Woman’s club donates $60,000 to nonprofits

STEUBENVILLE -- 'Tis' the season for giving. And on Monday afternoon, members of the Steubenville Woman's Club were definitely in that Christmas spirit.

The club presented six area nonprofit organizations with a check for $10,000 each. The $60,000 donation was presented at the Steeplechase Lodge on Steuben Woods Drive.

This year's recipients were the Historic Fort Steuben, Ohio Valley Health Center, the Harmonium Project, Jefferson County Humane Society, Jefferson County Historical Museum and Sycamore Youth Center.

Marge Bedortha, correspondence secretary for the club, thanked each agency for the work they do throughout the year to help others in the community. The recipients of the gifts were to help improve the quality of life in Jefferson County, she commented.

The selected agencies "give so very much," Bedortha said. She added each organization survives entirely on receiving donations and could not function without volunteers assisting them in their efforts

"This afternoon is really a momentous occasion for Steubenville," Bedortha said. "And I think in some ways, it's a fulfillment of some of the aims and purposes of the original group that formed this club -- and that was in 1899." She noted next month will be the 125th anniversary of the Steubenville Woman's Club. "These women were so determined to make a difference in the community and this fits its fulfillment. I think that they would be very proud of us."

Mayor Jerry Barilla, president of Historic Fort Steuben, addressed the club's members, thanking each of them for their generous contribution to the fort.

"Sustaining the fort would be the largest problem I would have, is what I was told when I was handed the keys 25 years ago," Barilla said. His job was to maintain and ensure the fort would continue on for years to come. And it has, thanks to his director, Judy Bratten.

Barilla thanked Bratten for being his right hand, and for "being the catalyst that makes us move, because we couldn't do anything without Judy," he said.

Bratten and Barilla thanked the women, concluding by stating, "You have always been faithful to make sure that Steubenville thrives."

"Beacuse of all of you, we are able to save all of these lives, Brandi DeNoon-Damewood said of the animals at the Jefferson County Humane Society.

"So far this year, we have had over 1,200 adoptions, and are somewhere in the hundred-thousand pounds of dog food and cat food that we have handed out to people in the community. So it's quite a blessing to see our community come together to really embrace what is important."

Harmonium Project President Mark Barnes stated he is grateful for the contribution made to the organization which he helped to build over the past several years.

Being able to bring about events in downtown Steubenville so the city can prosper the way it did years ago, is the mission of the Harmonium Project.

Barnes said this is the largest donation his group has ever received and the money will go to good use to continue to help Steubenville thrive.

"We can do a lot with such a gift," Barnes said. "We began with the conviction Steubenville has a heart and the heart is not just any old place. It is downtown. A place where we can come together and recognize itself as belonging to one thing. One community. One people, together."

Ann Quillen, executive director for the Ohio Valley Health Center, stated, "We have more than 400 active patients and filled more than 3,000 prescriptions out of our small, in-house pharmacy, valued at nearly half a million dollars."

Every patient that is uninsured can get base-line lab work done, which is something they would not be able to receive, Quillen said. She expressed her gratefulness, commenting as to how thankful she is to the woman's club for understanding the health center's mission and purpose.

Bobbyjob Bauman, president of the Ohio Valley Youth Network and Sycamore Youth Center, stated this donation will go a long way toward helping with the many things the center does for area children.

"This will help with that physical and tangible need," Bauman said. He noted the center feeds youth five days a week and its after-school program assists more than 400 children.

Linda Hilty from the Jefferson County Historical Museum presented the club with materials she found at the museum, including records from the first club and its first 10 years. "We keep a lot of records and family histories along with older books at the museum," Hilty said. "No monies come from anyone. We make our money off of memberships like the fort. And people volunteer. I don't press people for money but people do give and we are grateful when they are able to. So when the club said they wanted to give us money we certainly can use it."