The Upper Cumberland Community Foundation recently awarded $15,600 to local organizations operating within the Upper Cumberland region of Bell, Clay, Knox, Laurel, and Whitley Counties.
$1,200 matching grants were presented to the Whitley County Health Department’s Community Gardening Program, The Whitley County Farmers Market - Kentucky Double Dollars Market Program, and the Emergency Christian Ministries Homeless Shelter.
Left to Right: Kathy Lay, Ben Prewitt, Beth Davis (UCCF Board Member), Andrew Modica, Susan Jett, Rich Prewitt (UCCF Board Member), Stacy Modica, and Erica Person
“The Whitley County Health Department’s community garden is actually located on the health department’s property,” said Sandi Curd, Promise Zone Coordinator at Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation. "The health department sought the wealth of knowledge that the UK Extension provides in agricultural knowledge, and now, all of the vegetables that are grown on the property will be distributed to clients, and local families will go home with a bag of fresh vegetables.”
Among others who were on the awardee list: Laurel County Agency for Substance Abuse Policy’s Family Matters Project; First Baptist Church Corbin’s White Flag Relief Ministry; KCEOC’s Elderly Food Insecurity Project and the Corbin Public Library’s Summer Reading 2022: Oceans of Possibilities.
The Upper Cumberland Community Foundation is an affiliate of an accredited foundation called the Foundation of Appalachian Kentucky. Both foundations have teamed up to raise and distribute over $26,000 in grants since its inception in 2018.
To donate or learn more about the Upper Cumberland Community Foundation, visit www.appalachianky.org or mail a contribution to Upper Cumberland Community Foundation, PO Box 1381 London KY, 40743.
Samantha Walden, Staff Writer at the Kentucky Daily