Grants help WNC nonprofits provide COVID-19 vaccines
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — There's new help and funding for local nonprofits giving COVID-19 vaccines. A partnership between Dogwood Health Trust and the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina is providing grants of up to $10,000 from its Sudden and Urgent Needs program.
The program is supporting vaccine efforts by nonprofits throughout the 18 counties of Western North Carolina, including the Qualla Boundary.
A grant funded a clinic and vaccine outreach at the recent GRINDfest Juneteenth celebration in Asheville.
Western Carolina Medical Society received a grant to fund Spanish language interpreters to staff mobile clinic events in Buncombe, Henderson and McDowell counties. The Hola Asheville festival offered free COVID-19 testing and vaccines through the collaborative efforts of Hola Carolina, Mountain Area Health Education Center and Vecinos, an effort reaching the Latinx community and supporting participating businesses.
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“These relatively small grants can help community-based organizations move quickly and use every available opportunity to get as many people vaccinated as possible,” CFWNC president Elizabeth Brazas said in a news release. “In partnership with DHT, we want to support nonprofits serving diverse communities and reaching rural areas so that we can continue to get past the pandemic.”
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“Although our communities are opening up, there is still an urgent need for more people to get vaccinated to stay ahead of the variants that are more contagious and can cause more severe illness,” Dr. Susan Mims, physician and interim CEO of Dogwood Health Trust, said in the news release. “Vaccines are safe and effective, and we are honored to support the work of trusted community organizations who are helping to ensure that more people are getting their shot to protect themselves and the people they care about.”
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Find more information here.