NELSONVILLE, Ohio – The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio is observing Giving Tuesday with a virtual celebration from noon to 1 p.m. Nov. 29.
All are invited to join the program, hosted on Zoom, celebrating the new opportunities in Appalachian Ohio and the impact made possible through gifts of time, talent, and treasure.
“We are a community of givers, creating an abundance of opportunities and advancing sustained transformations in communities throughout Appalachian Ohio,” said Cara Dingus Brook, FAO president and CEO. “We are celebrating historic levels of giving. Every county has seen the benefit, and the impact will outlive us all.”
Over the past year, FAO has awarded more than 1,200 grants, scholarships, and fellowships totaling more than $5 million. The FAO family includes approximately 600 charitable funds, 14 local foundation affiliates, and a region-wide African American Community Fund.
During the Giving Tuesday celebration, FAO will discuss the impact philanthropy is having on the 32-county Appalachian Ohio region.
Among the program’s highlights will be an update on FAO’s mobile vision clinic, which provides free eye exams and eyeglasses to schoolchildren in the region. The vision clinic operates through a partnership between FAO and the Ohio Optometric Association, the Ohio Optometric Foundation, Vision to Learn, and ResultsOHIO.
The event will also celebrate FAO’s new leadership development program that is engaging young leaders, ages 18 to 35, as the next generation of community leaders in Appalachian Ohio. FAO expects to award 120 fellowships by the end of 2022.
FAO’s Giving Tuesday celebration will culminate with the presentation of its 2022 Chaddock Philanthropist of the Year Award and its 2022 Change Maker Award.
“Whether you are a child of Appalachia, someone who found a home here later life, or an admirer from afar, we invite you to join us on Giving Tuesday as we rejoice in all we have accomplished together and to be inspired by the possibilities that lie ahead,” said Ron Strickmaker, chair of the FAO Board of Trustees.
To register for FAO’s Giving Tuesday celebration, visit tinyurl.com/GivingTuesdayFAO or email rsvp@ffao.org. For more information about the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio or its Giving Tuesday event, call 740-753-1111 or email info@ffao.org.