BELLAIRE — Two Belmont County organizations recently received Community Impact Grants from the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley.

The Bellaire Volunteer Fire Department received a $3,300 grant to support its Junior Cadet program. The money will allow the department to send youngsters to a training academy.

And Martins Ferry High School was awarded $5,000 for its College Road Trip program, which exposes students to the college preparation and search process.

“CFOV is committed to addressing the ongoing effects related to the substance use epidemic, the mentorship and development of youth and supporting economic/workforce potential. Support from the Community Impact Fund is allowing critical work and learning to happen,” said Susie Nelson, executive director of CFOV. “The donors who made these funds possible felt strongly about leaving a legacy through philanthropy, and we remain grateful for their generosity and foresight.”

Raymond Penyak, firefighter with the Bellaire VFD, said thanks to the grant, three youth between 14 and 18 years old will be sent to a week-long firefighter camp at Hocking College this summer.

“If anyone is interested in joining the cadet program and seeing what the fire service is about, go to the web page https://bellaireohiovfd.org/our-cadet-program/ or stop down the fire department,” he said.

Martins Ferry City Schools Superintendent Jim Fogle said the district was excited to receive the grant funding.

“The College Road Trip functions as a comprehensive approach targeting parents and students so that they feel supported in making wise, informed college decisions. The funding from the CFOV adds a valuable community support component.

“We hold parent meetings to educate parents about FAFSA, ACT, and scholarship opportunities. We focus on ACT preparation and on-campus visits so that students have an opportunity to experience what college life looks like and what they need to do to get there.

“The project helps students explore multiple college campuses, a task that might be difficult for parents with their busy schedules,” he said.

Once a student attends an information meeting, they can choose to attend one or more campus visits.

“On campus, the students meet with admissions representations, tour the campus, visit a dorm room, and eat lunch in the cafeteria. Each trip is designed to introduce students to at least one campus demographic. We have visited large, traditional campuses such as The Ohio State University and smaller, private campuses such as Muskingum University,” Fogle said.

“We do not limit our visits to four-year colleges. We have visited two-year colleges/trade schools such as Hocking University as well as specialty institutions such as Scott College of Cosmetology. We also visit the local universities.

“These visits help students to explore a variety of colleges so that they can narrow down their options and schedule individual visits to the school that really interests them with their parents. This year, we will be including some additional focused ACT preparation delivered by our high school teachers.”

Along with Martins Ferry and Bellaire, eight other organizations received grant money. The total granted to all 10 organizations was $62,200. The grants are meant to recognize and reward groups that are doing important work in the community. The Community Impact Fund is comprised of several unrestricted funds of the Community Foundation and others with a designated field of interest, Nelson said.

Grants also were awarded to the following organizations:

∫ CASA for Children, $5,000 — Incentives for participants to successfully complete family treatment court and support toward a peer support coordinator;

∫ Dream Big Music Education, $2,400 — Program support to provide instruction to students ages 7-18 in Hancock, Brooke and Ohio counties;

∫ National Church Residences, $10,000 — Transportation for addiction recovery treatment and related court obligations for people with substance use disorder;

∫ Ohio Valley Recovery Inc. The Unity Center, $10,000 — Support for operating expenses to continue providing recovery support;

∫ Urban Mission Ministries Inc., $10,000 — Urban Mission Works program to assist those seeking services towards self-sufficiency;

∫ Wellsburg Urban Redevelopment Authority, $5,000 — Structural analysis of three properties in Wellsburg business district;

∫ Wheeling Health Right Inc., $6,000 — Funding to help support peer recovery coach position for recovery services; and

∫ Young Women’s Christian Association of Wheeling, $5,500 — Support for training and curriculum of Nurturing Parenting Program to provide classes to families in recovery.