Community Resiliency
Community Resiliency Initiatives
By forging partnerships, by mobilizing both human and financial resources, and by inspiring people to join us to create solutions, we support a foundation of safety net services that provide these basic needs:
THE BIG COVER UP
The Big Cover Up student initiative grant is open to schools in Cabell, Wayne, Lincoln, and Mason counties in West Virginia, and Gallia and Lawrence counties in Ohio.
Funded projects provide essential items for other students/children in the winter and historically have centered around ensuring that younger students have access to warm winter coats and clothing. Each project must have a faculty sponsor and the project must be student-led and student-driven.
Community Resiliency FUNDED Programs
Branches Domestic Violence Shelter — $20,000 — Providing utility assistance for emergency safe shelter for victims of domestic violence. Serving Cabell, Lincoln, Mason, Wayne, and Lawrence counties.
Cabell- Huntington Coalition for the Homeless — $15,000 — Providing safe shelter, personal care items, prescription medications and transportation for their Harmony House Day Shelter program. Serving Cabell and Wayne counties.
Children’s Home Society of West Virginia — $20,000 — Providing Food, clothing, personal care items, and infant essentials from their basic needs pantry. Serving Cabell, Lincoln, Mason, and Wayne counties.
Community Mission Outreach — $12,000 — Providing food from their local Lawrence County food pantry.
Cridlin Food and Clothing Pantry — $15,000 — Providing personal care items including cleaning supplies and infant essentials. Serving Cabell and Wayne counties.
Facing Hunger Foodbank — $15,000 — Providing food for their Lincoln County Backpack Program for eight schools in Lincoln County.
Gabriel Project of WV — $12,845 — Providing infant essentials including portable cribs, car seats, diapers, baby formula in their Cabell and Mason pantries and a client services site in Lincoln County. Serving Cabell, Lincoln, Mason, and Gallia counties.
God’s Hands at Work — $20,000 — Providing infant essentials including such as car seats, formula, and baby food, diapers, wipes, and safe sleeping accommodations for their pantry located in Gallia County. Serving Mason and Gallia counties.
Harvest for the Hungry — $12,900 — Providing personal care items from their food pantry located in Ironton, Ohio. Serving Lawrence County.
Harvest for the Hungry — $7,042 — Providing a senior citizen nutritional drink program with a 3-day drink packet. Serving Lawrence County.
Huntington City Mission — $20,000 — Providing food for their community feeding program. Serving Cabell, Lincoln, Mason, Wayne, and Lawrence counties.
Lincoln County Family Resource Network — $5,000 — Providing resources including food and personal care items, and infant essentials out of the Lincoln County Pantry. Serving Lincoln County.
RLB Ministries/Backpack Buddies — $20,000 — Providing food, clothing, personal care items, infant essentials and safe shelter for their backpack program located in Lawrence County. Serving Lawrence County.
The Salvation Army of Huntington — $20,000 — Providing food from their local pantry located in Cabell County and off-site location in Lincoln County and utility assistance including electricity, natural gas, and water. Serving Cabell, Lincoln, Mason, and Wayne counties.
St. Peter’s Episcopal Community Outreach — $20,000 — Providing food and personal care items for their blessings box, seasonal care bags, and mobile food supplies programs located in Cabell County. Serving Cabell County.
Children’s Home Society
A 72 year-old grandmother raising four grandchildren was referred to the Children’s Home Society for assistance. Two of the grandchildren have special needs and one is non-verbal. The grandmother has no respite resources to assist with the care of the children and taking them to the store with her is an exhausting, all-day endeavor. Her monthly income does not support the purchase of enough food to feed four rapidly growing adolescents/teenagers. The Children’s Home Society food pantry was able to stock this family’s pantry, refrigerator/freezer with a month’s worth of groceries. This resource not only alleviated the physical burden for her to go to the store, but also relieved her food budget for the month, allowing her to use those dollars on other necessities.
Gabriel Project
In April, Anna received emergency custody of her 9-week-old niece. Anna works part-time as a home health aide and receives minimal income. She was able to borrow a crib but quickly realized that she needed more essential items for the baby than she could afford to purchase. The baby’s CPS caseworker suggested Anna contact the Gabriel Project for help, one of the many public agency referrals they receive each year. The Gabriel Project provided Anna a new, safety-compliant car seat, formula and diapers. Because of this new car seat, Anna was able to return to her part-time job and transport the baby to/from subsidized day care.
“I couldn’t believe you gave me a new car seat!” Anna said. “Thank you. You are amazing.”
Anna is now seeking permanent custody of her niece. The Gabriel Project will continue to assist this new family with diapers and other baby items as needed.”
