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‘Honor the Past — Serve the Present — Fund the Future’

Bergholz Community Foundation marking 25th anniversary

A PLACE OF BEAUTY — The building and maintaining of the Bergholz Foundation Community Park is but one example of projects the foundation has undertaken in its 25-year history. At the park are foundation representatives, from left, trustee Marianne Featheringham; President Amy Richards; and Christy Kemmer, secretary/co-treasurer. -- Janice Kiaski

BERGHOLZ — The Bergholz Community Foundation’s 25-year anniversary banquet not only is a time to applaud the help it has provided through awards of more than $1.5 million in grants, it’s also an invitation for fresh support of its mission.

“Honor the Past — Serve the Present — Fund the Future” is the theme of the celebration, which will be held Oct. 11 at The Countryside at 91 township Road 262, Bloomingdale. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with dinner following at 7 p.m.

The guest speaker will be NFL lineman Shawn Harper, who played for the Rams, Colts and NFL Europe. Harper travels internationally as a motivational speaker and owns a security business in Columbus.

Open to the public, the event will include a silent auction. Donations for it continue to be accepted. For information, contact Christy Kemmer at (740) 768-2217 after 5 p.m.

Tickets are available through Sept. 27 by calling Amy Richards, president, at (740) 768-2209 or by contacting the Bergholz Community Foundation at P.O. Box 201, Bergholz OH 43908.

“It is open to the public, and anyone who wants to support the foundation can attend,” Richards said. Anyone who would like to be there but didn’t get an invitation can RSVP by contacting her.

The foundation was the vision of the late Ralph McBane to make Bergholz and its surrounding communities a better place to live, according to Richards, his granddaughter.

Together with his son, Jim McBane, and fellow businessman and friend Bill DeNoon Sr., the foundation was formed with the original endowment of just under $100,000 consisting of several gifts of Sky Bank stock and a small amount of cash.

The intent was to fund projects in and around the Bergholz community that otherwise wouldn’t get monetary support, with the hope that the foundation could be the vehicle for ongoing improvements.

Officials identify the foundation’s mission as fostering community pride and enriching the lives of the residents of Bergholz and the surrounding area through leadership and financial assistance in the areas of safety, religion, education, culture and recreation.

The foundation manages permanent charitable funds and oversees different perpetual funds, including a scholarship fund, funds to benefit specific charitable organizations and unrestricted funds to support changing and emerging community needs. Aside from scholarships, it does not make awards to individuals and reviews applications submitted for assistance.

The foundation was incorporated on Aug. 31, 1993, obtaining 501(c)3 tax exempt status as a public charity. Its original board of trustees consisted of five volunteers from the community — Ralph W. McBane, president; William S. DeNoon, vice president; Larry Crow, secretary-treasurer; James C. McBane, trustee; and Margaret Blosser, trustee. In November 1994, the number of trustees was increased to nine.

Its leaders today, aside from Richards, are Terri McConnaughy, vice president/co-treasurer; Christy Kemmer, secretary/co-treasurer; and trustees Marianne Featheringham, Mike Dubetz, Ed Palmer, David McBane and Nikki Klein. All board members are volunteers.

“Over the past 25 years the foundation has granted more than $1,539,600,” Richards said of an amount that includes grants totaling $428,061 to the Bergholz Volunteer Fire Department and Bergholz EMS. The Bergholz VFD received $251,861 and the Bergholz EMS, $176,200.

“Included in these totals are matching fund grants used to help purchase necessary vehicles and equipment for both departments,” she noted. “These grants are in addition to our regular annual grants for ongoing needs and expenses.”

The foundation’s grand total also includes $294,275 in grants to the village of Bergholz and its civic clubs to improve the safety, appearance and recreation of the village.

“Some projects were: Added police protection; a generator purchased and installed at the fire department to facilitate an emergency shelter in the event of a power outage; the razing of several dilapidated properties; help in purchasing the Prime Time van and supporting Prime Time program lunch for seniors; providing use of the medical building for a doctor in town for the past 15 years, which in June, the Jefferson County Health Department moved into, providing a huge service to our area; planting trees and flowers and the hanging of seasonal banners along Main Street; welcome signs at all three entrances to Bergholz; the building and maintaining of a community memorial park with a picnic area; and support of village functions such as Fourth of July celebrations and Octoberfest,” Richards explained.

Local churches found support for improvements and youth programs to the tune of $65,392.

Students also have benefited from the foundation as it has awarded $363,280 in scholarships, presenting 247 individual scholarships to graduates of the Edison Local School District. It also established an endowed scholarship at Eastern Gateway Community College for a past Edison graduate.

Such is evidence that the foundation’s impact extends well beyond Bergholz, according to Featheringham, with $149,045, for example, given to programs in the Edison Local School District.

Two that were fully funded by the foundation include the John Gregg Elementary “Coats for Kids” and the Positive Behavior and Intervention Support incentive program there also.

Other programs and projects supported in the Edison district are Close-Up; baseball and softball teams; John Gregg computer program; John Gregg Special Needs; Springfield Middle School Special Needs; Edison High School Special Needs; the purchase of defibrillators; JVS “Grads” program; and JVS Special Needs. Another project is Paws Pantry, a closet stocked with personal and basic hygiene items as well as different articles of clothing. The closet is open to students, in confidence, no questions asked, who otherwise don’t have access to such items.

Officials said $140,800 went to support local food pantries and the Christian Emergency Fund, which provides assistance to those having trouble paying a bill.

Other projects funded through the years were the United Way of Jefferson County, Valley Hospice, the American Red Cross, Carroll County Visiting Nurses, Tony Teramana Cancer Center, Big Brothers-Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, Hounds’ Haven Inc., AIM Pregnancy Center, WEBA Food Pantry, East Springfield Women’s Club, Amsterdam Lending Library, Amsterdam, East Springfield and Richmond Volunteer Fire Department and EMS, Richmond Lions Club, Masonic Learning Center, Charity Hospice and Yellowcreek Watershed, Mooretown Restoration Project and the Veterans Memorial Fund in Amsterdam.

Recently, the foundation and the Bergholz EMS worked together to help facilitate the opening of the Jefferson County Health Department’s newest location, at 387 Third St.

“This service is available to anyone in the area, including Carroll County residents,” Richards said.

Featheringham said she became involved in the foundation when asked by Richard’s grandfather.

“It’s a way to give back to the community, to be interested in the community and do things for it, and I think Ralph (McBane) wisely recognized that you can’t depend on government to fund everything, that if it ever happened, it was going away,” Featheringham said.

Richards said her involvement is partly motivated by wanting to carry on her grandfather’s legacy, “but I feel like when you’re in a community, you need to do what you can to make it the best possible place to live and serve people who may not have things otherwise.”

Anyone can be a member of the foundation.

“You can do so with a one-time contribution of $1,000 or a commitment of $100 per year for the next 10 years,” Richards noted. The foundation accepts contributions of any amount, gifts of stock and beneficiary designations in a will or trust. Donations may be sent to the foundation at its mailing address.

“The foundation is wanting to trend younger, to encourage younger people to become part of it, and actually that came from Amy’s grandfather,” Featheringham said, recalling how he advocated the board should reflect different age ranges, bringing awareness of a broader range of needs.

“The whole purpose of the celebration is to make people aware of the foundation, but we want people to donate, to help us carry forward the projects and also to get people involved,” Featheringham said. “It’s as much about getting people involved as it is increasing funding.”

“When the foundation was started it, it was with the hope that it would be here forever,” Richards said. “We want to make people aware of the good works the foundation has done in the past. I know a lot of people see the results of projects funded, but I don’t think they realize the full impact that the foundation has had on our community. In the future, we need to do a better job of getting the word out,” she said.

“We are always looking for new projects that will serve the people of Bergholz and the surrounding areas, and we will continue to work hard to identify projects that are needed, especially ones that have limited or no funding,” Richards continued.

“Part of the reason we decided to have the 25th celebration is to raise money and add new members,” she noted. “This is necessary so that our children and grandchildren can enjoy the same benefits from the foundation that our generation has. Being a member makes you a part of what the foundation is doing in and around our community, and that’s important,” Richards said.

Goals are “to continue to fund as we have in the past; spread the word about the good works the foundation has done; look for new projects that will serve and improve our community; and gain new members to ensure the perpetuation of the foundation.”

Richards said the foundation is fortunate and blessed to be able to serve so many organizations through leadership and financial assistance.

“Twenty-five years ago, who could have imagined that the Bergholz Community Foundation would be where it is today,” she said. “It is through the generosity of our community, past and present, that makes all this possible. It is the desire of the Bergholz Community Foundation to be able to continue to serve in this capacity and in an even greater capacity for years to come.”

(Kiaski can be contacted at jkiaski@heraldstaronline.com.)

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