Foundation Awards $884K in Healthcare Grants

By Sam Thrift Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The Williamsburg Community Health Foundation has announced it has awarded $884,419 in grants to 13 nonprofit organizations providing healthcare services in the area.

The foundation is a private non-profit organization that supports programs that focus on improving the health of people living in Williamsburg and surrounding counties.

“These programs target a variety issues, but the common element is that they strengthen the health of our community as a whole,” said Jeanne Zeidler, president and chief executive officer of the Williamsburg Community Health Foundation.

The foundation gave a $100,000 grant  to RIDES, a program that provides non-emergency transportation to medical appointments for people over the age of 55 and disabled citizens of any age.  According to their website, RIDES has provided over 27,000 rides to over 650 people since 2005.

York County Division of Juvenile Services will also receive a $100,000 grant to fund its Psychological and Substance Abuse Services program. The PSAS program serves high-risk youth referred by the court system.  

The group gave an $87,956 grant to Bacon Street to support adolescent substance abuse services and mental health counseling and an $84,000 grant to Child Development Resources, supporting specialized therapies for babies and toddlers with disabilities or developmental delays.

The Williamsburg Volunteer Fire Department will be able to purchase important life saving tools with the $70,742 grant they received from the foundation. The grant will allow the fire department to purchase two ECG monitor defibrillators providing better in-the-field diagnostic information.

The Foundation conducts two grant cycles each year and has given more than $46 million in support to local heath programs.  The application deadline for the next grant cycle is January 23, 2012. More information about the Foundation’s grant-making policies and process can be found by clicking here.