Two local agencies receive $500 grants

Two local agencies received some much needed financial support from the Home Depot Foundation this week.

Both WestCare and No To Abuse were bestowed with checks for $500.

For many years, the two agencies have provided health and human services for individuals and within the community.

Home Depot Assistant Manager Teresa Aukeman said the retailer came up with the grant monies through a segment of its foundation, known as Operation Surprise.

“It’s a spin-off of the Home Depot Foundation,” she said. “Because of the times we are living in right now, we are here to assist the community. We have chosen WestCare as one of our community partners and provided a $500 donation for Operation Surprise.”

As many businesses and agencies are scrambling to maintain their respective operations, Aukeman said the grants were applied for roughly six weeks ago.

“We wanted to make sure we got it in for Christmas time,” she said. “We chose WestCare and No To Abuse because of what they do for our community. They have been around a long time and they are established in the community. We know about the work they do, and we follow and track their assistance. No To Abuse and WestCare are two of the leading ones that we have not had an opportunity to help take care of, so this is our turn.”

WestCare Program Manager Laurie Parker said she was overjoyed when she learned of the additional funding.

“This is really going to help us out,” she said. “The people who come in here are often out of a place to live and out of clothing and food. We also assist people who have substance abuse issues, and mental health issues,” she added.

“This came at a perfect time. We also recently received a donation of a lot of toys for the kids of the participants in our programs. We will use the money to fix up the interior of our office, but most of it will go to assisting our clients.”

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes