To advance the mission of improving health and quality of life in central and southeastern Ohio, the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations (Foundations) recently approved funding awards aligned with its strategic grantmaking priorities. These include building capacity among youth behavioral health organizations, increased access to healthy foods, funding partnerships addressing other community needs and strengthening graduate medical education through integration of Osteopathic Principles and Practice.
St. Vincent Family Services
Understanding the increased demand for youth behavioral health services and the challenges facing organizations delivering this care, the Foundations developed a Youth Behavioral Health Capacity Building Initiative. Through the multi-year initiative, a cohort of four, high-performing organizations were identified to help address capacity building needs focused on workforce retention and recruitment; leadership development and succession planning; greater impact through enhanced programming; and increased diversity and cultural competency. To advance this work, the Foundations approved a total of $2.1 million to Alvis, Directions for Youth and Families, St. Vincent Family Services and The Buckeye Ranch.
Future home of the Dublin Food Pantry
An additional $575,000 was approved as part of the Foundations’ Healthy Food Access funding priority, a multi-year strategy to reduce hunger and improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations. Support was provided to the Dublin Food Pantry to build capacity to meet the growing demand for emergency food in the community and to increase access to healthy food. Foundation support for LifeCare Alliance will strengthen the Meals-on-Wheels program by expanding the fleet of delivery vehicles used to serve the health and nutrition needs of older adults and individuals with medical challenges.
The Foundations will continue its partnership with the Rocky Community Improvement Fund, a Rocky Brands employee-led fundraising effort. The Foundations’ funding award for $50,000 will support the partnership, which serves a broad range of nonprofit organizations in southeastern Ohio.
As part of its ongoing commitment to support osteopathic medical education, the Foundations awarded $420,451 to the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine to oversee a national review of Osteopathic Recognition, the designation conferred at the graduate level for teaching and assessing Osteopathic Principles and Practice within residency and fellowship programs.