Foundation offers grants to help combat drugs
The Community Foundation of Greene County presented a $500 grant Tuesday afternoon to facilitators of the Bird Sisters Oxford House, a sober-living facility in Waynesburg.
The Community Foundation of Greene County presented $2,000 grants to each of three area school superintendents to fund a new, countywide drug prevention curriculum being implemented at the schools this year. Dr. Morris Harper, left, with the Community Foundation of Greene County, handed the checks to three area school superintendents, Brian Uplinger of Central Greene, Rich Pekar of Southeastern Greene, and Brian Jackson of West Greene. The money was a grant to fund materials and training for a new, countywide drug prevention curriculum being implemented at the schools this year.
The Community Foundation of Greene County presented $2,000 grants to each of three area school superintendents to fund a new, countywide drug prevention curriculum being implemented at the schools this year. Pictured from left, are Philomena Blaney, a member of the Coalition for a Brighter Greene; Dr. Morris Harper, chairperson of the board of directors for the Community Foundation of Greene County; Central Greene Superintendent Brian Uplinger; Southeastern Greene Superintendent Rich Pekar; West Greene Superintendent Brian Jackson; and Rev. Richard Berkey, a member of the Coalition for a Brighter Greene.
WAYNESBURG – Community Foundation of Greene County gave out multiple grants Tuesday in an effort to combat drug activity in the community.
The first three were in the amount of $2,000 each given to three of the county’s five school districts to pay for materials and training for a new drug prevention curriculum being implemented at all of the county schools this year.
Central Greene, Southeastern Greene and West Greene, received the grants. Bettie Stammerjohn, executive director of Community Foundation, said the other two districts did not apply for the grants by the June 1 deadline.
The curriculum is called Life Skills Training, by a New York company called Botvin. It’s a seven-year program for students in grades 3 through 9, who will take the prevention course once per week for a quarter of each school year, according to Philomena Blaney, a member of the Coalition for a Brighter Greene, which organized to implement the program.
Dr. Morris Harper, chairperson of the board of directors for Community Foundation, said he treats opioid addiction and he sees the need in the community on a regular basis.
“Substance abuse is a growing problem in the county and it is important to encourage our youth to make good choices,” he said in a statement.
The total of $6,000 was taken from the foundation’s Francis “Bob” Bradford Fund.
Selected teachers from each of the districts will be trained in the new curriculum Aug. 24 and 25 at Central Greene Elementary School.
The other grant the Community Foundation distributed Tuesday was $500 for the Bird Sisters Oxford House, through the Cindy’s Wind Fund.
The sober-living facility opened in January on Richhill Street in Waynesburg. It was named after Jennifer Bird Porter, 32, and Megan Bird, 30, two local sisters who both died of heroin overdoses in 2014. The girls’ mother, Lynn Bird, worked with the Waynesburg nonprofit rehabilitation program Steps Inside to open the facility, which can house up to eight women.
According to Ralph Bouchard, president of Steps Inside, there are four women living there now.
“The $500 grant will be used to help subsidize rent for women who move into the house,” Stammerjohn said.