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Grantee Spotlight – The Arc of Greater Williamsburg Improves Quality of Life

Grantee Spotlight – The Arc of Greater Williamsburg Improves Quality of Life

Sep 3, 2024 | Blog, News

Grantee Spotlight – The Arc of Greater Williamsburg Improves Quality of Life

By: WHF Staff

 

The Arc of Greater Williamsburg has served adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in our community since 1976. When young adults with disabilities age out of public school at age 22, they often find a gap in services. Through their many programs and activities, The Arc aims to reduce this gap and enhance the quality of life for their clients in the Greater Williamsburg Area. These activities include educational, health and wellness, life skills, cultural, social, and recreational enrichment programs to help clients reinforce their existing skills and acquire new ones. The Arc also provides clients with door-to-door transportation to their programs, which makes participation possible and provides caregivers a respite.

The Williamsburg Health Foundation supports The Arc’s Fitness Program, which plays an important role in maintaining and improving clients’ health and well-being. Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities are less likely to engage in physical activity and spend more time being sedentary than those without intellectual disabilities. This physical inactivity leads to higher rates of obesity and diabetes when compared to the general population. The Arc’s Fitness Program reduces barriers to engaging in physical activity by providing a 90-minute weekly fitness and wellness class, where clients receive round-trip transportation to and from their homes. In 2023, The Arc provided 1,422 hours of fitness classes to 179 residents of Greater Williamsburg, and they anticipate numbers will remain consistent this year.

To learn more about The Arc of Greater Williamsburg’s programs to improve the quality of life for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, please visit their website.

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The Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) is a private health foundation with the mission to collaborate, innovate, and invest to impact systems that improve the health and well-being of individuals living in Greater Williamsburg. The Foundation was established in September 1996 when the Williamsburg Community Hospital and Sentara developed an affiliation agreement and later merged. This agreement included a provision for a new, locally organized, and managed Foundation to benefit community health. Since inception, WHF has awarded over $110 million in grants to improve community health and well-being.

 

Grantee Spotlight: Helping Young Hearts Heal at Comfort Zone Camp

Grantee Spotlight: Helping Young Hearts Heal at Comfort Zone Camp

Aug 6, 2024 | Blog, News

Grantee Spotlight: Helping Young Hearts Heal at Comfort Zone Camp 

By: WHF Staff 

Comfort Zone Camp (CZC) is a place of healing for children, teens, and young adults who have lost a parent, sibling, or primary caregiver. This bereavement organization offers free weekend camps to help youth between the ages of 7 and 17, young adults aged 18 to 25, and families navigate the emotional challenges of grief. 

These camps blend traditional camp activities with therapeutic sessions from Friday to Sunday. Campers join age-based support groups led by volunteer grief therapists and are paired with a supportive mentor who is matched based on similar interests, hobbies, needs, and sometimes loss types. After a weekend of fun and integrated therapeutic activities, each camp concludes with a memorial service, allowing campers to honor their loved ones. 

Since 1999, CZC has served over 24,000 grieving youth nationwide. In April and June of this year, CZC hosted weekend camps at the 4-H campground in Jamestown and served 112 campers. 

In Virginia, according to the most recent data available, an estimated 79,000 children have lost a parent or sibling by the time they reached age 18, and 168,000 youth before the age of 25. Such losses have profound and lasting effects, including depression, posttraumatic stress, substance use, and increased risk of suicide-related behaviors. CZC addresses these needs through prompt, honest, and supportive interventions, leveraging the healing power of nature to enhance mental well-being. 

The Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) is supporting Comfort Zone Camp’s efforts with a recently approved grant that will help offset the cost of a three-day camp for about 70 youth ages 7-17 at the 4-H campground in Jamestown in early 2025. This camp will be open to children and adolescents experiencing loss and will provide a safe and nurturing environment for healing. To learn more about CZC, please visit their website. 

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The Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) is a private health foundation with the mission to collaborate, innovate, and invest to impact systems that improve the health and well-being of individuals living in Greater Williamsburg. The Foundation was established in September 1996 when the Williamsburg Community Hospital and Sentara developed an affiliation agreement and later merged. This agreement included a provision for a new, locally organized, and managed Foundation to benefit community health. Since inception, WHF has awarded over $110 million in grants to improve community health and well-being.

 

Grantee Spotlight: Grove Christian Outreach Center

Grantee Spotlight: Grove Christian Outreach Center

Jul 1, 2024 | Blog, News

Grantee Spotlight: Grove Christian Outreach Center

By: WHF Staff

Imagine living in a community where a number of your neighbors struggle to meet their family’s basic needs. This is a reality for many who live in the Grove area of southern James City County. Grove fits the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s definition of a food desert, an urban area with at least 500 people living further than one mile from the nearest grocery store. Grove is six miles from the nearest grocery, and 21% of the residents live below the Federal poverty line, which makes accessing healthy fresh foods a challenge.

Recognizing the needs of area residents, Grove Christian Outreach Center (GCOC) started as an outreach mission of a small church in 2000 and opened its doors in 2004 as a nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to assisting vulnerable families with food, clothing, and financial assistance. Today, GCOC stands as a beacon of light in James City County emerging from its humble beginnings as a small organization with limited space. In 2023, GCOC expanded its service area to include anyone in need in the Greater Williamsburg community. Last year, nearly 32,000 individuals benefited from their food programs, children’s clothing closet, special holiday programs, and transportation assistance. With regard to the food programs specifically, over 9,500 people from the Greater Williamsburg area accessed the fresh food room and over 18,600 accessed the food pantry.

Since 2005, the Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) has supported GCOC to help reduce hunger and food insecurity for low-income residents. WHF funds have contributed to the purchase of refrigeration units, fresh food distribution including foods to help control diabetes, food access outreach, children’s meal delivery, and lunches for children. GCOC will use WHF’s most recent grant to stock the fresh food room and food pantry with purchases from local farms and food retailers. WHF’s support of GCOC has helped ensure that Greater Williamsburg residents have access to food assistance.

On Thursday, July 25, 2024, GCOC will partner with Williamsburg House of Mercy from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. for the Sleigh Hunger: Christmas in July Food Drive. Hosted by Habitat for Humanity Restore on Jamestown Road, this food drive will help both organizations restock their shelves so they may continue providing food assistance throughout the summer season. To learn more about GCOC, visit www.groveoutreach.com.

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The Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) is a private health foundation with the mission to collaborate, innovate, and invest to impact systems that improve the health and well-being of individuals living in Greater Williamsburg. The Foundation was established in September 1996 when the Williamsburg Community Hospital and Sentara developed an affiliation agreement and later merged. This agreement included a provision for a new, locally organized, and managed Foundation to benefit community health. Since inception, WHF has awarded over $110 million in grants to improve community health and well-being.

 

Williamsburg Health Foundation Awards $3.9 Million to Local Organizations

Williamsburg Health Foundation Awards $3.9 Million to Local Organizations

Jul 1, 2024 | News

Williamsburg Health Foundation Awards $3.9

Million to Local Organizations 

By

WHF Staff

WILLIAMSBURG, VA – July 1, 2024: The Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) is pleased to announce that the Board of Trustees approved grant funding in June totaling $3.9 million to 21 organizations that address some of Greater Williamsburg’s most pressing health-related needs. These grants represent WHF’s continued dedication to enhancing the health and well-being of those who live, work, and play in the City of Williamsburg, James City County, and York County.

Among the exciting grants awarded is a new partnership with the Virginia Health Care Foundation’s Boost 200 initiative. Boost 200 is a pilot program that addresses the mental health professional shortage in Virginia by paying for supervision hours required of mental health professionals for licensure. With WHF’s $50,000 grant to the Boost 200 program, the licensure of two behavioral health counselors and one licensed social worker in Williamsburg and James City County will be accelerated. “All three localities in WHF’s service area are mental health professional shortage areas,” said Deanna Van Hersh, WHF President and CEO. “WHF’s investment in the Boost 200 program will increase the capacity of our local mental health workforce, as the three professionals may begin their required supervision this summer.”

In addition to the mental health workforce shortage, another issue that came to the forefront during this grant cycle is the ongoing need for increased access to healthy foods throughout our community. According to the most recent data from Feeding America, food insecurity in 2022 was between 9 and 12 percent for the localities in our service area. “To help address this need, WHF is pleased to support new grants to the Boys & Girls Club in James City County, Grove Christian Outreach Center, W-JCC Community Action Agency, and the Williamsburg House of Mercy,” said Bill Pribble, WHF’s Vice President of Programs.

In line with WHF’s mission and strategic focus, WHF awarded additional grants in the Foundation’s five funding areas: behavioral health services, healthy aging, healthy eating active living, integrated care, and two-generation family services. Please refer below for a complete list of awarded grants.

To learn more about grant opportunities, visit www.williamsburghealthfoundation.org. WHF’s next grant cycle opens on July 26, 2024.

 

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The Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) is a private health foundation with the mission to collaborate, innovate, and invest to impact systems that improve the health and well-being of individuals living in Greater Williamsburg. The Foundation was established in September 1996 when the Williamsburg Community Hospital and Sentara developed an affiliation agreement and later merged. This agreement included a provision for a new, locally organized, and managed Foundation to benefit community health. Since inception, WHF has awarded over $110 million in grants to improve community health and well-being. 

Organization Name Project Title  Program Description Board Approved Amount
Grants for Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL)
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula EatSMART at the James City County Boys & Girls Club To provide nutritious, hot meals and snacks and provide nutrition education to Williamsburg and James City County youth in the Boys & Girls Club. $10,000.00
Colonial Court Appointed Special Advocate Program    Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) at Colonial CASA To provide healthy eating and active living programming to participants in Colonial CASA’s youth mentoring program. $10,500.00

Grove Christian Outreach Center

 Fresh Food Room and Food Pantry To provide nutritional fresh foods and nonperishable pantry goods to low-income families in the Greater Williamsburg area. $20,000.00
Williamsburg House of Mercy, Inc.    WHOM Collect or Give To purchase an outdoor temperature-controlled locker system for food donations by community partners and collection by clients. $65,000.00
Williamsburg-James City County Community Action Agency   Healthy Families of Greater Williamsburg (HFGW) To establish a database to help local community organizations more efficiently meet children’s food needs when they are not in school. $22,500.00
Williamsburg-James City County Public School Division    School Health Initiative Program (SHIP) To provide a health and wellness program focused on promoting and supporting healthy eating, physical activity, and wellness at all 16 WJCCPS. $770,000.00
Grants to Support Two-Generation Family Services

Child Development Resources

 Basic Operating Support To support very young children and their families through home-visiting programs, childcare centers, comprehensive motherhood services, and developmental assessments. $237,000.00
City of Williamsburg    Child Health Initiative To support an innovative, two-generation human service program that aims to improve long-term health outcomes for children living in poverty.  $283,500.00
James City County    Child Health Initiative To support an innovative, two-generation human service program that aims to improve long-term health outcomes for children living in poverty.  $283,500.00
Grants for Healthy Aging
FREE Foundation For Rehabilitation Equipment & Endowment    F.R.E.E. of Williamsburg To collect and distribute gently used rehabilitation and mobility equipment to those in need. $30,000.00
Peninsula Agency on Aging   PAA Williamsburg To conduct assessments and home visits; arrange for subsidized in-home care and adult daycare; provide care coordination for frail older adults; and provide information, referral, and support to caregivers.  $84,000.00
Williamsburg Area Faith in Action    All Transportation To provide free transportation for frail older adults in Greater Williamsburg. $50,000.00
Grants for Behavioral Health Services      
Center for Child and Family Services, Inc.    Multicultural Counseling and Outreach Program (MCOP) To provide behavioral health services for the uninsured or underinsured with emphasis upon the multicultural communities.  $70,000.00
Comfort Zone Camp    CZC Weekend Camp in Jamestown To assist in providing a weekend camp in James City County for grieving children. $10,000.00
The College of William & Mary, The Flanagan Counselor Education Clinic    Play to Thrive To provide a school-based play therapy program designed to improve social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes among young children. $95,000.00
Virginia Health Care Foundation    Boost 200 Program To support the licensure of two behavioral health counselors and one licensed social worker in the City of Williamsburg and James City County. $50,000.00
Grants for Integrated Care      

Gloucester Mathews Care Clinic

 Chronic Care Collaborative To provide healthcare to uninsured and under-insured adults diagnosed with one or more chronic diseases through an integrated model which includes primary, oral, and behavioral care.  $300,000.00

Lackey Clinic

 Chronic Care Collaborative To support the care model for Lackey Clinic’s (LC) uninsured, chronically-ill patients and reduce progression of diseases through treatment and monitoring of clinical outcomes.  $500,000.00
Olde Towne Medical & Dental Center    Basic Operating Support For clinic operations and delivery of comprehensive healthcare services. $500,000.00
Olde Towne Medical & Dental Center    Chronic Care Collaborative

To improve care for patients with chronic illness through service delivery that includes primary, behavioral, and oral care.

 $400,000.00
Rx Partnership    Basic Operating Support To coordinate delivery of brand name and generic medication to Gloucester Mathews Care Clinic (GMCC), Lackey Clinic (LC), and Olde Towne Medical and Dental Center (OTMDC) and continue providing subject matter expertise. $66,000.00
Virginia Health Care Foundation    Greater Williamsburg Medication Assistance Program To provide administrative support to the Greater Williamsburg Medication Assistance Program (GWMAP) which helps uninsured and underinsured chronically-ill patients obtain prescription medications free of charge or at the lowest price available. $47,000.00
Other Grants
Literacy for Life at the Rita Welsh Adult Learning Center     The HEAL Program  To provide health literacy classes to adults with low health literate skills.  $10,000.00
$3,914,000.00