Bath Community Fund announces record grants totaling $50,000
Latest grants support capital improvement projects, township service equipment
On Friday, Dec. 3, Bath Community Fund of Akron Community Foundation announced 21 grants totaling $50,000 to nonprofit organizations serving Bath Township. This latest round of grants represents the fund's largest amount awarded in a single year and brings the fund's cumulative grantmaking total to more than $150,000 since it was established in 2014.
This year's record grant total was made possible in part by an anonymous donor who generously gifted $17,000 to increase the fund's grantmaking to the $50,000 mark. The milestone comes just seven years after Bath Community Fund was established by a group of committed Bath residents who wanted to preserve Bath's historical and environmental legacy, enhance the local arts and culture landscape, serve youth through education and recreation, and meet residents' social service needs.
Several of the grants awarded in 2021 will enhance the township's services and facilities for local residents. A $1,000 grant will support improvements to the Bath Center Building, making it more accessible to seniors and people with disabilities. Additional grants will purchase upgraded equipment for the township's police and fire departments, including new digital fingerprint software and a fire extinguisher training simulator.
"Bath Community Fund is proud to support these important services that have the potential to affect each of Bath's residents," said Kathy Sidaway, BCF's advisory board chair. "This is a perfect example of neighbor helping neighbor through the generosity of our donors."
Other grants awarded this year will support the installation of natural history exhibits at The University of Akron Field Station in the Bath Nature Preserve, provide equine therapy programs for students in the Revere school district, and fund the restoration of historical buildings in Bath, among other initiatives.
The grants were reviewed by a committee of BCF advisory board members, donors and community leaders, who consider each request "diligently and thoroughly," said Grant Committee Chair Jim Bernard.
The following is a complete list of grants awarded by Bath Community Fund in 2021:
Akron Symphonic Winds, to support a concert at the 2022 Made in Ohio Festival at Hale Farm & Village, $2,500
Apollo's Fire, the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, to provide free and discounted concert tickets for students and senior citizens in Bath Township, $1,500
Bath Township, to purchase a utility terrain vehicle for the Bath park system, $1,000
Bath Township, to support facility improvements to make the Bath Center Building more accessible to seniors and people with disabilities, $1,000
Bath Township Fire Department, to purchase a fire extinguisher training simulator for educational outreach programs, $4,000
Bath Township Historical Society, to support the restoration of the Stony Hill Schoolhouse, $4,000
Bath Township Police Department, to upgrade the department's digital fingerprint machine to offer background check services for Bath residents, $2,500
Bath Volunteers for Service, to develop a strategic plan to expand the organization's fundraising and volunteer activities, $1,000
Battered Women's Shelter, to provide educational outreach programs in the Bath community, $1,000
Crown Point Ecology Center, to increase fresh produce donations to local nonprofit organizations through the training of farm interns, $4,300
Embracing Futures Inc., to support an oral health education program for third-graders at Bath Elementary School, $1,000
Girls on the Run Northeast Ohio, to support a running-based youth development program for girls in the Bath community that combines physical activity with lessons about social and emotional well-being, $2,000
Hope Meadows Foundation, to support equine therapy programs at Misty Acres of Bath for students in the Revere Local Schools, $2,500
Revere High School PTSA, to support the BREATHE Initiative, which provides stress-management tools for students and staff at Revere High School and Revere Middle School, $1,000
Stewart's Caring Place, to provide cancer wellness services for Bath residents, $4,000
Summit County Astronomy Club, to purchase a telescope mount for the Fairlawn Rotary Observatory in the Bath Nature Preserve, $3,200
The University of Akron Field Station, to support the installation of nature-inspired art and natural history exhibits within the Bath Nature Preserve, $2,500
Victim Assistance Program, to increase awareness of support services for Bath residents who have been impacted by crisis, violence or trauma, $1,000
Victory Gallop, to support therapeutic horseback riding programs for children with special needs and life-threatening illnesses, $3,000
Western Reserve Historical Society, to support the maintenance, repair and preservation of the Stow House at Hale Farm & Village, $5,000
Western Reserve Playhouse, to support summer education camps for students in the Revere community, $2,000
About Bath Community Fund
Established in 2014 by a group of committed Bath residents, Bath Community Fund is a permanent endowment dedicated to strengthening the Bath community for current and future generations by providing leadership, fostering collaboration, and creating a legacy of charitable giving. The fund is committed to responding to community needs, helping the less fortunate, supporting local nonprofits, and reinforcing and preserving Bath's historical and environmental legacy. Since its inception, the fund has grown to more than $1.1 million and reinvested more than $150,000 into the Bath community. For more information, contact Kathy Sidaway, advisory board chair, at 330-285-5893 or kathysidaway@hotmail.com.
About Akron Community Foundation
Celebrating 66 years of building community philanthropy, Akron Community Foundation embraces and enhances the work of charitable people who make a permanent commitment to the good of the community. In 1955, a $1 million bequest from the estate of Edwin Shaw established the community foundation. It is a philanthropic endowment of nearly $290 million with a growing family of more than 760 funds established by charitable people and organizations from all walks of life. The community foundation and its funds welcome gifts of all kinds, including cash, bequests, stock, real estate, life insurance and retirement assets, just to name a few. To date, the community foundation's funds have awarded more than $201 million in grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. For more information about Akron Community Foundation or to learn more about creating your own charitable fund, call 330-376-8522 or visit www.akroncf.org.