Concho Valley Areas Awarded Grants to Fund Causes

SAN ANGELO, TX – Every four months of the year, the San Angelo Health Foundation provides grants for those who qualify under their circumstances.

Sonora Emergency Relief Fund was awarded $50,000 to help those affected by the September Dry Devils River flooding. Over 200 homes experienced flooding which displaced hundreds of families in the city. Relief efforts are being coordinated through the Sonora Ministerial Alliance and the San Angelo Area Foundation which continues to accept donations to provide emergency assistance.

Angelo State University was awarded $24,985 to purchase treatment tables for the Athletic Department. The Athletic Training Department provides sports medicine treatment for 450 student athletes.

Texas Southwest Council of Boy Scouts was awarded $60,000 to renovate Camp Sol Mayer’s First Aid Lodge. The Council serves over 1,000 youth in a 23.5 county territory covering the Concho Valley.

Cook Children’s Health Foundation was awarded $38,753 to purchase medical equipment for the San Angelo Specialty Clinic. The Clinic provides multiple pediatric specialty services to San Angelo including Cardiology, Endocrinology, Hematology/Oncology and Neurology. Last year, the San Angelo Clinic served 1,065 patients.

Menard County Hospital District was awarded $225,000 for renovations to Menard Manor. Menard Manor is a skilled nursing and rehab center in Menard. The Manor provides services to the elderly, disabled and physical therapy patients as well as independent living accommodations.

This quarter’s grantee spotlight is Galilee Community Homes. Their focus is new home construction to minor repairs for homes of the elderly and affordable housing for low to moderate-income first-time homebuyers. This year GCH celebrated the completion of their 50^th affordable home.

Stephanie Hamby, Director of Client Services wrote that Galilee “partners with the city to build six homes in the designated targeted revitalization neighborhoods each year, helping families to establish roots and build community.”

A low-income rental home community, NoAH Estates, has 36 homes which are part of a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit that Galilee was awarded in 2012. They opened the community in 2013 and have been fully occupied since then.

For disabled homeowners, there is a program that allows GCH to hire contractors to remodel a home to make it more accessible. They work on five to seven projects per year.

Helping Hands is a program for homeowners over 60 that need repair work done on their homes. The program is funded through the United Way and “we have been fortunate to be awarded matching funds to address critical repairs on the homes before our volunteers work on the home,” Hamby wrote. They make repairs to approximately 40 homes a year.

Galilee Community Homes’ newest program is the Jeremiah Plan transitional housing. They are finishing up construction on three homes that will house families for 12-18 months who are on the verge of becoming homeless to give them an opportunity to get back on their feet and move into a stable housing environment. This program provides housing at a reduced rate and will have a financial coach to work with each family to help them meet their housing goals.