$20,000 CHALLENGE GRANT ISSUED BY LOCAL HOME BUILDER TO EASTERN PANHANDLE COMMUNITY

For the third year in a row, Dan Ryan Builders is asking the Eastern Panhandle community to join them in fighting homelessness in the Eastern Panhandle.

The local community is asked to meet the 2007-2008 Dan Ryan Builders’ Challenge Gift by donating directly to Eastern Panhandle nonprofit groups that are doing their part to end homelessness in Jefferson, Berkeley and Morgan County.

Then, Dan Ryan Builders will match each donation, up to $20,000, by adding to the Housing Action endowment fund entrusted to the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation. This endowment works each year to end the battle against homelessness and affordable housing by providing annual grants to charities that address the problem in the Eastern Panhandle.

Martinsburg Division President, Ken Gardner, states, "We are very pleased we could continue to help this worthy cause for the third year in a row. Our goal is to challenge others to help with the problem of homelessness in the Eastern Panhandle."

At any given time in the tri-county area, there are as many 200 individuals without a warm place to come home. The majority are men between the ages of 25 and 55 years old and a significant number of homeless people in our area are veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. Nationally, homeless families, typically consisting of a single mother and two children under the age of six, comprise nearly 40% of the homelessness epidemic.

Any individual, family, organization, or church group can make a contribution to a local charity fighting homelessness, such as CCAP – Loaves and Fishes, Habitat for Humanity of the Eastern Panhandle, Jefferson County Community Ministries, Martinsburg Rescue Mission, Morgan County Starting Points, Shalom Center, Salvation Army, Men of Vision and Valor, the Shenandoah Women’s Center, Community Networks Inc. – Bethany House, or St. Vincent De Paul Society of Berkeley or Morgan County, and other groups addressing the problem. After making a donation, the donor simply contacts the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation, notifying them of their donation.

The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation, founded in 1995, provides financial stewardship for $6.7 million in endowment. Donors craft the vision to determine how their fund serves the community. Community foundations number more than 700 across America and 26 in West Virginia. If you’re interested in learning more about how you can give a gift that lasts lifetimes, contact the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation at (304) 264-0353.