Funding will support projects promoting economic development and growth
NELSONVILLE, Ohio – The Dale Hileman Legacy Fund at the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO) has awarded its 2023 grants to organizations in Jefferson and Muskingum counties for projects that promote economic development and growth – causes that were close to Hileman’s heart.
“Dale’s legacy of service to eastern Ohio and dedication to the communities he called home lives on in the grants bearing his name that are supporting work he would have been proud to have been a part of,” said Jim Schoch, executive director of the Eastern Ohio Development Alliance (EODA). “It is an honor to provide this funding to projects that are improving quality of life and moving our communities forward.”
The Urban Thrift & Opportunity Center of Urban Mission Ministries in Jefferson County received funding to purchase equipment needed to start its Recycled Remnants program, a new social enterprise that employs people to cut clothing that would have been recycled into remnants to be sold.
Homeless Hands of Zanesville in Muskingum County received funding to support its Media Center Services project, through which IT professionals will help shelter residents obtain employment by providing computer training and assistance with resume building and job applications.
A native of Columbiana County, Hileman’s legacy includes a lifetime of service to eastern Ohio. He worked for Columbia Gas of Ohio for 40 years, serving Carrollton, Jackson and Cambridge in Appalachian Ohio, and helped establish EODA to promote economic development and growth in eastern Ohio. In retirement, he remained committed to improving quality of life and to promoting his community of Cambridge in Guernsey County, where he shared his final years with his wife, Evelyn.
The Dale Hileman Legacy Fund was created in 2015 in partnership with FAO and with support from EODA. It supports causes that were close to Hileman’s heart – economic development and growth – and organizations within EODA’s service area of Athens, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, Holmes, Jefferson, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Tuscarawas, and Washington counties.
For more information about the Dale Hileman Legacy Fund, FAO and how to support opportunities throughout the region, visit www.AppalachianOhio.org, email info@ffao.org, or call 740.753.1111.