METRO MONTHLY LOCAL FOUNDATIONS & NONPROFITS to 47 nursing students the year before. Since the nursing scholarship program was introduced in 1997, the number and value of scholarships has grown every year. Overall, more than $1.3 million in scholarship monies have been awarded to Mercy Health employees, members of employees’ immediate families, and students attending Mercy College of Ohio – Youngstown campus. “This is a sampling of the good work Mercy Health Foundation MV provides our community through the generosity of our donors,” Homick says. “We are eternally grateful and, with the support of our donors, look forward to making even more significant improvements in the health of our community.” – Submitted by the Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley
FOUNDATIONS, FROM PAGE 11
The Western Reserve Health Foundation Supporting Organization of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley 201 E. Commerce St., Suite 150, Youngstown, Ohio 44503. 330-743-5555. www.cfmv.org Phillip Dennison, CPA, Board President Mission and History – The Western Reserve Health Foundation (WRHF) was established in the 1980s as the fundraising arm of the Western Reserve Care System. With Forum Health’s bankruptcy, the foundation was reshaped with a broader mission to support health care needs across Mahoning County. Grantmaking – The foundation traditionally operates a Community Health grant program and an Issue Specific grant program during two cycles per year. Eligible applicants must be tax-exempt organizations under IRS 501(c)(3) or operate under the sponsorship of a tax-exempt nonprofit. They must also provide services which contribute to the health and wellness of Mahoning County residents. While the spring grant cycle is already underway, interested applicants can find the fall request for proposal at www.cfmv.org/westernreserve-health-foundation when it is released later this year.
The Youngstown Foundation 100 Federal Plaza East, Suite 101, Youngstown, Ohio 44503. 330-744-0320 www.youngstownfoundation.org. Jan Strasfeld, Executive Director METRO MONTHLY PHOTO | RON FLAVIANO
Downtown Youngstown at night looking south
The Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley 250 DeBartolo Place, Suite 2560, Boardman, Ohio 44512. 330-729-1189. www.foundation.mercy.com/youngstown
Granting Priorities Community Health Grant Program – Promoting the health and well-being of Mahoning County residents, WRHF’s request for proposals aligns with the current priorities identified by the Mahoning County Health Department Community Health Improvement Plan (listed below). ■ Mental Health and Addiction: initiatives that improve mental health status and reduce substance abuse and addiction. ■ Chronic Disease: initiatives that reduce chronic disease. ■ Maternal and Infant Health: initiatives that improve maternal and infant health. ■ Social Determinants of Health: initiatives that improve the economic and social issues impeding health. ■ Health Equity: initiatives that improve health equity. Issue Specific Grant Program – The Western Reserve Health Foundation is currently requesting proposals for innovative projects within the following issue-specific areas, each aligning with a restricted fund of the foundation (listed below). Full proposals, aligning with an issue-specific fund, are due Friday, March 27, 2020. ■ Cancer Fund ■ Tod Children’s Hospital Pediatric Fund Additional details on the Community Health and Issue Specific grant programs can be found in the full requests for proposals at www.cfmv.org/ western-reserve-health-foundation. – Submitted by the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley
Mercy Health to expand access to breast care, scholarships
E
xtending the reach of the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center (JACBCC) and opportunities for tomorrow’s nurses, nurse practitioners and physicians are priorities for Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley in 2020. While the rate of breast cancer deaths in the Mahoning Valley continues to shrink, paralleling breast cancer mortality rates for the state, a greater percentage of women in the Mahoning Valley continue to be diagnosed with late-stage disease. That’s according to the 2019 Mahoning County Cancer Profile published by the Ohio Department of Health. Despite this statistical trend, the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center has seen an increase in early detection, with a far greater percentage of its patients diagnosed with early stage disease. Paul Homick, president, Mercy Health Foundation MV, credits the role of community education and the development of a mobile mammography service line as critical tools in the advancement of early detection. The goal of the foundation, he notes, is to ensure that everyone in our community has access to the best care available regardless of ability to pay. To further that mission, Mercy Health Foundation MV will provide support for additional Joanie Abdu mammography satellite locations. The first satellite, inside Poland Imaging, opened in 2018. Satellite locations, in conjunction with mobile mammography, make it easier for women in outlying communities to access care, Homick says. These services, and the JACBCC itself, he stresses, are only possible because of the generosity of the foundation’s donors. Among the most notable community efforts supporting the cause: Panera-
thon, which marked its 10th anniversary in 2019. Presented by Covelli Enterprises, Panerathon raised a record $525,000 in support of the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center and Joanie’s Promise fund. That’s an increase of $10,000 over Panerathon 2018 and brings the collective amount Panerathon has raised for the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center to more than $3 million. These funds support growing demand for breast care services, which have increased every year since the JACBCC opened in November 2011, and the mobile mammography service line launched in 2016. Mercy Health Foundation MV is also looking to provide additional support, in the form of scholarships, to the next generation of caregivers. The inaugural Dinah Fedyna Family Medicine Award for Primary Care was presented in June to a NEOMED student from Trumbull County planning a career as a family practitioner. The award honors Dr. Dinah Fedyna, a family physician and NEOMED instructor diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in July 2018. The scholarship is available to NEOMED students from the Mahoning Valley planning careers in family medicine, pediatrics or internal medicine. “Ideally, we’d like to award two scholarships this year,” Homick reports. To encourage support, he says the foundation is matching contributions dollar-for-dollar for the first $50,000 raised. “This not only demonstrates our respect for Dr. Fedyna and the wonderful contributions she has made to our community, but our commitment to help the next generation, especially those pursuing careers, such as primary care, that are in high demand.” The same holds true for nurses and nurse practitioners. Rashid Abdu, M.D., founder of the JACBCC, has endowed a nursing scholarship that will be awarded every year beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year. This is in addition to several nursing scholarships already available. In 2019, Mercy Health Foundation MV awarded a record $113,000 in scholarships to 63 area nursing students for the 2019-2020 academic year, up from $87,000 awarded
T
he Youngstown Foundation ended 2019 with total assets of $125 million, maintaining its ranking as the largest community foundation in the region. Crain’s Cleveland Business recognizes The Youngstown Foundation as being among the top 10 grant makers in Northeast Ohio. With the onset of a new decade, The Foundation continues to hold true to its mission to address critical needs and strengthen our community’s health care, arts and culture, education, the environment, economic development and social services. The Youngstown Foundation awarded $7 million in grants in 2019, encompassing the Unrestricted Fund, Hine Memorial Fund, Crisis Assistance, Goodwill, Mahoning Valley Sports Charities, Support Fund, Restricted and Donor Advised Funds. The Foundation currently administers close to 80 local funds that make distributions to local, regional and national nonprofits. This past year, the Foundation welcomed seven new funds with a total value of $8.3 million. The Support Fund is a unique program that provides “approved local charities” the opportunity to receive an additional 10 percent grant for qualified contributions for their organization while also allowing donors to maximize their charitable giving to their favorite nonprofits. In 2019, donations made to the Support Fund resulted in the distribution of more than $1.5 million to 77 agencies throughout the Valley, an increase of 11 percent from the previous year. The largest 2019 grant was awarded from the Hine Memorial Fund to Stambaugh Auditorium in the amount of $500,000 and is earmarked for the construction of multiple accessible entrance ramps to the promenade and formal garden pavilion. Last year also included a $50,000 gift from the Unrestricted Fund toward costs associated with the creation of a downtown statue to mark the historic 1946 handshake of baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson and George “Shotgun Shuba” of Youngstown. “This statue recognizes the role ‘one of our own’ played in an important historic moment that helped advance racial equality in American sports and culture,” said Janice E. Strasfeld, Executive Director of The Youngstown Foundation. “There is no city more appropriate than Youngstown, a true community of
SEE FOUNDATIONS, PAGE 15
METRO MONTHLY / FOUNDATIONS & NONPROFITS | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 13
