$10,000 in funding to benefit county residents, communities
IRONTON, Ohio – The Lawrence County Community Foundation (LCCF), launched in July 2022, has awarded its first grant awards, allocating $10,000 to advance projects and programs serving individuals throughout Lawrence County.
“Investing in the present and future of Lawrence County, its people and its communities is the very reason we created this foundation,” said Colton Copley, LCCF committee president. “This is only the beginning of what we can achieve together for the people who call Lawrence County home, today and for generations to come.”
Earlier this year, LCCF, in partnership with the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio and FAO’s I’m a Child of Appalachia® Fund, invited nonprofit and public organizations to apply for grants for projects and programs benefiting Lawrence County residents. Preference was given to efforts that increase quality of life, create access to opportunities or implement a solution to a local need.
Five grants were awarded during the 2022 funding cycle:
· RLB Ministries to support its Backpack Buddies program, which works with 17 local schools to provide weekly meal bags, emergency food boxes, clothing, coats, shoes and hygiene items.
· Ironton in Bloom to help with construction of a small park that will enhance downtown revitalization efforts and preserve a piece of the city’s cultural history.
· Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church to help finance a historic structure report, the first step in restoring and renovating the church, Ohio’s first Black church and the only surviving antebellum Black church in the state.
· New Hope United Methodist Church to support its annual back-to-school giveaway of backpacks and school supplies in three of the county’s school districts.
· Third and Center to help support the expansion of its Ironton Riverfront Beautification Project to include an interactive arts experience.
Donations to the Lawrence County Community Foundation help fund these annual grants that meet communities’ greatest needs and most promising opportunities. Thanks to a partnership with FAO’s I’m a Child of Appalachia® Fund, dollar-for-dollar matches are currently available for gifts to the LCCF.
To learn more about the Lawrence County Community Foundation and how to support its work, visit www.appalachianohio.org/Lawrence or contact FAO at info@ffao.org or 740.753.1111.