Our Spring 2018 Newsletter

Spring 2018

Public Libraries: Where Health Can Happen I WV VOAD: When Collaboration Helps Rebuild Lives I Staff Insight with Renee Steffen I Grant Cycle and Spring 2018 Grant Awards I Financial Literacy

Public Libraries: Where Health Can Happen

When we think of public libraries, what comes to mind? A quiet place to find and borrow books, music and films; to use the computer; to tutor students and meet for discussions; to spend storytime with children; to pick up tax forms and fax documents; or simply to find a space to sit and relax. As a free gathering place, public libraries have been part of a city’s crucial nexus that binds communities together. It also happens to be the perfect place for promoting a culture of health. The Sisters Health Foundation has recently supported efforts in Pleasants and Athens Counties to promote this culture of health in libraries.

WV VOAD: When Collaboration Helps Rebuild Lives

When the deadly flood waters ravaged southern and central West Virginia in late June of 2016, communities were left not only with destroyed homes and roads, but also emotional and social upheaval.

Enter WV VOAD, whose primary goal is to meet the needs of communities impacted by disaster. Their story represents the power of hope, perseverance, and teamwork to continue to help families rebuild their lives.

Staff Insight with Executive Director Renee Steffen

Thoughts that might run through your head when you are invited to attend ANOTHER meeting: "I don't have time!"; "If I sit through another meeting, I am going to lose it!"; "What do you mean attend another meeting? I just left one!"; "Can I send my cat, Oscar?" (This one is reserved for really bad days).

Maybe some of these thoughts resonated with you? We are all human and have competing demands on our time. It is impossible to say yes to new meetings all of the time (hello, burnout) but I would like to suggest that there are certain times when saying yes to ANOTHER meeting may be time particularly well spent.

Our Spring 2018 Grant Awards

This past spring grant cycle, fifty nonprofit organizations in the Mid-Ohio Valley were awarded grant funding in support of our vision of "healthy people in healthy communities". At its spring meeting, our Board of Directors approved a total of $555,014.

Financial Literacy Workshop on June 15

In partnership with WVU Parkersburg, the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley, Sisters Health Foundation, McDonough Foundation, Parkersburg Area Community Foundation, and Nonprofits LEAD, a financial literacy workshop will be held at WVU Parkersburg on Friday, June 15 from 11:30 am to 3 pm.

Click here for details

Sisters Health Foundation | 304-424-6080| www.sistershealthfdn.org

Our mission is to promote healthy and sustainable communities by providing resources, strengthening collaborative relationships, and supporting initiatives that impact people in the Mid-Ohio Valley. Through this mission, the Sisters Health Foundation seeks to enhance the rich gifts already found in local communities.