The United Way of the River Cities has awarded $245,000 in safety-net grants to 14 nonprofits in its six-county service area for the 2025 funding cycle.
Safety net grants are awarded on an annual basis to programs that provide short-term assistance with basic needs such as food, clothing, safe shelter, healthcare and more. These grants will serve people throughout United Way’s six-county service area of Cabell, Lincoln, Mason and Wayne counties in West Virginia and Gallia and Lawrence counties in Ohio.
Steve Cline, United Way’s director of community impact, said the grant-making process wouldn’t be possible without the help of community volunteers who worked for five-months to review and scoring applications.
“We rely on our community volunteers, donors and corporate donors to make this effort happen and we truly appreciate their desire to help our communities,” Cline said. “I am looking forward to working with some new and returning safety-net funded partners during this upcoming grant cycle and remain united in our focus on being in service to the residents in our community.”
The grants process is driven by the UWRC’s Community Impact Council, which is comprised of five United Way board members and four community-at-large members who review and score all grant applications. Each grant was announced on Thursday, Dec. 19 at an awards presentation at the Barboursville Public Library.
“Without the support of individual, workplace, and corporate donors, these safety net grants would not be possible, ” said Jedd Flowers, executive director of United Way of the River Cities. “By gathering and combining gifts large and small, our United Way is able to make significant investments in nonprofit agencies that are creating the greatest impact in our community. It is about much more than providing crucial funding. What we are really doing is partnering with these nonprofits to address the community’s greatest needs in four United Way Impact Areas: Healthy Community, Youth Opportunity, Financial Security, and Community Resiliency. When you give to United Way, you make these partnerships possible.”
As 2024 comes to a close, so does United Way’s campaign season. Money raised through the campaign is how United Way awards grants each year. Donations can be made at donate.unitedwayrivercities.org.
Grant Awards
- 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.
- Catholic Charities $10,000 — Providing utility assistance for emergency services. 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 $13,500 — Providing food from their local food pantry. Serving Lawrence County.
- Court Street Ministries $15,000 — Providing food for their food pantry program. Serving Gallia County, Mason County and Lawrence County.
- Cridlin Food and Clothing Pantry $20,000 — 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. Serving Lincoln County.
- Gabriel Project of WV $13,125 — 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 $18,375 — 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.
- 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.
- 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.
