The Charles R. Wood Foundation Announces Grants Awarded In 2011 – February 6, 2012

The Charles R. Wood Foundation is currently accepting grant applications from IRS approved 501(c)3 organizations whose projects or programs assist children, healthcare or the arts in the Lake George Region and surrounding areas. Eligible applicants are invited to visit the website www.charlesrwoodfoundation.org to submit an online application by April 1, 2012 for consideration at the Spring meeting of Trustees. The next subsequent deadline will be September 1, 2012 for consideration at the Fall meeting.

Over the past six years the Foundation has awarded nearly $8 million dollars, $7,747,686. “We are so pleased to be able to invest in such worthwhile projects. From the smallest soup kitchens to the larger capital projects, we are committed to investing in children, healthcare and the arts in our geographical focus area”, states Josie Beckos-Wood, Chairperson and Trustee.

Charles R. Wood established the Foundation that bears his name in 1978 to provide assistance in areas of special need in the Lake George Region and surrounding areas. Grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations with an emphasis on programs for children, healthcare and the arts. Mr. Wood, founder of Storytown USA, the present-day Great Escape Theme Park, the Double H Hole in the Woods Camp for critically ill children and numerous other endeavors and businesses in the area, died in September of 2004 leaving the majority of his estate to the Charles R. Wood Foundation.

The following grants to area nonprofit organizations totaling nearly $1.4 million were awarded in 2011: $250,000 to Crandall Library for their expansion project; $250,000 to Glens Falls Hospital for the Surgical Care Unit; $175,000 to the Double H Ranch for the Water System Distribution project; $81,500 to various Food Pantries in the area during the holiday season; $75,000 to The First Presbyterian Church in Glens Falls towards the Organ Rebuilding project; $75,000 to the SUNY Albany’s Saint Anne’s Institute for The HEARTS Initiative; $50,000 to Albany Medical Center Hospital for the purchase of intra-operative ultrasound equipment; $36,000 to the North Country Cultural Center for the Arts, in Plattsburgh, for the Strand Theater Orchestra Pit; $25,000 to the Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center in support of the NYC Ballet program; $25,000 to St. Lawrence University for the Branching Out with Books program; $21,708 in matching grants to area libraries participating in the Public Library Construction Grant Program of the New York State Public Library for technological upgrades; $20,000 to the Adirondack Community College Foundation in continued support of the construction of a Regional Higher Education Center; $20,000 to the Slate Valley Teen Center for space renovation; $20,000 to The Salvation Army-Glens Falls Corps for the Food Bank and Emergency Response Funding; $15,000 to NYSARC, Inc. - Warren Washington Counties Chapter for the Respite Center; $10,000 to the Bay-Ridge Volunteer Fire Company, Queensbury, for the purchase of an ATV and peripherals for off-road rescue efforts; $10,000 to the Christmas Project Inc., in Hudson Falls, for the purchase of winter clothing; $10,000 to Oak Hill School, Scotia, for roof replacement; $8,550 to the Open Door-NY food pantry in Glens Falls, for roof replacement; $6,000 to the Adirondack Samaritan Counseling Center for the Granville and Greenwich Sites; $6,000 to the Elizabethtown-Lewis Emergency Squad for the purchase of AED and CPR equipment; $5,000 to Community Maternity Services, Albany, for transportation costs for the Outreach program; $5,000 to NYSARC, Inc. - Saratoga County Chapter (Saratoga Bridges) for The McDonald Family Resource and Discovery Center; $5,000 to the Southern Adirondack Child Care Network, Glens Falls, for training programs; $5,000 to The Mentor Connector, Rutland, VT, for supplies and musical instruments; $4,800 to Caritas Inc., Glens Falls, for volunteer recruitment and training; $3,750 to the Oscar Seagle Association, Schroon Lake, for the Young Artist fund; $3,000 to Creative Healing Connections for scholarships for the Women’s Reintegration Retreat, location? ; $3,000 to the Joey DiPaolo Aids Foundation for the Saratoga Springs Camp TLC; $3,000 to Living Resources Corp., Albany, for computer equipment; $2,500 to the Historic Salem Courthouse Preservation Association for the children’s vacation camp; $2,500 to Schenectady Day Nursery for playground renovation; $2,450 to the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorder Association, Albany, for computer equipment for the educational program; $2,000 to the Children’s Committee of Warren County for the purchase of infant/child carseats; $2,000 to the Glens Falls Operetta Club for set building for The Diary of Anne Frank production; and $2,000 to the Substance Abuse Prevention Team of Essex County for the teen mural project at Whiteface Mountain. In addition, Foundation-owned artwork valued at $123,000 was gifted to several museums and $9,600 was granted in smaller denominations to benefit various other not-for-profit organizations.

Information about grant applications can be obtained online at www.charlesrwoodfoundation.org, by calling 800.839.1754, ex. 3718 or by writing to: The Charles R. Wood Foundation, c/o Foundation Source, 55 Walls Drive, Suite 302, Fairfield, CT 06824.