Stories: Grantee Stories

Let's Grow Akron is a true grassroots organization in every context. For 35 years, the nonprofit has helped improve neighborhoods and alleviate hunger by working alongside residents to create healthy food systems using community gardening and education. Not...

Victim Assistance Program director expresses gratitude to David R. and Cheryl L. Venarge Fund David and Cheryl Venarge established a donor-advised fund at Akron Community Foundation in 1999 to allow their entire family to give back to the community they love....

Freedom House for Women has served the Summit County community for 16 years, offering substance use treatment and supportive services to help decrease the barriers of addiction and homelessness. Founded by Eva Hartwell in 2004, Freedom House for Women fights...

The Law and Leadership Institute (LLI) works with bright and talented high school students to close the educational opportunity gap. The nonprofit prepares and educates young people who hope to get a career in the legal profession by creating a supportive...

Ending of emergency benefits, inflation place squeeze on healthy food access On a sunny April afternoon, dozens of cars line up in single file at Summit Lake Community Center in South Akron. Volunteers adorned in orange fill the trunks of the vehicles with...

By Olivia Eastly, Marketing & Communications Coordinator Small nonprofits find new opportunities for growth amid the pandemic Over the past few years, everyone has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but younger, more grassroots organizations were...

Rachel Socorro doesn't call herself a survivor of human trafficking, but a "SurThriver." In the five years since she gained her freedom from a captive marriage, Socorro herself has not only thrived, but has guided other survivors on their journey to healing...

By Chris Miller, Communications & Community Investment Officer This September, Akron Public Schools (APS) will welcome educators and administrators from all over the country to learn more about an innovative model it launched here in 2017: the College...

Local nonprofits help resettled residents through partnerships, philanthropy When the United States pulled out of a 20-year occupation of Afghanistan this summer, it triggered a humanitarian crisis that displaced more than 550,000 Afghans, nearly 1,000 of...

How the nonprofit landscape has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic As the COVID-19 pandemic swept through Akron, followed quickly by a state-issued shutdown, Portage Path Behavioral Health had to completely modify its operations overnight to ensure its...