Clinic receives grant

Published 10:09 pm Friday, March 1, 2013

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has granted $200,000 to the Western Tidewater Free Clinic as part of its giving program, enabling the clinic to provide more services and adapt to the changing face of health care.

Several other area organizations also received grants, including the Salvation Army, Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia and ForKids.

“We’re committed to supporting nonprofits that are making a difference in our community and look to make investments that are responding to the greatest needs of the people that live here,” Charlie Henderson, Hampton Roads market president for Bank of America, said in a press release. “These grants will assist nonprofits addressing Hampton Roads’ immediate needs, while also supporting integrated services that will help people get back on their feet.”

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The grant to the clinic is unrestricted, meaning it can be used for any need. The grant includes leadership training for Executive Director Miriam Beiler as well as an “emerging leader.”

This year, the foundation is awarding nearly $22 million in grants to more than 1,000 nonprofits across the country.

“This funding is part of the company’s intensified philanthropic focus on three core issues vital to the economic health of communities: housing, jobs and hunger, and represents an important component of Bank of America’s lending, investing and giving activities to help advance local economies,” according to a press release.

Other area organizations receiving grants include the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia, which will use the funds to run the Kids Café to serve a nutritionally balanced dinner to club members after school, including at its Suffolk club at John F. Kennedy Middle School; the Salvation Army, which will use the money to provide critical needs for families in Suffolk, Franklin, Smithfield, Southampton, Isle of Wight and Surry; ForKids Inc., which runs transitional and permanent supportive housing programs in Suffolk; and Bon Secours DePaul Health Foundation, which runs the Care-A-Van program, offering free health care to the uninsured in neighborhoods across the region, including in Suffolk.