Recently, the ToRCH Community Leadership Board announced the awarding of 10 grants, totaling $240,000, to be given to local community organizations in Dent County. Each grant that was awarded was designed to address gaps in services within the community and tailored for the community.
Healthy Dent County’s Fitness Center, received $50,000 in ToRCH funds to purchase exercise machines for a new circuit-style workout program. Sherry Lea, executive director, shared in an email to The Salem News, “Healthy Dent County is so happy to receive the $50,000 in ToRCH funds to expand our exercise equipment at our Fitness Center. We will create a new “circuit” exercise program with 15 new pieces of equipment. This expansion would not have been possible without this grant.”
Scenic Rivers Industries, meanwhile, received $26,000 to hire a Community Support Coordinator. Member of the SRI Board, Dianne Godi, shared that several board members attended a meeting to discuss what SRI needed with ToRCH and found the grant process was less technical and more locally oriented, with organizers assisting SRI in determining exactly what they needed. The new position of Community Support Coordinator will help connect staff members to things they need—they’ll assess needs that may arise in workers’ lives, at home or work, and act as a bridge to much-needed resources.
Dent County Health Center received $40,000 to hire a dietician to support nutrition and wellness programs. When DCHC assessed exactly what they needed, it determined that an issue facing the county was obesity and diabetes. Something that makes that issue more challenging is the lack of registered dieticians seeing patients on an outpatient basis in Dent County. With a dietician, the issue of obesity and diabetes rates in the county may be further addressed.
Editor’s Note: The Salem News recently published the list of awardees in The Salem News, and over the next few weeks will detail the projects included in the ToRCH grant.
