Fund for Haywood County has released $28,335 in recent grants to local nonprofit organizations supporting important community initiatives. The grants include:

• Habitat for Humanity — $25,000 to support start-up costs for a ReStore to sell usable donated building materials and home furnishings to support the building of additional homes for low-income Haywood County residents.  After two years, the ReStore is projected to support building of at least one additional home and to provide affordable building materials and furnishings to improve another 1,000 homes.

• Good Samaritan Clinic of Haywood County — $1,335 to purchase e-prescribing software for medical records at the two medical clinics serving Haywood County, greatly improving patient safety and the quality of overall care for uninsured and Medicaid patients who receive primary care at the clinics.

• ARC of Haywood County — $2,000 toward a match for the University Participation Program at WCU for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  This pilot program provides up to two years of on-campus living and learning experience for students as they transition from secondary school to adult life.

The Fund for Haywood County, an affiliate of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, was established in 1994 by a group of local residents as a permanent endowment and resource for charitable efforts that benefit Haywood County. The local volunteer board of directors works to raise awareness of The Fund for Haywood County and to build assets for the future. These board members are: Louise W. Baker and Peggy C. Melville, Co-Chairs; William C. Allsbrook Jr., S. Brandon Anderson, Kimberly Dionne Ghaussy, George Ivey, Rolf Kaufman, John W. Keith, Bruce A. Kingshill, Ron Leatherwood, William Owen, Jeremy Phillips, Phyllis Prevost, Asa “Buck” Williams and Kenneth F. Wilson.

Area nonprofit organizations and public institutions may apply to The Fund for Haywood County for support through The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. The next opportunity to apply is the upcoming Opportunity Grant cycle with a Feb. 1 deadline.  Application instructions are available at www.cfwnc.org.  Funding decisions will be announced in May.

For more information about The Fund for Haywood County, contact Co-Chairs Louise Baker at 828.452.2227 or Peggy Melville at 828.734.6791. To make a tax-deductible donation to The Fund for Haywood County, donate on-line at www.cfwnc.org or by mail to The Fund for Haywood County, P.O. Box 627, Waynesville, N.C., 28786. Contributions of any size are welcome, are tax-deductible, and make a real difference.