WISH Offers Funding for Shepherd University Learning Projects and Area Nonprofits

Women Investing in Shepherd (WISH) is once again offering grant opportunities to qualifying local nonprofits and Shepherd University learning projects. This year, the dynamic women’s giving circle sponsored by the Shepherd University Foundation will award four equal grants of $20,625 to two local nonprofits and two Shepherd University learning projects.

Qualifying nonprofit organizations must be designated as 501(c)(3) public charities. Organizations and groups affiliated with Shepherd University must be university sanctioned. Applicants submitting an inquiry by March 1, 2016 will be notified about their eligibility to submit a formal grant proposal.

Last year, WISH awarded two grants, each equaling $26,250, to Panhandle Home Health, Inc., a local nonprofit organization, and the Seeding the Future Initiative, a learning project at Shepherd University.

Panhandle Home Health, Inc. received the grant for its Wound Care Initiative program, which provided wound care certification for six nurses, who served the areas of Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan counties in West Virginia. This grant helped meet the goal of decreasing suffering of all patients with wounds, speeding up recovery time, and decreasing the need for re-hospitalization. Lisa Bevins and Chris Johnson, pictured above with WISH Grants Committee Chair, Carol Kable, accepted the grant on behalf of Panhandle Home Health, Inc. at an August awards ceremony held at the Bavarian Inn.

Seeding the Future Initiative, the grant recipient of the Shepherd University learning projects, strives to address the challenge of engaging middle- and high-school-age students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Dr. Jordan Mader, assistant professor of chemistry, and Dr. Sytil Murphy, assistant professor of physics, used the grant to host a one-day conference for middle-school-age girls and monthly seminars open to all high schoolers.

WISH, a women’s giving circle comprised of both alumnae and community members, was established in 2014 by the Shepherd University Foundation and a volunteer steering committee from Women for Shepherd University. The group was created to educate, engage, and empower women to achieve their philanthropic goals.

Instructions on how to submit a letter of inquiry may be found at shepherduniversityfoundation.org/get-involved/women-for-su/women-investing-in-shepherd/apply-for-grants. For more information about WISH, visit www.shepherduniversityfoundation.org or contact Monica Lingenfelter, executive vice president, at 304-876-5397 or [email protected], or Meg Peterson, account and project manager, at 304-876-5021 or [email protected].