The Obici Healthcare Foundation recently announced the awarding of $1.7 million in grants to 24 nonprofit organizations seeking to improve the health of Western Tidewater residents.

“The Foundation Board of Directors and staff are excited by the quality of the programs being offered by this group of grantees committed to providing care in the Foundation’s service area,” George Y. Birdsong, Foundation chairman, said in a press release.

Award amounts among new and renewed grantees range from $16,490 to $200,000.

“Grants made by the Foundation continue Amedeo Obici’s legacy of improving the health status of people living in the service area,” Gina Pitrone, Foundation executive director, said in a press release. “Mr. Obici, the founder of Planter’s Peanuts, was successful in business and passionate about helping the people in Western Tidewater and Gates County, N.C.”

The private foundation was created in 2006 with assets established through the generosity of Obici and funds from the merger of Louise Obici Memorial Hospital and Sentara Healthcare. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded over $29 million in grant funding.

The Foundation also announced that more than $2 million in grants will be awarded during the next grant period. Concept papers for that round are due May 1 by 5 p.m.

Below is a listing of the grantees, the amount of money each received and the program each plans to implement or continue with the grant.

• Access Partnership — $46,144 to expand access to dental programs and services in Western Tidewater.
• Cover 3 Foundation — $25,000 to plan to develop sustainable community farms while creating a hands-on learning environment for youth and families through farming and encouraging healthy eating.
• Eastern Virginia Medical School — $56,161 to increase the number of medical encounters at the Western Tidewater Free Clinic by scheduling family medicine residents, third-year medical students and an attending physician.
• Girls on the Run South Hampton Roads — $24,960 to expand the Girls on the Run program in Western Tidewater.
• Isle of Wight Christian Outreach Program — $25,000 to coordinate donations and to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables for the program’s food delivery service.
• Isle of Wight Department of Social Services — $65,796 for an outreach program to increase the number of children and families enrolled in Medicaid and FAMIS in Isle of Wight County.
• Paul D. Camp Community College Foundation — $15,000 to assess the need for developing training programs that will result in more Certified Diabetes Educators serving Western Tidewater.
• Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia — $100,000 for training volunteers in an expansion of the MedCare Access program.
• Sentara Obici Hospital — $68,641 for a hospital-based risk screening during pregnancy or at birth that connects new parents with appropriate community resources.
• Sentara Obici Hospital — $25,000 (CPCG) to fund CarePartners for CareGivers, the Sentara Obici Hospital respite care program.
• Southampton County Public Schools — $50,000 to encourage increased activity by building an athletic track for Southampton Middle and High School students and Southampton County residents.
• Southeastern Virginia Health System — $200,000 to provide access to oral health care services for the residents of Suffolk.
• Suffolk Partnership for a Healthy Community — $159,850 for continued coordination and collaboration efforts to reduce obesity through the Healthy People Healthy Suffolk imitative.
• Suffolk Public Schools — $120,000 to implement a comprehensive healthy lifestyles plan that focuses on obesity prevention among students.
• Suffolk Salvation Army Corps — $25,000 to fund low impact exercise equipment designed for use by senior adults in the Obici Healthcare Foundation Pavilion of The Salvation Army’s new Robert W. Harrell Jr. Physical Health and Education Center.
• The Children’s Center — $16,490 to support the Family-to-Family Series of the National Alliance on Mental Health Education that educates both the families and the providers about mental illness and support services for parents, employees and community members.
• The Healing Place of Hampton Roads — $25,000 to develop a plan that addresses the need for residential substance abuse recovery for homeless individuals in Hampton Roads who have substance use disorders.
• The Planning Council — $42,580 to prevent and address obesity among children within private childcare settings and before/after school programs across Western Tidewater.
• The Rensselaerville Institute — $50,000 to fund the measurement of all Healthy People Healthy Suffolk affiliated projects for the purpose of reporting on the initiative’s impact on the community.
• The Up Center — $117,768 to increase the number of low-income individuals and families who can receive counseling sessions.
• Town of Windsor — $50,000 to renovate the Windsor Middle School gymnasium for use as a community recreation center.
• Virginia Business Coalition on Health (Hampton Roads Coalition) — $25,000 to develop a plan that will help prediabetic employees in Suffolk prevent type 2 diabetes by making modest lifestyle changes.
• Voices for Kids CASA Program — $21,468 to provide access to medical and mental health services for every child served.
• Western Tidewater Community Services Board — $75,000 for expanded outpatient pediatric counseling and psychiatry in Western Tidewater.
• Western Tidewater Community Services Board — $145,648 for on-site short term counseling, benefits assistance and connection to community resource for individuals in area shelters.
• Western Tidewater Community Services Board — $36,095 to support a telemedicine link to crisis services for children, adolescents and adults to local law enforcement agencies and hospitals.
• Western Tidewater Health District — $110,737 to implement Nurse Family Partnership to improve prenatal health, child health and development through age 2 in Suffolk, Franklin and Isle of Wight County.