CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Clarksville-Montgomery County Community Health Foundation has approved $772,000 in local grants in the current grant cycle.
The Community Health Foundation acts as the public advocacy board entrusted with disbursing public assets flowing from Clarksville Volunteer Health Inc.
Clarksville Volunteer Health is the 20 percent minority joint venture partner in Gateway Medical Center, and is an entity that exists to transfer revenues and receipts from publicly owned assets in Gateway to the Community Health Foundation for distribution to various health-related initiatives.
Sarah Schwartz, grant coordinator for the foundation, said the most recent grant award cycle was “very competitive,” featuring a record number of grant applications.
“We awarded $772,000 in grants. This means that since the beginning of the foundation we have contributed (almost $4.9 million) toward the improvement of health in our community.
Grant awards for July were:
LEAP: This year LEAP was awarded a grant for $94,200 to enable it to designate a full-time resource coordinator and counselor for the Intervention Program.
LEAP has worked to improve the health of adolescents through the reduction of tobacco and controlled substance consumption, “with great results,” Schwartz said.
Nurses for Newborns: Nurses for Newborns was awarded a grant for $15,000 to be used to serve clients in the Clarksville-Montgomery County and Fort Campbell areas.
NFN exists to provide a “safety net” for families at-risk; to help prevent infant mortality and to help prevent child abuse and neglect through in-home nursing visits. These visits provide health care, education and positive parenting skills.
Rotary Playground: The Clarksville Sunrise Rotary was awarded a grant for $155,227 to build a playground at Heritage Park specifically designed for children with disabilities.
To help combat the lack of opportunity for children to engage in physical activity, the three Rotary Clubs of Clarksville want to provide a play environment that serves the needs of children of all abilities in the community. This would be the first all-inclusive playground in Clarksville and will help a population previously not served. The playground will adjoin the Splash Pad that Rotary clubs are funding, thus making a large area of exercise and play.
Pastoral Counseling Center: The Pastoral Counseling Center of Tennessee (Clarksville office) was awarded a grant for $8,500 to help fund its Community Access Program.
The Community Access Program assists clients who cannot afford the normal costs of professional mental health services.
Sexual Assault Center: SAC was awarded a grant for $81,339 to reopen a Clarksville center.
They served the Clarksville community from 1991-2010 until cuts in state funding forced them to close. Clarksville’s population has seen a 7.1 percent increase from 2010 to 2013 and “even more now in 2015,” Schwartz said. According to TBI data, there were 299 cases of sexual assault in Clarksville in 2013, “and yet we have no resources in our growing city for these victims,” she said.
SAFE: SAFE was awarded a grant for $237,550 to continue their counseling services to service members, veterans and families.
APSU: The Austin Peay Foundation was awarded a grant for $180,000 for nursing scholarships for MSN, BSN and RN-BSN degrees.
There are 13 members of this Community Health Foundation’s board of directors, 11 of whom are appointed to serve as volunteers by the Clarksville City Council and Montgomery County Commission. They regularly meet to review grant applications and make decisions on the allocation of Community Health Foundation funds.
Board members are: Chairman Mike O’Malley, Vice Chairman Dr. Jennifer Lowe Ellis, Secretary Kay Drew, Marcos A. Arancibia, Anne K. Black, Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett, Khandra Smalley, Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan, Priscilla G. Story, Jack B. Turner, Joey Smith, Suzanne Uffleman and Ben Kimbrough Sr.
Jimmy Settle, 245-0247
Business editor
jimmysettle@theleafchronicle.com
Twitter: @settle_leaf
Source Link: The Leaf Chronicle
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