The Culpeper Wellness Foundation awarded $120,000 in Healthy Living Grants to 13 organizations proposing health and wellness projects within the Foundation’s mission area of Culpeper, Orange and Madison counties.

The 2019 Healthy Living Grant recipients include:

Aging Together – $10,000 – To maintain transportation services for vulnerable older adults

Boys & Girls Club of Central Virginia – $10,000 – To support Triple Play: A Game Plan for Mind, Body & Soul, through participation in physical activities, games, cooking and nutrition, sports leagues and programs that promote social and emotional wellness for youth in Madison and Orange counties

Culpeper Mid-Day Lions Club – $10,000 – To support diabetes screening and education

Culpeper Winter Heat Shelter – $5,000 – To provide removable prosthetic dental devices (dentures and partials) for homeless clients

Friends of the Culpeper Library – $10,000 – To provide assistance with access to online training, computers for resume writing, and job applications for re-entry persons

Hero’s Bridge – $10,000 – To establish a Battle Buddy Community Health Worker program to support elderly veterans in Culpeper County with a variety of needs including home safety, pet therapy and emergency funding for basic needs

Lake of the Woods Fire & Rescue Company – $10,000 – To update Heavy Rescue Response Equipment to support accident scene safety by LOTW Fire & Rescue Company in Orange County

Orange County Free Clinic – $10,000 – To provide dental care vouchers for patients needing emergency surgical & non-surgical dental extractions and tooth fillings

Piedmont Regional Dental Clinic – $10,000 – To provide oral health care for Winter Heat Shelter clients

RAPPU, INC. – $10,000 – To offer tuition assistance in the healthcare field for Culpeper, Orange & Madison Residents

Reva Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department – $7,809 – To support injury prevention during patient handling

Services to Abused Families (SAFE) – $10,000 – To support renovations and additional beds with new mattresses for Culpeper, Madison and Orange families in shelter

Sex, Drugs & God – $7,500 – To support Culpeper Young Adult Recovery Network (Culpeper YARN), an open discussion-based format with additional support through a technology component.

The Foundation established the Healthy Living Grants program in 2015 to support local organizations in their work to improve health and wellness. Shari Landry, Foundation president, said, “Our award this year totaled $120,309, up from $100,000 in 2018. We’re pleased that we were able to direct more to these community efforts.”

Laura Grigsby, chair of the Foundation’s advisory committee that reviews the Healthy Living grant applications, commented, “Discussion during review of the grants by the advisory committee was very spirited and lively given that applications represented 32 very worthy projects. It was a tough decision narrowing down the field. The scope of the proposals indicates that there is a lot of good work being done to support health and wellness in Madison, Orange and Culpeper.”