WCCF Announces 2015 Spring Grants

The Wayne County Community Foundation (WCCF) Board of Trustees met in May and approved grant awards for the Spring competitive grant cycle. Twenty organizations were awarded grants totaling $161,305 from some of the Foundation’s named community and field of interest funds:

The Adaptive Sports Program of Ohio received $1,400 from an anonymous community fund to purchase a Sony HD Camcorder to create marketing content of their programs.

The Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank received a total of $5,000 from the John Kaylor Memorial Fund and the  Harold W. Picking Charitable Fund to provide food for distribution to food pantries, shelters, and hot meal sites in Wayne County.

The Apple Creek Historical Society received $5,000 from the John G. Taggert Community Fund for the next phase of their building project, which includes HVAC installation, plumbing, and some basic interior wiring.

The Boys and Girls Club of Wooster received $10,000 from the John Kaylor Memorial Fund to supplement costs of their transportation needs.

The City of Wooster received $10,000 from the WCCF General Fund for the Christmas Run Kiwanis Playground re-build project at Christmas Run Park in Wooster.

Edgewood Middle School/Wooster City Schools received $5,000 from the John Kaylor Memorial Fund to support the sixth grade outdoor education trip to Camp NuHop.

Friends of Wayne County District received $3,000 from the John G. Taggert Community Fund for the development of the fishing pond, that would be handicapped accessible, on the Barnes Preserve.

The Heartland Education Community, Inc. received $3,660 from the Carl E. Congdon, Jr. and Susanna Congdon McIntyre Memorial Fund to provide two, five-day educational summer camps.

Liberty Center Connections Inc. received $11,745 from the John Kaylor Memorial Fund to replace the original commercial kitchen at Julia's Place, a domestic violence shelter, with a fully functional, residential style kitchen.

The Montessori School of Wooster received a total of $25,000 from the David and Carol Briggs Community Fund, the Charles R. and Henrietta Yenne Fund, and two anonymous community funds to support their "Building for our Future" capital campaign for their expansion project.

The Ohio Light Opera/The College of Wooster received $4,000 from an anonymous community fund to support “A Festival Symposium on the Music Theater Tradition: Taking Light Opera Seriously", a four-day conference featuring lectures and discussions on the history of operetta and musical comedy, its works, and its future.

The Rittman Eagles Youth Football Booster Club Inc. received a $2,500 challenge grant from the Andrew Berkey Fund to purchase new equipment for Rittman Youth Football.

RYBS / Rittman Youth Baseball Softball received $5,000 from the Andrew Berkey Fund for field renovations and updates to the concession buildings at Martin Fritz Park in Rittman.

St. James Episcopal Church, of Wooster, received $1,000 from the Leonard Schnell Community Fund to purchase a new stove and hood for the church kitchen, to aid their Community Free Lunch program that provides a free lunch each Saturday throughout the year.

The Village Network received a total of $25,000 from the Nolan and Elsie Hite Community Fund, John Kaylor Memorial Fund, the Earle and Ann Klosterman Family Community Fund, and the John G. Taggert Community Fund for renovations at Boys’ Village and to repurpose space in the newly purchased building on Noble Drive.

Wayne Center for the Arts received a total of $10,000 from the Edward, Arlene and Kaye Maibach Community Fund, the Lillian Steiner Community Fund, and the WCCF General Fund to transform their auditorium into a multi-use Cabaret Theatre space.

Wayne College/University of Akron received $5,000 from the Carl E. Congdon, Jr. and Susanna Congdon McIntyre Memorial Fund to purchase two 3D printers for the Wayne College 3D Print Lab.

Wayne County ABLE/Wayne County Schools Career Center received $8,000 from the Carl E. Congdon, Jr. and Susanna Congdon McIntyre Memorial Fund to expand and extend their Families Learning Together program to the evening ABLE students to offer family literacy education.

Wayne County Children Services received a total of $11,000 from the Nolan and Elsie Hite Community Fund,  the WCCF General Fund, and an anonymous community fund to upgrade their security camera system.

The Wayne County Public Library received a total of $10,000 from the Margaret Hauenstein Memorial Fund, the Ceylon E. Hudson Charitable Fund, the Marjorie B. Newland Memorial Fund, and the John G. Taggert Community Fund for the Early Literacy area, as part of the Dalton Library expansion and renovation project.

The WCCF is a not-for-profit charitable community organization established in 1978 to accept contributions, create and administer funds, and make grants for the benefit of the people of the greater Wayne County area. Since 1978, the Foundation has awarded more than $55 million in the form of grants and scholarships from its 380 separate funds.

Its Community and Field-of-Interest funds permit the WCCF Board of Trustees to be responsive to the changing needs of the community. Donations to these funds by individuals, families, businesses and service organizations allow for greater future grant opportunities. Contact Sara Patton, WCCF Executive Director, for more information.

Competitive grant applications from nonprofit, tax-exempt, charitable organizations should be submitted by March 1 and September 1 each year. The grant guidelines and online application are available on their website, www.waynecountycommunityfoundation.org.