Twelve local nonprofits have been gifted with funds that will help them expand the reach of their healthcare-related charitable work in the community.
On Feb. 14, the CarolinaEast Foundation presented a total of $140,000 to the nonprofits as part of its second grant cycle for fiscal year 2023. Last September, the foundation distributed checks for more than $132,000 to local organizations for its first grant cycle.
During Tuesday’s event, Jared Brinkley, CarolinaEast Foundation executive director, said the donor dollars come largely from the monies donated during CarolinaEast’s Employee Campaign.
“We’re very proud of our staff and what they contribute. This past year the employee campaign raised over $409,000,” Brinkley said. “It’s humbling and it’s a testament to the type of people we have.”
Brinkley said the CarolinaEast Foundation received more than $350,000 in requests from nonprofits this year. He noted that CarolinaEast Health System covers 100% of the foundation’s overhead.
“Every single dollar that we raise goes back into the community and to our healthcare organizations,” Brinkley said.
The CarolinaEast Foundation grants will support a wide variety of nonprofit health programs, from CarolinaEast EMS’s efforts to combat the growing problem of substance abuse, to efforts to provide improved services for the homeless and those living with autism and Parkinson’s disease.
Ruth Powers, director of Backpack Blessings, said the funds will be used to facilitate a summer food program. Powers said the CarolinaEast Foundation has been instrumental in helping Backpack Blessings distribute nearly 900 food boxes each summer to children across Craven, Jones and Pamlico counties who are food insecure.
“This is a huge problem in our area and it’s just getting worse and worse,” Powers said. “You do not have to go far to figure out why kids are food insecure when you look at the prices in the grocery stores.”
Religious Community Services of New Bern will spend its grant money to provide recuperative care for those that come through its homeless shelter, according to Executive Director Zeb Hough. The money will also go to maintain RCS’s existing programs that serve Pamlico, Jones and Craven counties through homelessness prevention services, case management and a community kitchen.
“This year we’re partnering with CarolinaEast and a number of other organizations to bring recuperative care right here in Craven County,” Hough said.
Victor Anderson of Reviving Lives Ministries, a program that helps those dealing with substance abuse, said the grant funds will enable the nonprofit to maintain its transitional housing and life skills programs.
“We love the men and women we serve until they learn to love themselves,” he commented. “We look at them as caterpillars and we’re a cocoon.”
Heather Bryner of Shake The Ground Ministries arrived at Tuesday’s check presentation still dressed in the apron and work clothes she wore while serving meals to residents in need that morning.
In June 2022, Bryner opened a community kitchen, The Gathering Place, in Havelock, which served nearly 4,000 meals last year and is on track to serve over 20,000 this year. Bryner said the grant money would go towards the installation of a commercial kitchen to replace the small stove she has been using.
“The need unfortunately has skyrocketed recently,” she said. “We served 146 meals today. We are very excited about these funds.”
In closing Tuesday’s event, Brinkley said he was proud that the CarolinaEast Foundation could assist the efforts of the numerous nonprofits assisting local residents.
“We’re so lucky to live in a community that has so many good people doing good work,” he said.
The full list of nonprofits that received CarolinaEast Foundation grants this cycle and the programs the funds will go towards are:
– Backpack Blessings – Summer Blessings program
– Bike Box Project – Transportation to and from Rock Steady Boxing classes for individuals with Parkinson’s Disease
– CarolinaEast EMS – Increase health, safety, and quality of life by reducing harm and adverse lifestyle events directly associated with substance abuse
– Children’s Cancer Partners of the Carolinas – Childhood cancer safety net
– Crystal Coast Autism Center – Social skills program for children, teens, and young adults on the autism spectrum
– Hope Mission of Carteret County – Providing medication to individuals through Emergency Financial Assistance program
– Peer Recovery Center, Inc. – Providing training for certified Peer Support Specialists
– Religious Community Services – Medical-related expense assistance program for local families in need and a Recuperative Care Shelter
– Reviving Lives Ministry – Housing and wellness program for those struggling with Substance Abuse Disorders
– SECU Family House at UNC Hospitals – Affordable housing for local patients and caregivers who travel to UNC Hospitals
– Shake the Ground Ministries – Community kitchen upgrade in Havelock
– The MirIAM – Scholarships for women who are struggling with substance abuse disorders
– We Can Be Association – Access to aquatic therapy services in the greater New Bern Area
By Todd Wetherington, Co-Editor. Question and comments? Send an email.