CANTON, Ohio (June 7, 2023) – The Aultman Foundation (TAF) is partnering with 18 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 23rd round of grant funding to nonprofits since TAF was established in 2007.

“On behalf of The Aultman Foundation Board of Directors, we congratulate our 2023 grant recipients and extend our gratitude for their faithful service to our region,” said Brian Layman, TAF board chair. “We are humbled to partner in their work for the benefit of our neighbors.”

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

• Adaptive Sports Ohio – $2,000 to provide weekly adaptive sports program sessions for individuals with physical disabilities in Wayne County. Participants will increase physical, emotional and social wellbeing while experiencing an increase in independence, endurance, strength and sport skill.
• AHEAD Inc. – $2,500 to offer an evidence-based approach at Massillon City Schools utilizing behavior coaches to teach students skills including problem solving, flexibility and frustration tolerance to manage their behavior concerns.
• Another Act of Kindness – $3,500 to host a one-day program for nurses in Stark County to pair workplace stressors with therapeutic interventions and techniques to cope with stress management, build resiliency, increase job satisfaction and improve job performance.
• Beacon Charitable Pharmacy – $3,500 to provide Libre 2 meters and sensors to individuals with diabetes who are insulin dependent while providing extensive education on diabetes and healthy lifestyle choices.
• Canton Museum of Art – $3,500 to deliver an innovative art therapy program that creates positive impacts on individuals in the museum setting. A licensed clinical counselor and art therapist combine CMA exhibits, artmaking and applied psychological theory to help people build resiliency.
• Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health – $2,000 to support programming to help youth understand how their physical health correlates and enhances their mental health. Additionally, funds will support a seminar to help parents understand the impact of healthy habits on their children’s mental health.
• Compassion Delivered – $3,500 to deliver nutritious meals to individuals with chronic illnesses to reduce the stress of food insecurity and allow them to focus on their health.
• Domestic Violence Project, Inc. – $2,000 to implement brain injury screenings for survivors of intimate partner violence as a new standard of care utilizing the HELPS brain injury screening tool.
• EN-RICH-MENT – $1,000 to offer a gardening class for children to learn the start-to-finish process of growing and cooking healthy food. Participants will gain an understanding of the nourishing aspects of food and learn how to create a wholesome living environment for their plants.
• First Tee-Canton – $2,500 to support the healthy habits programming for Stark County youth at First Tee’s facility in Canton. In addition, grant funds will help expand the outreach portion of programming to reach even more low-income youth at community centers or youth-serving programs.
• Houston’s Lift Off – $2,500 to offer free counseling sessions to the parents of premature babies in the Akron Children's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Aultman Hospital. The program will utilize therapists specifically trained in perinatal depression, perinatal anxiety, perinatal PTSD, grief or loss and adjustments and transitions.
• She Elevates – $2,500 to sponsor girls to attend the She Elevates Academy, a comprehensive program with a curriculum designed for young girls ages 8-14. The program is designed to teach girls how to start a business and be a confident leader.
• Special Olympics Ohio, Inc. – $1,300 to offer free hearing, vision, dental and physical exams and health education to children and adults with intellectual disabilities in our region. The program provides a fun, welcoming environment while allowing healthcare students and professionals to gain experience in caring for people with intellectual disabilities.
• Stark County Hunger Task Force – $5,000 to provide backpacks of food to children facing food insecurity when school is not in session by partnering with the Stark County District Library to make the program more accessible.
• The Legacy Project of Stark – $5,000 to support the school-based mentorship program in Massillon. The program provides an additional layer of support to youth and an opportunity to strengthen social and emotional skills and well-being.
• TomTod Ideas – $2,700 to fund the Food and Move mini camp, where middle school students interview community members, go on field trips and learn about what makes Stark County healthy. Campers will be challenged to think of health as a systemic issue that can thrive when the community partners together.
• Wayne Center for the Arts – $3,000 to deliver a two-phased art therapy program in Wayne County. The center will provide hands-on art workshops for clients from the local chapter of NAMI for those struggling with severe mental illness and deepen the effectiveness of the program by pairing it with access to a licensed art therapist.
• Whispering Grace Horses – $2,000 to use equine therapy to give veterans tools to recognize their feelings, regulate emotions, better communicate and build trust. By teaching veterans how to care for horses, they also learn how to care for themselves and others.

TAF will distribute next year’s round of grants in spring 2024. 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 the 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 the community. Since inception, the foundation has distributed $2.75 million in grants.

About Aultman
Aultman Health Foundation is a nonprofit health care organization serving Stark and surrounding counties. The vertically integrated institution includes Aultman Hospital, Aultman Orrville Hospital, Alliance Community Hospital, the locally managed health-insurance provider AultCare, The Aultman Foundation and Aultman College. With 1,032 beds, over 1,000 active providers and a team of more than 7,000 team members, Aultman is Stark County’s largest provider of health care services. For more information, visit www.aultman.org.