create opportunities for all those who call Harrison County home, HCCF is guided by a local advisory committee, and is managed and supported by the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio. More information can be found at www.AppalachianOhio.org.

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.