Troy, OH (July 14, 2016)—Nonprofit organizations supporting education, health, social services, community events, and youth received an economic boost from The Paul G. Duke Foundation. The Foundation recently announced grants totaling more than $126,000 to benefit residents of the Miami County area.
One grant will help address the heroin epidemic in Miami County by supporting the Miami County Recovery Council in its community education efforts. As part of the Miami County Heroin Task Force, the Council will cooperate with other area organizations to develop ways to most effectively address this burgeoning public health crisis.
Also, the Duke Foundation will once again support the area’s youngest residents through two grants for reading programs. One grant focused on enhancing early literacy skills will support the summer reading programs of Kids Read Now, which will reach over 5,000 students in grades K-3 in the Miami County region. Another grant will support Troy-Miami County Public Library in continuing a program that mails free books monthly to children from birth to age 5 to encourage early literacy skills.
The eight organizations receiving grants are:
First United Church of Christ—To support the Backpack Food Program in providing approximately 370 food-insecure children from six Troy elementary schools with food supplies to take home on weekends.
The Future Begins Today—To support the Nurturing & Mentoring Programs for Troy students in grades 4-10.
Kids Read Now—To support summer reading programs for students in grades K-3 in the Miami County region.
Miami County Dental Clinic—To support Traveling Smiles, which provides quality dental care for disadvantaged children and families in Miami County.
Miami County Recovery Council, Inc.—To support the partnership with the Miami County Heroin Task Force by enabling the development and implementation of a community education program.
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 2016 summer concert.
Troy-Miami County Public Library—To support the purchase of books for 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 Paul G. Duke Foundation’s Board of Trustees encourages nonprofit organizations in the Miami County area to apply for grants. The upcoming deadline for submission has been extended from July 1 to August 1, 2016, in recognition of the transition to an online application process. Current information on eligibility guidelines, application deadlines, and submission of applications to the Duke Foundation can be found here. Grants are awarded in spring and fall each year.
Organizations seeking support for school-year programs are encouraged to submit applications at the spring deadline for support of the upcoming academic year; those seeking support for summer programs are encouraged to apply in summer for the following year’s programming. Organizations with year-round programs may apply at either deadline.
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 social services, education, health, and the arts for both general and specific project support, including seed money for innovative programs. The Duke Foundation frequently makes 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, Miami County 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 continues to be 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, Esq.; and Ronald B. Scott.