CANTON, Ohio (June 1, 2022) – The Aultman Foundation recently partnered with 14 area nonprofits through grant awards that will advance community wellness initiatives in Stark, Wayne, Holmes, Carroll and Tuscarawas counties. The $50,000 investment in the community’s health will be Aultman’s 22nd round of grant funding to nonprofits since The Aultman Foundation was established in 2007.

“The Aultman Foundation Board of Directors applauds the work of these leading nonprofit organizations,” said Jeaneen McDaniels, board chair. “These annual grant awards are critical to Aultman’s mission and our 130-year commitment to our community.”

The following organizations – whose services focus on wellness, health education and human services – are receiving grants for the specified amounts:

• Akron Zoological Park – $5,000 to deliver mental health-related education to more than 1,000 students in Stark County classrooms through a social-emotional learning program that helps foster self-awareness, social awareness and relationship-building skills driving school success and personal well-being.
• Aunt Susie’s Wellness Center – $2,465 to support programming that provides 250 cancer patients with resources and items to support their cancer journey.
• HARCATUS Tri-County C.A.O. Inc. – $2,500 to deliver nutritionally balanced, high-quality meals to seniors to help them maintain independent living and meet their daily nutritional needs.
• Healthcare 2000 Community Clinic, Inc./dba Viola Startzman Clinic – $5,000 to support a program that mobilizes a psychiatric nurse practitioner in the community to care for homeless patients in places where they feel comfortable, such as shelters and meal settings.
• Leila Green Alliance of Black School Educators – $4,000 to host a Stark County Debutante Cotillion Program that will address the overall needs of minority high school girls in Stark County.
• Light After Loss – $5,000 to offer more peer-to-peer support services by providing support groups for individuals who have lost a loved one to COVID-19.
• Not For Sale – $3,000 to develop a tailored curriculum to reach 2,000 students in secondary schools throughout Ohio to spread awareness and develop an understanding around trafficking awareness, risk factors and mitigation steps.
• OHuddle Inc. – $5,000 to expand services during and after the school day to meet the growing need of research-based intervention, wrap-around services and mentorship for youth living in poverty and with significant trauma.
• Pegasus Farm – $4,500 to support a financial assistance program to individuals with a demonstrated financial need seeking equine therapy in the Take Flight program.
• Reaching Above Hopelessness and Brokenness Ministries Inc./dba RAHAB Ministries – $3,000 to run the Outreach Program, providing street ministry in neighborhoods where women and children are especially vulnerable to trafficking.
• Serving Area Military and Veterans – $5,000 to offer wellness programs including guitar therapy, yoga and a running program to service members, veterans and their widows/widowers.
• Stark County Black Nurses Association – $2,535 to support volunteer nurses visiting community locations to deliver education awareness, basic and preventative care for at risk and underserved populations.
• StarkFresh – $2,500 to provide the Mobile Grocery Market, a grocery store on wheels, to low-income individuals and seniors living with mobility challenges. The program provides consistent access to nutritious foods at a low cost, promoting healthy eating and improved wellness.
• TUFF Bags – $2,500 to support a backpack food program to reach 900 food insecure students in school districts throughout Tuscarawas County. The initiative is also a restorative justice program, giving 250 juveniles in the court system an opportunity to serve the community through packing food bags and participating in education sessions about food insecurity and risky behavior.

The Aultman Foundation will distribute next year’s round of grants in spring 2023. To learn more about the organization or apply for a grant, go to www.aultmanfoundation.org/grants or call 330-363-6817.

About The Aultman Foundation
The Aultman Foundation (TAF) was established by the Aultman Health Foundation in May 2007 to raise and administer funds to support and promote health education and wellness outreach to improve the health of the community. The mission is achieved through targeted grant funding to area nonprofit organizations and the acceptance of charitable gifts to the foundation and hospitals. Grant dollars are budgeted annually to support the work of nonprofit organizations that lead our community to improved health, while charitable gifts to TAF are directed for use by generous donors to patient-center services that support the continuum of care of individuals, families and our community. Since inception, the foundation has distributed $2.25 million in grants.