TOLEDO, Ohio — The Toledo Cultural Arts Center (Valentine Theatre), The Ohana Project, Geary Family YMCA, Bittersweet Farms, After-School All-Start, Habitat for Humanity of Wood County and The Mareda Center are all grant recipients with the TEGNA Foundation.
A total of $16,000 dollars was given to the seven charities.
Allison Perz is the founder and executive director of the Mareda Center. She applied back in February for the grant, and now it’s like a Christmas gift to be a recipient.
“This gift is going to allow us to purchase more stable shelving, which will allow us to store more items," she said. "It’s such a blessing to have this time of year.”
These winners submitted their applications earlier in the year with details on their non-profit, and how they could use a monetary donation in their organizations.
One of the recipients Bittersweet Farms, is dedicated to serving adults and adolescents with Autism. Julie Champa with Bittersweet Farms said they’ll be using the funds to support the programs they already offer to those with Autism.
“Our program allows them to have scheduling in their life," Champa said. "They come out to the farm, they work in the barn and in our horticulture and make creative art and bake delicious cookies. Without this money our program would be seriously impacted, we’re grateful to WTOL."
Most of today’s grant winners said they’ll be using the extra monetary help to build up their services they provide. Brian Dicken, with After-School All-Start, said the money will support the work the non-profit does in schools and in housing units to make sure kids have resources to be successful.
Below is a link to connect to 2022 application process for the TEGNA foundation.
