By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green community groups recently received money to comfort breast cancer patients, help novices learning to curl, keep kids from taking drugs and much more.
Since 1997, the Bowling Green Community Foundation has been awarding grants to non-profit organizations that serve the Bowling Green community. This week the foundation handed out $43,608 more.
“It is cause for celebration that many thousands of lives are touched because of the remarkable partnership between our donors and the outstanding organizations that exist to serve the residents of Bowling Green,” BGCF President Kevin Cochrane said.
The organization has now given more than $500,000 to community groups since it began.
“We exist to help improve the quality of life in Bowling Green – how cool is that,” Cochrane said.
For many of the non-profit organizations, the BGCF grants are a rare source of funding to keep them going.
For the Black Swamp Ice Frogs youth hockey program, the funding will be used to host the group’s first tournament, and help with regular season expenses.
“This is one of our biggest sources of income,” said Kathy Dibling, of the Ice Frogs, which provides a place for children with special needs to play hockey.
“A lot of our parents struggle to pay for day-to-day things,” so the funding allows their children to keep playing, Dibling said.
For the Black Swamp Players, the funding will help pay for seating at the group’s new theater on Oak Street. The group has found used chairs for the theater, so this funding will go toward risers.
“This is tremendous,” said Heath Diehl, of the Black Swamp Players. “We need every little bit of help that we can get. That was a huge burden lifted off of us.”
For Work Leads to Independence, the funding will pay for a bakery case at the group’s South Main Street location. The organization helps people with developmental disabilities find employment.
“We don’t really have any opportunities for people to use customer service skills and baking skills,” said Doreen Ehlert, of Work Leads to Independence.
The organization will soon start baking at the ag incubator north of Bowling Green, then start selling their baked goods to community partners and at the WLI facility.
“We are very excited about this,” said Linette Kemner, the “mastermind” behind the bakery idea.
For the BG Pee Wee League, the grant will replace aging playground equipment that had to be removed next to the T-ball rookie field. The playground provides a place for siblings of team members to play during games.
“We went without a playground last year, and the parents and kids missed it,” said Tim Dunn, of the Pee Wee League.
Dunn is hoping the new playground will be open for business by late spring.
“We’re going to make it happen somehow,” he said.
At First United Methodist Church, the funding will help the food pantry there to continue serving those in need. In December, the site served 475 people, according to Tim Harris, who delivers food to the homes of people who can’t get to the food pantry.
“It’s amazing the amount of food we give out,” Harris said. And the grant will help the organization continue that work by paying for a lift gate for the truck used in deliveries.
For Wood Lane Residential Services, the funding will help pay for a portable lift that will help transfer people to and from wheelchairs, said Andy Swaisgood, of WLRS.
“It’s safer for the individuals and safer for the staff,” Swaisgood said.
For 2020, the BGCF funding was dispersed among the following 17 recipients and their respective initiatives:
- Baskets of Care, $1,980 – Funding will be used for distributing Comfort Care Bags to those newly diagnosed with breast cancer.
- BG Parks and Recreation Foundation, $1,959 – Funding is for Adirondack Chairs at Simpson Garden Park so that park visitors can more comfortably enjoy the park and for longer periods of time.
- BG Parks and Recreation Foundation, $2,296 – The purpose of this grant funding is to introduce a new, innovative, and interactive way for people of all ages, abilities and fitness levels to be more physically active. Specifically, a Freedom Climber (Climbing Wall) will be installed in the lobby of the BG Community Center.
- BG Pee Wee League Inc., $4,000 – Funding will be used to purchase playground equipment to be placed in the area at Carter Park that is utilized by Tee Ball, Rookie and Pee Wee League teams, and will be used by players, ages 4-10, as well as their siblings and families who attend the games during the season.
- The Center for Women and Gender Equity at BGSU, $1,129 – Addressing the reality of gender pay gap, this funding will be used to offer free training to empower women with the strategies, skills and confidence to negotiate for fair pay, and advance the potential for gender equity.
- Black Swamp Ice Frogs, $3,500 – Funding will be used to host a regional hockey tournament for athletes with disabilities, in March 2020. The tournament will attract 100 athletes and teams from Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania to Bowling Green.
- Black Swamp Players, $4,156 – Funding will be used to assist in the one-time purchase of theater seating for the auditorium space in the recently-leased property located at 115 East Oak Street, Bowling Green, to be used as their “home,” and to be called the “Oak Street Theatre.”
- Bowling Green Curling Club, $2,000 – Funding will be used to purchase new equipment to specifically be used by those new to the sport of curling, as well as participants in their brand-new youth program. The newly opened Black Swamp Curling Center has experienced success beyond what anyone imagined and hence, extreme wear and tear on the equipment—sliders, stabilizers, broom pads, and brooms– that is provided for curlers.
- First United Methodist Church Food Pantry, $5,000 – Moving thousands of pounds of food each month to meet the needs of the growing number of people who are food insecure, and doing so with limited numbers of available volunteers, the funding will be used to purchase and install a lift gate for their truck.
- Her Choice / Bowling Green Pregnancy Center, $2,500 – Funding will be used to offer free testing for males and females to identify two of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, chlamydia and gonorrhea. Additionally, the goals of this project include referring people for treatment to reduce the spread of infection, and to provide education.
- NAMI of Wood County, $2,000 – Funding will be used for facilitator education fees for mental health first aid. Due to increased attendance, need, and demand, NAMI would like to expand their offerings for free classes, support groups and community education workshops. Program expansion requires that they train more facilitators.
- Right Direction, $2,000 – Funding will be used to offer free Skate, BMX & Scooter camps for underprivileged youth in Bowling Green. The mission of this group is to teach Life Skills—time management, organizational and communication skills—through action sports. Their goal is to empower youth by increasing access to and the impact of action sports as a tool for positive youth development.
- The Ohio State Extension Office, $1,000 – Funding will provide an innovative approach called “Get Hooked on Fishing Not on Drugs” to educate 75 Bowling Green fourth graders on the dangers of drugs, how to recognize dangerous situations and where to turn for support, while learning the fundamentals of fishing and nature.
- Toledo University Foundation, $1,000 – Reach Out and Read is a parent engagement initiative striving to give parents the information and tools to be successful and confident as their child’s first and most important teacher. The program currently focuses on providing books to children ages 0-5 to teach literacy and math skills and will now expand to include a health and wellness literacy initiative.
- Wood County Habitat for Humanity, $3,965 – Funding will be used to build the infrastructure to foster and support volunteers by developing a new website and updating computer equipment.
- Wood Lane Residential Services, $1,850 – Funding will be used to purchase a portable ceiling lift motor for our Positive Community Connections Day Habilitation program. The goal of obtaining this lift is to reduce injuries and promote safety for staff and for individuals they are assisting.
- Work Leads to Independence, $2,749 – Funding will be used to purchase a bakery case for a new business opportunity to provide employment and training for individuals with developmental disabilities.
The Bowling Green Community Foundation, a non-profit entity, exists to improve the quality of life in the Bowling Green area by providing funding and support for diverse and helpful programs that enhance the health, welfare and vitality of the Bowling Green community. Private contributions are the sole support of the foundation.
Visit the website for additional information about the BGCF: http://www.bgohcf.org/
