Before we push forward into deeper, harder work, as a country and as a Greater Williamsburg community, we pause.  The pandemic of COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted African Americans and all people of color. Systemic injustices which result in poor health outcomes have long been unmistakable and understood by many Americans. Those same injustices are now better understood by many more.  This call to advance racial justice and anti-racism must become action with lasting, meaningful change. 

At Williamsburg Health Foundation, we believe in action above words.  As an organization founded through the proceeds from the Williamsburg Community Hospital, we are solely focused on community and this community.  We believe social factors – such as where one lives, works, and worships – profoundly influence one’s health.  We know social ramifications of race influence health. 

Our vision is “individuals making healthy choices in a community with health opportunity for all.”  All means all – everyone.

Everyone deserves the opportunity to live a healthy life.  No matter your neighborhood, education, employment, cultural inheritance, or color of your skin.  We believe we approach grant-making with programs and capacity-building with organizations with an equity mindset. 

Now and always, WHF invites members of the Greater Williamsburg community to be in touch with us about how we can continue to make ours a more equitable, and therefore, healthier community.  We are listening, learning, and continuing to strive for a community where all people can enjoy health and well-being.

Carol L. Sale, RN, MSN
President & CEO
Williamsburg Health Foundation

In recognition of Governor Northam’s decision to make Juneteenth a holiday for our Commonwealth, Williamsburg Health Foundation will close on Friday,  June 19^th to honor and celebrate of the freedom of people of African-American decent from slavery on this date in 1865.  WHF recognizes the imperative to address the long-standing issues of racial disparity in our country.

On Monday, June 1, 2020, the Williamsburg Health Foundation’s (WHF) Board of Trustees approved $3,453,500 dollars in grants.

“Whether or not there is a health emergency like COVID-19, organizations supported by Williamsburg Health Foundation work every single day to make our community healthier,” said president and CEO, Carol L. Sale.  “Our grants remain consistent with our vision of individuals making healthy choices in a community with health opportunity for all.”

“Many of our grantee partners are vulnerable to the economic downturn. Donors may not have resources to share with nonprofit agencies in the same way they have in the past few years. As always, this Foundation is proud that through our grants, we can provide support of staff salaries and operations at these organizations,” said Sale.

In April, Williamsburg Health Foundation unrestricted millions of dollars of already-awarded grants to allow agencies the flexibility to pivot their operations as needed.  “We have great faith in our partner agencies,” explained Sale.  “They know best how to manage their money in a crisis.”

“We have been working closely with our grantee partners to make sure they have what they need during this crisis,” said Allison Brody, director of community engagement.  “They tell us the best thing we can do for them in both the short- and long-term is to provide consistent and transparent grant-making.”

In this first grant round of 2020, WHF granted $575,000 for the provision of behavioral healthcare, $850,000 for advanced primary care and chronic disease management, $133,500 for medication access and other health services, $697,000 for school-based wellness, and $720,000 for two-generational, family-centered services.  A complete list of grants and agencies is appended here.

“In the past few months, our staff and trustees have been truly inspired by our grantee partners and their creativity, adaptability, and collaborative spirit.  We have seen clinical staff meeting patients in parking lots when telemedicine was not enough.  We have seen agencies serving in new ways.   For example, the Arc of Greater Williamsburg has used their vans to collect food from food drives and deliver emergency food to homebound individuals. Those vans are typically used to transport adults with disabilities,” said Brody.

“Our staff has been hard at work, during this crisis to provide collaborative spaces online so agencies can quickly learn from each other and meet emergent community challenges in larger, systematic ways. We are a collaborative community; we work best when we all work together,” said Sale.

Since its inception, the Williamsburg Health Foundation has granted 89 million dollars to improve the health of the Williamsburg community. For information on grants from the Williamsburg Health Foundation, including how to apply for a grant, visit williamsburghealthfoundation.org/grants-before-applying