Columbus, OH (July 22, 2015)—The J. Floyd Dixon Memorial Fund of Community Foundations, Inc. has awarded 11 grants totaling $49,689 to organizations serving Jackson County.
Easter Seals Central and Southeast Ohio—$1,000 to support 25 additional participants in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program.
Health Recovery Services—$4,500 to support youth leadership development through the LAUNCH program.
Jackson City Schools—$4,600 to support the purchase of 15 Acer C720 Chrome books for the high school math and biology classrooms.
Jackson County Board on Aging—$8,359 to support the purchase of a commercial gas range for the senior citizens center.
Jackson County Health Department—$3,000 to support the Help Me Grow program for families of children with special needs.
Jackson-Vinton Community Action—$5,500 to provide direct health assistance to low-income, uninsured, and underinsured individuals residing in Jackson County.
Jackson Area YMCA—$7,000 to support Camp Awesome summer camp for children in Jackson County.
Oak Hill Union Local School District—$2,900 to support technology enhancements in a large capacity space at Oak Hill Elementary.
Oaks United—$1,000 to support the purchase of food for the Growing Oaks Food Program.
Stargazey’s Equine Therapy—$5,000 to support equine therapy activities at Hope Haven School and other locations in Jackson County.
Wellston City Schools—$6,830 to support the purchase of TI-Nspire calculators, covers, and navigator system with teacher software.
The Dixon Fund awards grants to nonprofit organizations located in Jackson County that are focused primarily on education and health issues. Award decisions are made by a board of trustees, who review applications submitted in the spring each year. The decisions are subject to approval of Community Foundations, Inc., which provides administrative and other support to the board. The board currently consists of two Dixon family members and the following Jackson County residents:
- Deborah Biggs of Jackson
- Leonard Holzapfel of Wellston
- Bonny Huffman of Wellston
- Richard LeGrand of Jackson
- Stan Lewis of Oak Hill
- Ted Nichting of Jackson
Over the past decade, the fund has made numerous grants totaling more than $590,000. The fund is named in honor of J. Floyd Dixon. Born in 1887, Mr. Dixon was raised on a farm near Oak Hill and began a teaching career in the Wellston and Oak Hill schools. Mr. Dixon’s service to the area’s schools continued in 1920 with his appointment as superintendent of schools for Jackson County.
During his tenure as superintendent from 1920 to 1924, Mr. Dixon worked to pass a tax levy vital to the long-term success of Jackson schools, and was instrumental in creating two new high schools, Bloomfield Township and Scioto Township. He later taught at Ohio University in Athens.
Elizabeth Watson, Mr. Dixon’s daughter, created the J. Floyd Dixon Memorial Fund to honor her father’s service to education. Mrs. Watson attended an elementary school in Jackson. She later graduated from The Ohio State University, married, and moved to the East Coast. In 1977, Mr. and Mrs. Watson returned to Columbus to open what became central Ohio’s largest nursing and rehabilitation facility. After her husband’s death, Mrs. Watson continued to serve as the facility’s president until 1996. Mrs. Watson passed away in 2003 and is survived by two sons, each of whom is involved with the fund’s board.
The Dixon Fund is a component of Community Foundations, Inc.
About Community Foundations, Inc.
Community Foundations, Inc. was established in 1987 to enable donors to support nonprofit organizations primarily in the state of Ohio and beyond the central Ohio region. For more information, call 614/251-4000.