GIVING ROOTED IN COLLABORATION
INSPIRING GIVING THAT IS FELT TODAY AND BUILDS FOR THE FUTURE
At the heart of FAO is a community of givers – donors and partners who share their time, talent, and treasure out of love for Appalachian Ohio’s people and communities. Together, we inspire and support giving to seize our most promising opportunities, meet our greatest needs, and close a “philanthropy gap” that stands as a barrier to our region’s growth and transformation.
A COLLABORATION WITH VISION
An anonymous donor seeded a dream that has blossomed into an FAO-facilitated private-public partnership that is giving the children of Appalachian Ohio the vision care and glasses they need to be successful – in school and in life.
iSee with Vision To Learn brings mobile vision clinics to school districts across the region, providing free vision screenings, eye exams, and prescription glasses to K-12 students. Thanks to donors to FAO’s I’m a Child of Appalachia® Fund and local, state, and national collaborators, the program has partnered with 23 school districts in 14 counties, screened 10,000 students, and, in 2022, was expanded and exceeded all performance metrics of Ohio’s pay-for-success ResultsOHIO program.
With continued support from donors, FAO is committed to expanding the program to serve every child in need throughout Appalachian Ohio.
Read more about the mobile vision clinic.
BRINGING COMMUNITY TOGETHER TO END HUNGER
Two county-based FAO affiliate foundations are teaming up with neighbors throughout their communities to feed a growing a need.
In 2021, the Community Foundation for Perry County piloted “Fill the Freezer” in the region, bringing together fair boards, local 4-H members, the Southeast Ohio Foodbank, and area residents to fight food insecurity. The program invites buyers at the county fair’s livestock sale to donate their purchases to fill the freezers of the county’s food pantries. In 2022, the Hocking County Community Fund (HCCF) expanded the program to its county. Together, the programs generated more than 10,300 pounds of meat last year to help feed 6,000 families in need in these two Appalachian Ohio counties. HCCF is now exploring models for sustaining and expanding the program to other counties.
Read more about Fill the Freezer.
GIFTING HOLIDAY JOY TO KIDS AND COMMUNITY
When Hazel Syphers passed away in 2014, she left a series of gifts in her will – including for the Morgan Community Fund to provide a wrapped present to children who might not otherwise have that Christmas experience.
The Morgan Community Fund not only fulfills Hazel’s wishes but in recent years has inspired the local business community to spread the joy further. The Hazel Syphers Christmas Wish for Kids program provides children Christmas gifts and goodies, an afternoon at the movies, and, in 2022, Learning Lunchboxes filled with hands-on STEM activities, thanks to a partnership between COSI and FAO.
Hazel’s legacy lives on in the children of Morgan County and a growing community of givers inspired by her generosity.
Teaming up to feed minds and futures
Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning opportunities spark young minds, curiosity, a desire to learn, and, often, future careers.
In 2022, FAO connected the Center for Science and Industry (COSI) and FAO community partner sites to distribute 5,000 Learning Lunchboxes filled with hands-on activities that explore STEM topics through fun and experimentation to youth in the region.
FORGING AND FUNDING SCHOOL-BASED HEALTHCARE PARTNERSHIPS
Empowered by the generosity of donors, FAO collaborated with UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Ohio to address health barriers for children in Appalachia by facilitating relationships between healthcare support systems and community-based settings.
Through its I’m a Child of Appalachia® Fund and Health & Human Services Pillar of Prosperity and in collaboration with UnitedHealthCare, FAO awarded nearly $50,000 in grants to support nine school-based healthcare partnerships in 2022.
Read about the funding provided to those who are removing barriers to children’s medical care in our region.
Do you want to be a part of building an abundant future for the people of Appalachian Ohio?
Give today to the I’m a Child of Appalachia® Fund. Every gift makes a difference – in ways that can be seen today and will be felt for generations. For information about giving to other FAO funds, establishing your own named fund, or making a planned gift, call FAO at 740.753.1111.
