Foundation launches Give Local campaign

The Tucker Community Foundation is launching a new way to Give Local this holiday season.

Using an online platform, community members are invited to “give where they live” at www.TuckerFoundation.net/give-local. There individuals can learn about the 14 area nonprofits participating in this year’s Give Local campaign

The organizations are working to reach their fundraising goals to help them support an ongoing program or complete a new project or get an initiative off the ground. The Give Local campaign will run now until January 5, 2019.

“This year we received over 100 grant applications during our fall grant season,” said Kelly Stadelman, development director for the Tucker Community Foundation. “Unfortunately, we were not able to fully fund every grant application. We wanted to do something special to help organizations who received partial grant funding get the remaining funds they need to help them finish their projects and meet their goals.”

The campaign’s 14 featured organizations and projects are:

• The Town of Marlinton in Pocahontas County, which is raising money to turn a vacant lot into a community park with an outdoor stage and pollinator gardens.
• New Historic Thomas, is in the process of building a new beginner bike trail in the existing Thomas City Trails System and needs support to get the project completed.
• Randolph County Housing Authority is trying to establish an endowment to provide annual funding for its YouthBuild program.
• The Preston County Development Authority is asking for support to help cover the costs of Preston County Day at the West Virginia Legislature.
• Grant County 4-H is asking for donations to help them build new benches to encircle a campfire as well as build a covered woodshed for storing wood at their annual summer camps.
• Parents as Teachers Program in Tucker County needs donations to help send foster parents to statewide trainings.
• ArtSpring wants to spread the word about its year-round programming throughout the region by increasing its marketing and public relations efforts.
• Tucker Valley Elementary Middle School is raising money to improve its outdoor recreation area by resurfacing the basketball court, replacing the gravel on the walking track and installing two new water fountains.
• The Preston County Parks and Recreation Commission is in the process of building a 10-mile rail trail from Kingwood to Tunnelton. It needs additional funds to repair one mile of the WV Northern Rail Trail.
• The Tucker County Family Resource Network wants to continue the Backpack Buddies program and start an Essentials Closet for youth.
• The Town of Davis is trying to raise enough money to purchase the third and final boulder to complete the Boulder Park project.
• The Thomas Parks & Recreation Board is raising funds to replace the lights in the Community Center’s gymnasium with new LED lights to decrease electricity costs.
• The Davis Volunteer Fire Department recently paved its parking lot, now it needs help paying for it. The facility is used for many community events.
• Mountain Hospice is seeking support to expand and enhance its youth bereavement summer day camp program, called Mountain Hospice Camp Good Grief, as well as its broader youth and adult community bereavement support program.

“We’re excited to offer people a new, easy way to support local projects and programs,” Stadelman said. “Our hope is that through this campaign we will create local philanthropists who are inspired to make a difference in their communities through the power of giving.”

 To learn more about the Give Local campaign, visit www.tuckerfoundation.net/give-local or the Foundation’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/tucker.commfound. People are also encouraged to call the Davis office at 304-259-5008 or the Parsons office at 304-478-2931.