St. Mary Health Center, YMCA, YWCA receive grants from New Hanover Endowment
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — This week, the New Hanover County Community Endowment announced $6.1 million dollars in grant funding for several nonprofits.
On Friday, WWAY caught up with two of the recipients to see how the grants will allow them to expand their services.
St. Mary Health Center received a $695,000 grant to purchase a new permanent home for the clinic on 16th street in Wilmington.
The clinic is the only facility within a five-county radius that provides free emergency dental surgery for those in need.
Last month, the health center was forced to leave its original location at the Basilica of St. Mary after 20 years of service following a nearly year-long dispute with the church’s leadership.
Executive Director Laura Vinson is excited about the grant and emphasized the health center’s value in the community.
“Now that we have our forever home, nobody will ever come here and lock us out of this building because it belongs to the clinic, it will belong to the community, to the people we serve. That to us is just incredible.” Vinson said. “This is truly a Christmas miracle. That’s all I can say. It’s overwhelming.”
Vinson says the health clinic plans to finalize the purchase in February, with renovations to the building starting on day one to make it suitable for dentistry.
Vinson adds she will consider changing the name of the health clinic once it’s moved in.
The largest grant from the endowment—totaling $1.9 million—will be split between three organizations for a program known as “Schools in Pools.”
“It’s a partnership with the YMCA, the YWCA, NSEA Swim Foundation and New Hanover County Schools,” YMCA of Southeastern NC President and CEO Dick Jones said.
The program provides second graders in New Hanover county with free swim lessons.
“As you may expect, it is a generational thing. If you have learned how to swim it’s probably because your parents learned how to swim. Not every parent in this community or family member in the community knows how to swim so introducing children at a young age to water safety and learning how to swim is so important.”
President and CEO of YWCA Lower Cape Fear Velva Jenkins sent WWAY a statement on the grant that reads:
“At YWCA, we believe that access to water safety education and swimming skills is a fundamental right for all children, regardless of their background. Our mission is rooted in the principles of equity and empowerment, and we are proud to align our commitment with the Schools In Pools initiative.
Through this collaborative effort with YMCA and NSEA Swim, we aim to create an inclusive environment where 2nd graders can learn essential water safety skills in a supportive and nurturing setting. We recognize that disparities in access to swimming education can lead to preventable tragedies, and we are dedicated to breaking down these barriers.”
