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Williamsburg Health Foundation Approves $3.9 Million to Local Organizations

Williamsburg Health Foundation Approves $3.9 Million to Local Organizations

Williamsburg Health Foundation Awards $3.9 Million to Local Organizations

WILLIAMSBURG, VA – June 11, 2025: The Williamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) Board of Trustees recently approved $3.9 million in grant funding for 23 nonprofit organizations or government agencies that work to improve health and well-being in the City of Williamsburg, James City County, and York County.

These grants support various projects and programs across six of the Foundation’s funding areas: Behavioral Health Services, Community Capacity Building, Healthy Aging, Healthy Eating Active Living, Integrated Care, and Two-Generation Family Services.

During this grant cycle, WHF is pleased to award funding to several first-time grant recipients whose programs positively impact the health of economically disadvantaged individuals in our community. Newly funded programs include opportunities for enhanced mental health support, transportation for those recovering from brain injury, social support programming for older adults, trauma-informed training, and increased access to healthy food.

WHF listens to nonprofits and governmental agencies in Greater Williamsburg about the opportunities and needs of our community, and our learning informs the ways in which the Foundation might best respond, including with our grantmaking,” said Deanna Van Hersh, WHF President & CEO. “We look forward to the positive impact these efforts will make throughout the Greater Williamsburg area.”

To learn more about the Foundation’s grant opportunities, 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 $116 million in grants to improve community health and well-being. 

Wiliamsburg Health Foundation (WHF) Grant Recipients – 2025 Grant Cycle 1
Organization Name  Project Title Board Approved Amount
Grants for Community Capacity Building
3e Restoration, Inc. Resilient Neighbors Initiative $50,000.00
Grants for Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL)
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula EatSMART at Boys & Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula’s James City County Unit $7,500.00
Colonial CASA Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) at Colonial CASA $5,250.00
Grove Christian Outreach Center The Gathering Place  $50,000.00
THRIVE Peninsula Building Healthy Foundations in York County $14,400.00
Williamsburg House of Mercy, Inc. WHOM Give or Collect: Fresh Food Program  $48,750.00
WJCC Public Schools School Health Initiative Program (SHIP) $780,000.00
WJCC Public Schools Healthy Educational Appetizing and Tasty (HEAT) Summer Food Service Program 2025 $25,000.00
Grants to Support Two-Generation Family Services
Child Development Resources, Inc. Basic Operating Support $237,000.00
City of Williamsburg Child Health Initiative $283,500.00
Grants for Healthy Aging
FREE F.R.E.E. of Williamsburg $30,000.00
Peninsula Agency on Aging PAA Williamsburg $84,000.00
Tidewater Arts Outreach Arts Outreach for Older and Isolated Adults $5,000.00
Williamsburg Area Faith in Action Basic Operating Support $65,000.00
Grants for Behavioral Health Services    
Center for Child & Family Services Multicultural Counseling and Outreach Program (MCOP) $70,000.00
Colonial Behavioral Health Colonial Behavioral Health Court Docket $37,070.00
Community Brain Injury Services Increasing Transportation Options for Greater Williamsburg Residents with Brain Injuries $10,000.00
Grants for Integrated Care    
Gloucester Mathews Care Clinic Basic Operating Support $300,000.00
Lackey Clinic Basic Operating Support $500,000.00
Literacy for Life The HEAL Program $10,000.00
Olde Towne Medical & Dental Center Basic Operating Support $900,000.00
Rx Partnership Basic Operating Support $66,000.00
Virginia Health Care Foundation Greater Williamsburg Medication Assistance Program (GWMAP) $47,000.00

Wheelchairs, Canes, Lifts and More: F.R.E.E. of Williamsburg Gives Area Residents the Gift of Independence and Safety All Year Long

Tucked away in a bright, clean building in York County next to the Sentara Williamsburg Hospital, is a full storehouse that rivals any North Pole workshop. There one finds a special organization, F.R.E.E., which all year long gives area residents the gift of the equipment they need to stay safe and be mobile and independent at the same time.

F.R.E.E. stands for the Foundation for Rehabilitation Equipment & Endowment. The organization is a nonprofit organization based in Virginia. F.R.E.E. collects, sanitizes, and gives away a range of mobility-related rehabilitation equipment to low-income uninsured or under-insured adults in Virginia.

​Eligible individuals can apply for the following types of equipment:

​Manual and power wheelchairs

Walkers and wheeled walkers

Canes and crutches

Bath and toilet aids

Hoyer lifts and

Other specialty equipment.

According to a medical professional who supports F.R.E.E., “The equipment provided makes the client more independent in their home and safer by decreasing their fall risk.”

 “F.R.E.E. is a program were neighbors help neighbors. We collect medical equipment from the community that is abandoned or no longer needed. We utilize these unused resources to meet the needs of others. It’s incredibly practical and the right thing to do. It just makes sense,” says Robin Ramsey, Executive Director of F.R.E.E.

 “The Williamsburg Health Foundation has been proud to support F.R.E.E. since they first came to Williamsburg. In fact, we have seen the whole community support F.R.E.E. Sentara Williamsburg has given it a home since the beginning,” says Carol Sale, President and CEO of the Williamsburg Health Foundation.

 A recipient of a FREE walker shared his experience. “I needed a walker that could support me because of my height and frozen shoulder. I needed a walker with forearm extension, and my insurance would not cover it. After completing my application, I had my walker in no time. Now I can walk in comfort without having to worry about losing my balance.”

 F.R.E.E. has six Virginia locations: Roanoke, Richmond, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, Lynchburg, and Winchester. To contact the Williamsburg location, call (757) 707-4741; fax (757) 337-5032; or email williamsburg@free-foundation.org. To learn more about their programs, including their Williamsburg location, visit www.free-foundation.org.