AUGUST 10

Directors of the Piedmont Community Foundation (PCF) are pleased to announce two more local grant awards have been distributed from component funds of the PCF.

The 100 Women Strong awarded a $3,600 grant to Leadership Loudoun for funding a 2009 Community Impact Project (CIP) entitled “School’s Out for the Summer” (S.O.S.) that was administered in partnership with Loudoun Interfaith Relief, Loudoun’s local food pantry. S.O.S. is a pilot program to assist Loudoun’s need for a sustained summer lunch program to feed children when they are out of school and may be in need of a healthy, nutritious, filling lunch. Specifically, this grant was targeted to provide food for children registered to attend the Loudoun County Mental Health camps in the month of July.

The Leadership Loudoun CIP team of grant writer’s from the leadership Class of 2009 were: Betsy Fields, Town of Leesburg; Nicole Fulgham, Teach for America; Jackie Hagenston, Long & Foster; Erin McLellan, Loudoun County; Laura Merrell, FTI Consulting; Catherine Motivans, Loudoun County; and Ashlie Vickers, Loudoun Chamber. Funding representatives from 100 Women Strong; Karen Schaufeld, President, and Barbara Schaufeld, Secretary; and Karen Krei, Executive Director, from the Piedmont Community Foundation, joined three of the CIP grant writer’s to visit one of the camps this summer during the lunch programs to learn more about the needs of the children and to view the program in action. At the end of summer there will be an evaluation of the pilot project, examining the impact of the support and the potential for further partnership.

Members of the 100 Women Strong have meetings several times a year to review their grants and determine strategies for meeting humanitarian need in Loudoun County. Those wishing to learn more about 100 Women Strong may contact Lori Miller at 100womenstrong@gmail.com.

The Directors of the PCF awarded the 2009 Peter M. Howard Memorial Fund Grant, in the amount of $600, to the St. James Church United Church of Christ, in Lovettsville. The grant will assist in funding the restoration cost of a damaged entrance pillar to the historic church building. Work also involved the railing and part of the handicap ramp for access to the building. The Virginian Historic Landmark Commission, in June of 1983, recognized St. James on their 250th Anniversary as the oldest continuous church congregation in Loudoun County and deemed it “a distinguished place in the rich history of our Commonwealth”. As such, the PCF Directors were pleased to give the nod to St. James in the competitive grant process for the Peter M. Howard Memorial Fund which is restricted for use in preservation of historic buildings and historic open space in Loudoun and Fauquier counties.