By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
The Augusta Family Foundation donated $50,000 November 12th towards combating food insecurity in Tucker County. The donation came in a ceremony held Wednesday morning at the Tucker County Family Resource Network office in Parsons.
The donation, in the form of $25,000 to the FRN and $25,000 to the Blackwater Ministerial Association, Inc., was presented by local Developer Steve White. The funds will be used by both organizations to bolster their food distribution programs and expand support to households in need.
“We’re really thankful for this gift from the Augusta Family Foundation,” April Miller, Executive Director of the Tucker County Family Resource Network said. “And the funds that we receive from this will help us serve many more families.”
Miller said her center has seen an increase in need in recent months, including an increase in use of the Center’s Food Pantry. The Center’s Pantry serves the whole of Tucker County, Miller said.
Tom Kucer, Chairman of the Blackwater Ministerial Association, Inc., represented the Association. Kucer said his organization’s pantry serves mainly those on the top of the Mountain in mainly Davis and Thomas and has been in existence since after the flood of 1985.
“To receive this gift, this grant, is a blessing for us,” Kucer said. “With food prices going up, it will serve us well to maintain our budget.”
Local Land Developer Steve White represented the Augusta Family Foundation during the presentation. White said he and his family have been involved with Tucker County for over 20 years. He said he feels the best of Tucker County is its people.
“Its just very heartbreaking when you go through times like this and you see the despair and the anxiety that families are facing because they don’t have enough food or they are worried about the future of their loved ones being able to get proper nourishment, particularly with the government shut down and all the uncertainty around that,” White said. “We just wanted to do something to help the community.”
White said he hopes that the Foundation’s donation will be a catalyst for others to “step up” and come forward with donations of their own to assist the community in its time of need.
“Hopefully we do this and its a good start and others in the community will step up, which they always do in Tucker County, so we’re very pleased to be able to do this,” White said.
The Tucker County Family Resource Network is located at 100 Education Ln, Parsons. For more information on the FRN, call 304-478-3827 or go to www.tuckercounty-frn.com.
The Blackwater Ministerial Association, Inc. is a non-profit operated by volunteers who assist with monthly food distributions and ongoing donation drives. It provides food and support services to those in need throughout Tucker County. Partner Churches include: St. John’s Lutheran Church, Blackwater Charge of the United Methodist Church, Flanagan Hill Church, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Canaan Valley Baptist Church, Dryfork Assembly of God, Harman Presbyterian Church, and Thomas Presbyterian Church.
The Augusta Family Foundation is named for the mothers of Steve and Kathy White, Augusta Ann Dilley White and Augusta Julie Steinle Hotz, whose lives embodied service, compassion and respect for human dignity, according to the Foundation. The Foundation funds projects that meet basic needs and expands opportunity, with a focus on programs that strengthens West Virginia communities. For more information on the Augusta Family Foundation, go to http://www.augustawv.org.
