News

Contact: Tammy Allison

Logan County – The Mary Rutan Foundation Board of Directors allocates funds annually to award community grants for an established focus area. Identified as the highest priority of need for Logan County, through the 2018 Needs Assessment, mental health was the focus of this year’s grants.

Over the past five years, the number of adults attempting suicide has nearly doubled from 129 to 243. Signs of Suicide screenings of local 8^th, 10^th, and 12^th graders show 21% of these combined students having attempted suicide one or more times.

“Mental health issues do not discriminate. In the right circumstances, anyone can face challenges which impact their mental well-being. For some, it’s too much and can quickly escalate to a crisis,” said Tammy Allison, COO of the Mary Rutan Foundation. “It’s statistics like these that drive the Foundation to offer this community grant program.”

Allison goes on to say, “It takes a village to raise a child. The same can be said for battling the growing mental health instability our community is faced with. Only through combined community efforts can we begin to address the need. It’s encouraging to see so many entities coming up with their own way to help make Logan County the best place it can be.”

This year, 19 grant applications were received totaling $156,225.00. A total of $50,859.01 was awarded to 12 local organizations, schools, and churches to address this alarming need in our community.

The following are those awarded:

• Bellefontaine Elementary School Nurture By Nature $ 3,024.00
• Bellefontaine High School Chieftain Pride Lab $ 5,000.00
• Bellefontaine Intermediate School Take a Break $ 1,024.52
• Benjamin Logan Schools Growing Gardens, Growing Minds $ 3,000.00
• CASA of Logan County CASA Volunteer Program $ 5,000.00
  • Court Appointed Special Advocate
• GRACE Riverside Pirate Power Pack $ 3,000.00
  • Greater Riverside Area Community Encouragers
• Indian Lake Schools Driving Your Ship $ 5,000.00
• Indian Lake Schools Therapy/Facility Dog Program $ 2,500.00
• Logan County Homeless Board Homeless Shelter Liaison / Case Mgr. $10,000.00
• Logan County Sheriff’s Office Inmate GED Program $ 1,310.49
• Ohio Hi-Point Career Center Hope Squad – Peer to peer suicide prevention program $ 7,000.00

• Riverside Local Schools O.A.T. Program $ 5,000.00

This amount brings the total awards to $380,100.00 since the inception of the Mary Rutan Foundation Community Grant Program, in 2013.

For more information on the Community Grant Program or to contribute, visit www.maryrutan.org/foundation or contact Tammy Allison at 937.599.7003 or email tammy.allison@maryrutan.org

(Pictured are representatives from the awarded organizations during the recent ceremony.)