Stories That Make Us
Read real stories of how nonprofits, community residents, donors and fund holders are each making an impact on the local community through their work in the Mahoning Valley.
Health Foundations Leverage Collaboration to Build Change in the Valley
When two long-established health foundations joined forces with the Community Foundation, it marked the beginning of a new era of collaboration, expanding our ability to improve health outcomes and meet the evolving needs of local residents. The two health foundations – Western Reserve Health Foundation serving Mahoning County and Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation doing the…
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Aiden Cole
Among CFMV’s 2024 scholarship recipients is Jackson-Milton High School valedictorian Aiden Cole, who is enrolled in Dartmouth College’s Philosophy, Politics and Economics program. He received the Purple Heart Gary Gutelius Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded to veterans who have received the Purple Heart or their descendants; Cole’s great-grandfather received the honor. We recently posed a…
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Abigail Stephens
Several scholarship funds at the Community Foundation make renewal scholarships, meaning students can potentially receive additional support beyond their first year’s award. Abigail Stephens, studying environmental and conservation biology at Kent State University, was among the recipients of the Veronica Willo Scholarship, which made renewal awards totaling $4,500 in 2024. We recently asked Abigail a…
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Healthy Community Partnership Highlights Expansion, Momentum in Annual Report
MAHONING VALLEY, Ohio – The Healthy Community Partnership, a strategic initiative of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, has released its 2022-2023 Years in Review report (click HERE to read), highlighting the work of community partners toward creating lasting change to health in the Valley. Now in its eighth year, the Healthy Community Partnership…
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Giving Tuesday And Beyond Campaign Raises $235K for CFMV Agency Funds
MAHONING VALLEY, Ohio — More than 1,000 people donated over the final month of 2023 as part of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley’s Giving Tuesday And Beyond campaign, helping raise more than $235,000 for local nonprofits. Over the campaign, which ran from Nov. 27 to Dec. 31, all donations to agency funds housed…
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‘Building A Better Table’ Unites Community Partners to Boost Civic Engagement
The key to any thriving community is having residents that are engaged at all levels and work hard to make where they live the best it can be. But what if people don’t know where to even start doing that work? A local coalition is working to build that knowledge base and foster a new…
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New Agency Fund Helps Autism Society Prepare for the Future
Even beyond her work as the director of the Autism Society of the Mahoning Valley, Robin Suzelis is familiar with the challenges of raising children with autism. That familiarity helps drive her work at the nonprofit to make sure it’s always doing everything it can to provide whatever support is needed. “There are so many…
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Dutton’s Work with Swanston Fund Left a Brighter Future for Valley Kids
When he passed away in 1919, Canfield farmer William Swanston could never have known that his name would still be associated with projects serving the Mahoning Valley’s kids more than a century later. But through the William Swanston Charitable Fund – and especially long-time board member Paul Dutton, who passed away in May – efforts…
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Agency Fund at CFMV Gives Goodwill Peace of Mind
With roots stretching back some 130 years, Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries has a long history of serving some of the most vulnerable people and getting them connected to the services they need to thrive. Beyond the retail stores – now numbering 10 across Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana Counties, as well as in Mercer and Lawrence…
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Martha Ellers Endowment Fund Helps Trumbull County Historical Society Create Paid Internship
Author: Josh Medore | Photos courtesy of Ellers Family and the Trumbull County Historical Society WARREN, Ohio — Lifelong Warren resident Martha Ellers had an abiding interest in history. Preserving it, researching it, celebrating it, and understanding it. It is with this in mind that a new endowment fund has been created in her name…
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