WILLIAMSBURG, VA – The Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) is pleased to introduce new staff to the community as the philanthropy heads toward its 30-year mark of service to Greater Williamsburg through convening, connecting, leveraging opportunities, and grantmaking. “We are thrilled to welcome three new employees joining the Foundation eager to engage with partners and contribute to supporting area agencies addressing health-related needs in our community,” said Deanna Van Hersh, WHF President and CEO.

New Staff Members

Along with their collective personal experiences of finding a deep sense of purpose through meaningful involvement in the nonprofit field, each of these professionals brings a unique work history and skillset that will contribute to advancing the Foundation’s mission to enhance health in Greater Williamsburg as they engage with Foundation partners and the broader community:

• Alayna Ayers, Grants Assistant, holds a B.A. in Communication Studies with a concentration in Organizational Communications and a minor in English from James Madison University. Alayna is a former grant and program assistant with nonprofit and foundation experience who brings expertise in grant coordination, budgeting, project management, internal and external communications strategies, and survey administration.
• Mary Jo Haselton, Administrative Assistant, holds a B.S. in Psychology from Temple University and brings 15 years of professional administrative support experience from a graduate-level institution where she was progressively promoted throughout her career to Academic Assistant to the Provost.
• Cole Raines, Program & Communications Assistant, holds an A.B. in Government with a secondary concentration in Economics from Harvard College and brings executive non-profit experience in managing grants, providing technical assistance, facilitating community initiatives, and developing and delivering public-facing communications using multifaceted strategies.

Other Foundation News

The WHF Board of Trustees recently adopted an updated strategic framework to guide the Foundation’s community engagement and grantmaking for the next five years (2026-2030), which maintains a commitment to a healthy community for all by supporting organizations working to address underlying factors that influence lifelong health and the well-being of people with low income. The framework is organized around three focus areas and related funding strategies:

• Access to Care: Supporting the availability, affordability, and quality of health-related services, including primary, behavioral, and dental health care as well as access to medications and supportive services.
• Economic Advancement: Advancing financial literacy and capability to access essential resources by supporting educational success for lifelong learners, housing stability, and access to affordable and accessible transportation.
• Healthy Living: Supporting efforts that lower the risk of serious illness through access to adequate nutritious food and opportunities to increase physical activity, healthy lifestyles, and social connection.

“These strategies remain true to the Foundation’s core purpose and reflect what we have learned from community and grantee partners over time,” said Van Hersh. “It reinforces the Foundation’s focus on the conditions that shape health across the lifespan and provides direction for supporting solutions designed to enhance health in Greater Williamsburg.”

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The Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) is an independent private health foundation with the mission to enhance health 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 $119 million in grants to improve community health and well-being.

WILLIAMSBURG, VA– The Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) Board of Trustees has adopted an updated strategic framework to guide the focus of community engagement and grantmaking from 2026 through 2030. The framework promotes the Foundation’s commitment to a healthy community for all, with a focus on addressing underlying factors that influence lifelong health and well-being for people with low income. 

“The Foundation’s updated strategic framework reflects what we have learned from community and grantee partners over time,” said Deanna Van Hersh, WHF’s President and CEO. “It reinforces WHF’s focus on the conditions that shape health across the lifespan and provides clear direction for how the Foundation supports solutions designed to enhance the health of individuals, families, and the broader community.” 

The 2026–2030 framework is organized around three funding strategies:

• Access to Care: Supporting the availability, affordability, and quality of health-related services, including primary, behavioral, and dental health care as well as access to medications and supportive services.
• Economic Advancement: Advancing financial literacy and capability to access essential resources by supporting educational success for lifelong learners, housing stability, and access to affordable and accessible transportation.
• Healthy Living: Supporting efforts that lower the risk of serious illness through access to adequate nutritious food and opportunities to increase physical activity, healthy lifestyles, and social connection.

The strategic framework will guide WHF’s engagement and grantmaking over the next five years as the Foundation continues to support efforts to develop and implement lasting improvements in health across Greater Williamsburg. 

For more information about WHF, visit www.williamsburghealthfoundation.org.

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The Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) is an independent private health foundation with the mission to enhance health 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 $119 million in grants to improve community health and well-being.

WILLIAMSBURG, VA – December 9, 2025: The Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) Board of Trustees has awarded a total of nearly $6.9 million in grants in 2025 to contribute to enhancing health throughout Greater Williamsburg. This week, awards from the final of three WHF grant cycles in 2025 resulted in over $2.3 million being granted at year-end among 21 organizations serving area individuals and families. These organizations support a healthier community by providing services that increase access to behavioral and medical health services, and/or promote healthy aging, healthy eating, active living, or two-generation family services, primarily for those living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.

Recipients include the HEADS UP initiative at Community of Faith Mission. HEADS UP offers case management services to connect individuals experiencing homelessness with community resources, including behavioral health, medical, prescription, nutritional support, and other essential social services. The Community of Faith Mission reports that the faith-based emergency shelter provided refuge from the winter cold and elements for 149 individuals experiencing homelessness during the 2024-2025 winter season.

Another newly funded initiative, Williamsburg House of Mercy’s (WHOM’s) wrap-around food and supportive health services program, provides food-related assistance and health services to Greater Williamsburg residents in need. “We are hearing from our local partners about the substantial increase in the number of people seeking help to secure food,” said Bill Pribble, Vice President of Programs. “This grant alleviates some of the costs associated with distributing and storing nutritious foods and improves access to medical and behavioral health services for WHOM’s guests.”

As described on the Foundation’s website, while WHF prioritizes requests for strategically aligned programmatic efforts, there are occasional opportunities to consider capital project requests which may be submitted only during the last funding cycle of the year. This opportunity is limited by the number and dollar amount of the prioritized programmatic applications received during the final grant cycle and the grant dollars available at year-end. This year, remaining resources enabled WHF to consider capital projects received, which were efforts designed to strengthen the organizations’ long-term capacity to serve Greater Williamsburg. “This cycle, remaining funds contributed toward six capital requests from local organizations whose work touches the lives of so many of our neighbors,” said Deanna Van Hersh, WHF’s President and CEO. These projects range from safety/accessibility upgrades and renovation of existing facilities to site procurement for a new housing community for income-restricted older adults.

Since January 2025, the Foundation has provided over $6.6 million in grants to numerous organizations. To learn more, please visit www.williamsburghealthfoundation.org.

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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 $119 million in grants to improve community health and well-being.