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Bath Community Fund celebrates $100,000 grant milestone

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Kids with binoculars
A grant to the University of Akron Field Station will develop an outdoor classroom space at the Bath Nature Preserve.

On Friday, Dec. 4, Bath Community Fund of Akron Community Foundation announced grants totaling $22,100 to 12 local nonprofit organizations, bringing the fund's cumulative grantmaking total to more than $100,000 in just five grant cycles since its inception in 2014.

This significant milestone comes only six years after the fund was established by a group of committed Bath residents who wanted to preserve Bath's historical and environmental legacy, enhance the local arts and culture landscape, serve youth through education and recreation, and meet residents' social service needs.

"Bath Community Fund's annual grants are possible only through the generosity of hundreds of local individuals, families and organizations," said Kathy Sidaway, BCF's Advisory Board chair. "Their belief in the fund's mission and their ongoing gifts continue to grow the endowment for the benefit of current and future generations of Bath residents."

Several of the fund's most recent grants supported innovative projects that will increase the sustainability of local nonprofits during the COVID-19 pandemic, while enriching the Bath community for years to come. Crown Point Ecology Center and The University of Akron Field Station at Bath Nature Preserve both received grants to build outdoor classrooms that will provide new hands-on learning opportunities for students and families. These spaces will allow guests to safely engage with nature and participate in educational programming in 2021 and beyond.

"The exploration and appreciation of nature is more important than ever during this time of COVID-19," said Jim Bernard, chair of BCF's Grant Committee. "Bath Community Fund is proud to make our local natural resources more accessible and create new educational opportunities for our residents."

Earlier this year, the fund also partnered with Akron Community Foundation's Community Response Fund for Nonprofits to provide emergency grants to nonprofits impacted by COVID-19. In total, Bath Community Fund awarded $6,920 to help nonprofits serving the Bath/Revere geographic area to expand and adapt their services during the health crisis. These grants supported online education programs at Western Reserve Playhouse, food for children and families in need through the Revere Power Pack Program, and a new vegetable garden at Crown Point Ecology Center dedicated to growing fresh produce for local food pantries.

The following is a complete list of grants awarded by Bath Community Fund in 2020:

Apollo's Fire, the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, to provide free and discounted concert tickets for students and senior citizens in Bath Township, $1,000

Bath Township, for trail markers at the North Fork Preserve of Bath, $2,500

Crown Point Ecology Center, to build an outdoor classroom for environmental workshops and youth education programs, $2,000

Crown Point Ecology Center, to support a new vegetable garden dedicated to providing fresh, organic produce to the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank and other local agencies feeding those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic, $2,420*

Girls on the Run Northeast Ohio, to support a running-based youth development program for girls in the Bath community that combines physical activity with lessons about social and emotional well-being, $1,000

Revere High School PTSA, to support the BREATHE Initiative, which provides stress-management tools for students and staff at Revere High School and Revere Middle School, $1,000

Revere Power Pack Program, to provide food to children and families in need in the Revere school district, $2,000*

Stewart's Caring Place, to provide emergency cancer wellness services for Bath residents, $3,000

Summit County Astronomy Club, to repair a telescope mount at the Fairlawn Rotary Observatory in the Bath Nature Preserve, $2,000

The University of Akron Field Station, to develop an outdoor classroom space and nature exploration station at the Bath Nature Preserve, $2,000

Victim Assistance Program, to increase awareness of support services for Bath residents who have been impacted by crisis, violence or trauma, $600

Victory Gallop, to support therapeutic horseback riding programs for children with special needs and life-threatening illnesses, $2,500

Western Reserve Historical Society, to restore the pottery kiln and demonstration shed at Hale Farm & Village, $2,500

Western Reserve Playhouse, to purchase equipment to professionally video stream the theater's performances and classes, $2,000

Western Reserve Playhouse, to develop new online arts education programs as a safe alternative to summer camps and workshops during the COVID-19 pandemic, $2,500*

*Awarded through Akron Community Foundation's Community Response Fund For Nonprofits

About Bath Community Fund
Established in 2014 by a group of committed Bath residents, Bath Community Fund is a permanent endowment dedicated to strengthening the Bath community for current and future generations by providing leadership, fostering collaboration, and creating a legacy of charitable giving. The fund is committed to responding to community needs, helping the less fortunate, supporting local nonprofits, and reinforcing and preserving Bath's historical and environmental legacy. Since its inception, the fund has reinvested more than $100,000 into the Bath community. For more information, contact Kathy Sidaway, advisory board chair, at 330-285-5893 or kathysidaway@hotmail.com.

About Akron Community Foundation
Celebrating 65 years of building community philanthropy, Akron Community Foundation embraces and enhances the work of charitable people who make a permanent commitment to the good of the community. In 1955, a $1 million bequest from the estate of Edwin Shaw established the community foundation. It is a philanthropic endowment of more than $235 million with a growing family of more than 690 funds established by charitable people and organizations from all walks of life. The community foundation and its funds welcome gifts of all kinds, including cash, bequests, stock, real estate, life insurance and retirement assets, just to name a few. To date, the community foundation's funds have awarded more than $180 million in grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. For more information about Akron Community Foundation or to learn more about creating your own charitable fund, call 330-376-8522 or visit www.akroncf.org.

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