HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The Pallottine Foundation of Huntington has awarded 164 nonprofit organizations in the Tri-State with grants totaling $2,572,458.91 through its 2025 Healthy Communities Initiative. Of those funds, $198,471 was awarded to groups based or operating in Lawrence County.

The annual initiative provides funding awards up to $40,000 for programs that address health and wellness challenges in the Foundation’s 20-county, tristate region.

“The Pallottine Sisters established our Foundation with a vision to help and heal people in the community,” said Laura Boone, CEO of the Pallottine Foundation of Huntington. “The level of support we are able to provide this year on their behalf is truly incredible. These funds will enable our partners to continue providing essential services and offer new programs that promote health and serve those in need. We can’t wait to see all the positive change that results from this important work.”

This year’s Healthy Communities recipients include food assistance programs, child advocacy centers, mental and behavioral health programs, health departments, senior centers, family resource and support networks, substance use disorder recovery programs, community centers, and shelters for people experiencing domestic violence or homelessness.

Grants awarded to Lawrence County groups were:
Community Mission Outreach — $12,000
Community Mission Outreach in Chesapeake will purchase food for pantry distributions and provide a small stipend for a volunteer home delivery driver.

Compass Point Housing — $11,600
Compass Point Housing in Portsmouth will purchase 100 welcome kits for clients who reside in its recovery homes in Lawrence and Scioto counties. The kits will include new bedding, a pillow, towels, a clothing hamper and basic hygiene products.

Harvest for the Hungry $15,000
Harvest for the Hungry in Ironton will purchase food at Southeast Ohio Food Bank and local grocery stores for its pantry

Impact Prevention $15,500
Impact Prevention will provide youth-led programming at Lawrence County and Scioto County, middle and high schools. Certified prevention specialists will assist youth-led teams in data-driven prevention efforts focused on topics like mental health, suicide prevention, and alcohol and substance misuse. The teams also will lead prevention programming at local elementary schools, organize county and regional youth summits, and participate in community connection events and beautification projects. In addition, Impact Prevention will engage up to 10 youth-led team members as peer mentors for its existing summer camp and afterschool programs based in Ironton, OH, as well as a new mentorship site at an apartment community in Portsmouth.

Lawrence County Health Department — $4,992.50
Lawrence County Health Department in Ironton will provide Intervention for Nicotine Dependence: Education, Prevention, Tobacco, and Health training and technical assistance to staff at all Lawrence County middle and high schools to assist them in facilitating tobacco use intervention and linkage to cessation for students. LCHD will gather student feedback through focus groups and/or surveys and track data regarding participation and outcomes.

RLB Ministries — $33,500
RLB Ministries in Ironton will purchase food for its weekend Backpack Buddies meal program; children’s clothing and hygiene items for distribution at schools; food and basic needs items for the Collins Career Technical Center food pantry; and food and basic needs items for students served by Lawrence County Educational Service Center.

Tri-State Family Connections — $15,000
Tri-State Family Connections in Proctorville will provide contract wages and a cell phone dedicated to professional use for its program coordinator. Funds also will support fees associated with helping individuals in recovery obtain identification documents.

University of Kentucky Research Foundation — $35,879
University of Kentucky Research Foundation will support the Tobacco Policy Research Program’s implementation of a comprehensive, community-based tobacco prevention program in Boyd, Carter, Floyd, Greenup, Johnson, Lawrence, Martin, and Pike counties, KY. TPRP will contract with college students who will lead the implementation of #iCANendthetrend workshops at school and after-school programs, develop public awareness campaigns, staff professional development sessions and conduct outreach. TPRP also will recruit youth outreach workers to assist in delivering the workshops. In addition, TPRP will engage intergenerational community members to participate in the “Community Health Champions” program, where participants will design educational resources and develop community outreach and advocacy strategies to build improved community-wide understanding of tobacco issues. The organization also will partner with one middle or high school to implement an “alternatives to suspension” program to more appropriately respond to students who are caught using tobacco products. Finally, TPRP will host one professional development and one community engagement workshop to increase knowledge of evidence-informed strategies for tobacco prevention and how to communicate more effectively with youth.

Valley Health Systems — $27,050
Valley Health will host approximately 30 medical outreach events to assist uninsured individuals, particularly those experiencing homelessness and/or substance use disorder, in community-based locations across Lawrence County in Ohio, and Cabell, Kanawha, Lincoln, Mason and Wayne counties in West Virginia.

Whitney/Strong — $27,250
Whitney/Strong will continue to expand its Save A Life program to Gallia, Lawrence and Scioto counties in Ohio. The organization will provide free community training in suicide prevention and STOP THE BLEED program training to 500 people from these three counties and secure a contract project coordinator to oversee the project.