Troy, OH (July 15, 2015)—Nonprofit organizations supporting education, social services, community events, and youth received an economic boost from The Paul G. Duke Foundation. The Foundation recently announced grants totaling more than $157,000 to benefit nonprofits in the Miami County area.
One grant will help Habitat for Humanity of Miami & Shelby Counties relocate its ReStore outlet, increasing the outlet’s visibility and accessibility. The new, larger ReStore will be located in the Trojan Village Shopping Center. Proceeds from the outlet, which sells new or gently used donated home improvement goods, will support Habitat’s local programs and services.
Also, the Duke Foundation will support the area’s youngest residents through two grants for reading programs. The first grant will support Troy-Miami County Public Library as it rolls out a program that mails free books monthly to children from birth to age 5 to encourage early literacy skills. The second grant, also focused on enhancing early literacy skills, will support Kids Read Now’s programs. The summer reading programs will reach almost 5,000 students in grades K-3 in Miami, Shelby, and Montgomery counties.
The nine organizations receiving grants are:
The Future Begins Today
To encourage students to plan to attend post-secondary education by working with schools and parents and providing last-dollar grants.
Habitat for Humanity of Miami & Shelby Counties
To support relocation of the ReStore outlet to a larger, more visible and accessible location in the Trojan Village Shopping Center.
Health Partners Free Clinic
To support provision of medical care, nursing visits, prescription assistance, diagnostic/lab testing, and social service consults.
Kids Read Now
To fund summer reading programs for students in grades K-3 in local elementary schools, including the Piqua City Schools and Troy City Schools.
LifeCare Alliance
To support the Meals-on-Wheels and Senior Dining Center programs, which provide nourishing food and socialization for older adults in Champaign County.
Miami County Recovery Council
To support the purchase of equipment and software needed for Phase III of the project to transition to an electronic health record system.
Needy Basket of Southern Miami County, Inc.
To support the annual December Holiday Basket Program to ensure that all families, especially those with children, are able to celebrate and enjoy the season.
Troy Mayors Concerts Inc.
To support the 2015 summer concert.
Troy-Miami County Public Library
To support implementation of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a program that mails free books to all children in Miami County each month from birth to their fifth birthday to encourage early literacy skills.
The Duke Foundation’s Trustees will be reaching out to a variety of nonprofits in the coming months, seeking their input as the Foundation works to enhance the impact of its grantmaking in the Miami County region. The Trustees look forward to announcing new developments during the coming year.
The Duke Foundation encourages nonprofit organizations in the Miami County area to apply for grants. Grants are awarded in spring and fall each year. Eligibility guidelines and information about submitting grant proposals to the Duke Foundation can be found at www.paulgdukefoundation.org. Deadlines for submission are the first working day in April and in August.
The Duke Foundation’s grantmaking efforts focus on programs benefiting children, young adults, and families in the Miami County area. Grants are made in the areas of the arts, education, health, and social services for both general and specific project support, including seed money for innovative programs. The foundation has frequently made challenge grants for projects to encourage matching gifts or additional funding from other donors.
The Paul G. Duke Foundation, a Supporting Foundation of The Columbus Foundation, was established in 1983. It has a long history of philanthropic support for nonprofit organizations. Paul Duke, businessman and philanthropist, evolved his local Duke Garden Centers into a national lawn and garden service, Chem-Lawn. The proceeds from the sale of that business enabled Mr. Duke to generously support many community projects and charitable programs, all of which is done through the Duke Foundation.
The Duke Foundation’s Board of Trustees includes Patricia Duke Robinson, President Emeritus; Linda A. Daniel, President; Paul A. Hanke, Esq.; B. Mark Hess, M.D.; William J. McGraw, III; and Ronald B. Scott.