At the end of August 2022, Carol L. Sale, RN MSN informed the WHF Board of Trustees and staff that she plans to step down as President and CEO of the Williamsburg Health Foundation at the end of this calendar year due to family health concerns. “It has been my privilege to serve the Greater Williamsburg community in this role and I look forward to watching the growth and good work of this Foundation as it continues to improve the health and well-being of those living in our community in partnership with so many dedicated nonprofits and other organizations”. The Board of Trustees has formed a Search Committee and will be posting the position to accept applications from prospective candidates in the coming weeks. Please check back for further information on this process.

On Monday, June 6, 2022, the Board of Trustees of the Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) met and approved 22 grants worth nearly four million dollars.  “This is the second year of implementation of our most recent strategic plan,” said Carol L. Sale, WHF President and CEO. “We are pleased to be investing strategically in so many good causes and programs impacting the health of our community,”

            Under the strategic goal to “Target behavioral and social risk factors that influence the health of individuals throughout the life span,” the largest funded program is SHIP, the School Health Initiative Program. Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools partner with WHF, teachers, students, parents, and other community partners to build life-long, healthy habits in schools.

“We continue to see our community’s children interested and participating in healthy clubs and activities like gardening, Zumba, cooking, and running clubs thanks to the SHIP program,” said Sale.

According to Senior Program Officer, Bill D. Pribble, “The annual Run the DOG 5K and Sleighbell 5K both demonstrate how successful this program is.  Not only do hundreds of students participate annually but also their family members and school faculty and staff.  At the Foundation, we believe that SHIP participation among Williamsburg-area school children will make ours a healthier community both now and in the future.”

            The largest share of grants in this first round of grants for 2022 is to “Strengthen the healthcare safety-net for uninsured and underinsured individuals.” This goal encompasses the following three areas: advanced primary care, behavioral health services, and medication access, and all three areas received significant investment.

            Over the past few years, WHF has looked at how to effectively fund the provision of prescription medications within our community.  As the grants to the clinics demonstrate, WHF has believed the most effective manner for making sure safety-net patients receive prescription medication is to embed those services entirely within the individual clinics. “The approach of giving the clinics management of their own patient assistance programs is proving to be the most cost-effective and direct for our community,” said Sale.

            “Our entire staff and board are laser focused on how to most effectively and strategically support the health of our community,” said Sale.

For full listing of grants click here >>>

“Older Adults: Where We Are and Where We’re Going,” new research from the Williamsburg Health Foundation, provides both qualitative and quantitative data to inform and catalyze collaborative approaches to making ours a more age-friendly community. With a higher percentage of older adults than a typical Virginia community, Greater Williamsburg has the opportunity to improve overall community well-being and quality of life though a focus on this important and diverse population. The Williamsburg Health Foundation looks forward to working with various partners in this worthwhile endeavor.

For more information, contact Paulette Parker at Williamsburg Health Foundation.

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and Executive Summary

WILLIAMSBURG — The Williamsburg Health Foundation welcomes three new trustees in 2022. “These individuals have each demonstrated significant commitment to leadership in our community,” said Carol L. Sale, President and CEO, of the Williamsburg Health Foundation. “We are honored that they have extended that commitment to leadership to this foundation.”

Other foundation news:
Williamsburg Health Foundation is proud to announce the promotion of Bill D. Pribble to Senior Program Officer.

On Monday, December 6, 2021, the Board of Trustees of the Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) approved $876,000 in grants to 14 organizations for 16 programs to improve the health of the Greater Williamsburg community.

Since it was established in 1996, the Williamsburg Health Foundation has provided $94 million dollars in grants to the community and grown its overall worth to 151 million dollars. “The Foundation staff and trustees are proud to serve our community and to continue its legacy of improving community health,” said Carol L. Sale, WHF President and CEO.

“Understanding of what it means to be a community that fosters the health of its residents has evolved over the past 25 years, and we have evolved with it,” said Sale. “Our grants illustrate that fostering health goes beyond providing healthcare, and physical health is not all that is required for well-being.”

Pointing out that Williamsburg is a place with a volunteer spirit and significant cooperation among sectors, Sale adds, “Our trustees want to know that we are not applying band-aids. Community collaboration is a powerful vehicle for change, and our grants can provide the fuel necessary for that change.”

Sale cites a new grant requested by James City County on behalf of the City of Williamsburg, York County, and James City County for a program to assist those individuals serving as legal guardians for residents no longer able to care for themselves. “Guardianship is most often a voluntary role, and it can be a hard one. The social service departments of the localities will work together to increase the number of available legal guardians and provide them the tools they need to be the best guardians they can,” Sale explains.

The localities sought support for a pilot project that will serve legal guardians so they, in turn, could better serve those under their guardianship. “This is an untraditional way is to improve the health of adults. We believe if we fuel improvements in the role of legal guardians, we can help older adults now and in the future.”

“Nothing has better proven how deeply connected we all are than COVID-19. Individual and community health is a web of so many interconnected parts, which is why our funds go to a wide variety of agencies and work,” said Sale. All WHF’s grants advance one or more of WHF’s strategic goals. The first goal is to advance organizations, systems, and public policy crucial to community health and well-being. The second goal is to target behavioral and social risk factors that influence the health of individuals throughout the life span. The third goal is to strengthen the healthcare safety-net for uninsured and underinsured individuals.

Being a grant maker in this community is an honor and a challenge. We see many more needs than we can meet. “Our job is to be as strategic as possible. Sometimes that means we support existing programs and sometimes that means helping new efforts.”

WHF has a vision of “individuals making healthy choices with health opportunity for all.” For information on grants from the Williamsburg Health Foundation, including how to apply for a grant, visit click here.. Grants made in December are listed below.