Above: Dr. John Dooley (center) accepts the Baldwin Award from CFNRV Board President Ed Lawhorn (left) and Virginia Tech Associate Vice President and Spokesperson Emeritus Larry Hincker (right).
On November 13, 2019, the Community Foundation of the New River Valley (CFNRV) held a celebration at The Draper Mercantile in Pulaski to announce its 2019 Responsive Grant recipients and to announce the winner of the 2019 Vernon L. and Lois B. Baldwin Memorial Town & Gown Fund Award, known as the Baldwin Award.
This year, the Foundation received over 100 applications for projects from throughout the New River Valley (NRV) in diverse areas including the arts, hunger relief, natural resource conservation, and education. Ultimately, the Foundation saw its largest grant year to date, awarding $143,037 to 45 projects.
The Baldwin Award, named in honor of the late Vernon L. Baldwin, a professor of dairy science at Virginia Tech, and his late wife, Lois, is given to someone who has provided significant contributions to furthering positive relations between Virginia Tech and the town of Blacksburg and provided long service to both. Dr. John Dooley, Chief Executive Officer of the Virginia Tech Foundation, was selected as the 2019 recipient. Dooley has served in this role since 2012, though his service to Virginia Tech began in 1982. He has also been a longtime advocate for Blacksburg and the broader NRV, serving on the boards of the Blacksburg Partnership and Onward NRV to promote economic and community development, among many other volunteer positions. In his work with the Blacksburg Partnership, he helped lead efforts to meet the region’s varied transportation needs, including efforts to bring passenger rail service to the region. Dooley volunteered with the Foundation from 2007 to 2010, helping to review grant applications. He selected the Alliance for Better Childcare Strategies as the recipient of the $500 grant associated with this award, an organization he helped to create in 2016.
Jessica Wirgau, Executive Director of the Foundation, said “We were delighted to celebrate our grant recipients and the Baldwin Award together at this event. 2019 has been our biggest year in grantmaking ever, and as you’ll see from our list of grant recipients and their projects, there will be an incredible number of important and exciting initiatives across the NRV receiving support from the Community Foundation. We can’t wait to see how these projects progress and will continue to assist our nonprofit colleagues as they get underway.”
To learn more about grants, visit: https://cfnrv.org/grants/responsive-grants/. To make a donation that supports the Foundation’s ability to offer these grant programs, go to: https://cfnrv.org/giving/give-now/.
2019 Grant Recipients
Adaire Theatre: $5,000 from the Rosina and Dean Carter Fund for the Visual Arts, Ann and H.W. Huff Jr. Family Fund, and the Arts Alliance Endowment Fund for Quiet Courage: The Pursuit of Equal Education.
Blue Ridge Land Conservancy: $990 from the Endowment for Floyd County for The 2020 Floyd County River Revel.
Blacksburg Interfaith Food Pantry: $2,080 from the Jane Brugh Layman Memorial Fund for operating support.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia: $5,000 from the Luba Fabrycky Memorial Endowment Fund for Project Learn with Career Launch.
Children’s Trust: $3,000 from the Children’s Shelter Home Endowment for operating support.
Christiansburg High School Black Student Awareness: $3,316 from the Mary E. Sanders Family Fund, the Robert and Emily Stuart Grassroots Leadership Fund, and the Litschert Family Fund for the Christiansburg High School Black Student Awareness Club 2019-2020.
Christiansburg Institute, Inc.: $3,000 from the Litschert Family Fund for operating support.
DePaul Community Resources: $3,128 from the Newcomb Parenting Skills Fund, the Community Service Fund, and the Jacobs Family Fund for Expanding Post-Adoption Support Services to Children and Families in the New River Valley.
Giles Animal Rescue, Inc.: $2,500 from the Endowment for Giles County for Giles Spay/Neuter Support.
Giles County Christian Service Mission: $3,000 from the Endowment for Giles County for operating support.
Giles County Shelter, Inc.: $3,000 from the Diana Princess of Wales Fund and the Endowment for Giles County for operating support.
Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council, Inc.: $3,050 from the Ann and H.W. Huff Jr. Family Fund and Young Women’s Life Experiences Fund for the Girl Scout Club at Pulaski Elementary School.
Good Samaritan Hospice: $3,980 from the Endowment for Giles County, the Bell Family Fund, and the Homer T. and Beverly A. Hurst Family Fund for Expanding the Music and Memory Program to the New River Valley.
Healthy Floyd: $1,220 from the Endowment for Floyd County for Preschool Produce/Tasting Tuesdays.
InStill Mindfulness SWVA: $5,000 from the Homer T. and Beverly A. Hurst Family Fund and the Ann and H.W. Huff Jr. Family Fund for the InSide Correctional Mindfulness Program.
Junior Appalachian Musicians of Montgomery County: $5,000 from Kathy and Bill Sanders Endowment Fund, the Youth Awareness Fund, and the Arts Alliance Endowment Fund for the Prices Fork JAM Program.
Literacy Volunteers of the New River Valley: $5,000 from the H.W. Huff Jr. Family Fund, the Shuler Family Reading Fund, the Warren Holtzman Merit Grant Fund, and the Litschert Family Fund for Skill Up NRV — Bridges Year 2 Enhancement Project.
Live Work Eat Gather Inc.: $4,000 from Susan Garrison Memorial Fund, the Hulannie Jenkins and Kim Atherton-Jenkins Fund, the Ghia Borg Memorial Fund, and the General Endowment for Millstone Kitchen Community Collaborations.
Lyric Council, Inc.: $3,000 from the Arts Alliance Endowment Fund for operating support.
Macy Backpack Ministries: $2,500 from the Endowment for Giles County for operating support.
McHarg Elementary School: $1,100 from the Hazelton Family Fund for McHarg’s One School One Book program.
Montgomery County Christmas Store: $4,000 from the Talbot Family Fund and the Ghia Borg Memorial Fund for Bras for girls from low-income families.
Montgomery Museum of Art & History: $2,500 from the Ghia Borg Memorial Fund for the Education to Go program.
Mountain View Humane: $3,000 from the Paws and Claws Fund and the Ghia Borg Memorial Fund for operating support.
New River Community Action: $3,000 from Ghia Borg Memorial Fund for operating support.
New River Conservancy: $5,000 from the Ann and H.W. Huff Jr. Family Fund for the Pulaski Peak Creek Restoration Plan.
New River Health District: $4,500 from the Ghia Borg Memorial Health Care Fund, the Mary P. Risacher Memorial Fund, and the General Endowment for the New River Health District Mobile Outreach Clinic.
New River Valley Agency on Aging: $4,890 from the Ann and H.W. Huff Jr. Family Fund, the Silver Care Fund, the Jackson Copenhaver S. Fund, the Beatrice Kalka Fund, and the Miller Family Fund for Staples for Seniors: Assisting homebound seniors with the challenge of weekend hunger.
New River Valley Agency on Aging: $2,420 from the Endowment for Giles County and the Wellness Fund for VICAP: Expanding insurance counseling resources and assistance to citizens of Giles County.
New River Valley Community Services: $5,000 from the David and Lillian Francis Charitable Fund and the Ghia Borg Memorial Health Care Fund for the Montgomery County Behavioral Health Docket.
New River Valley Disability Resource Center: $1,250 from the Margaret and Sam Tollison Family Fund, the Joann and J.B. Sutphin Endowment, and the General Endowment for the LEAN Program – Loan Equipment for Accessibility Needs.
New River Valley Home – NRV TimeBank: $4,871 from the 4-17 Fund and the Ghia Borg Memorial Fund for TimeBank ToGo.
New River Community College Educational Foundation: $5,000 from the Ann and H.W. Huff Jr. Family Fund, the Stoop Family Fund, and the Gerus Blieszner Fund for the Great Expectations Program.
Old Church Gallery, Ltd.: $2,825 from the General Endowment for Opening the Digital Door – Phase III.
Radford-Fairlawn Daily Bread: $3,000 from the Ann and H.W. Huff Jr. Family Fund for operating support.
Seek, Education, Explore, DiScover (SEEDS): $2,500 from the Susan Garrison Memorial Fund for the 16 Frogs project.
Springhouse Community School: $1,220 from the Endowment for Floyd County for operating support.
SustainFloyd: $1,220 from the Endowment for Floyd County for the Adopt a Service Tree program.
The June Bug Center: $4,320 from the JJ Fund, the Loving Care Fund, and the General Endowment for the June Bug Center’s Robotics Club.
To Our House: $3,000 from the Todd Family Fund, the Piscura Family Fund, and the Endowment for Giles County for operating support.
US Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 054-08-03: $1,000 from the Ann and H.W. Huff Jr. Family Fund for the Boating Safety Activity Book for Children in the New River Valley.
Valley Interfaith Child Care Center: $3,000 from the Children’s Shelter Home Endowment, the Early Childhood Teachers Fund, and the General Endowment for operating support.
Wilderness Road Regional Museum: $4,000 from the Ann and H.W. Huff Jr. Family Fund for Enhancing Our Education Center.
Woman’s Club of Radford: $657 from the Nicholson Family Fund for Reading Is Fundamental for Snowville Elementary.
Women’s Resource Center of the New River Valley, Inc.: $3,000 from the Piscura Family Fund and the Endowment for Giles County for operating support.