Guthrie awards area organizations promoting health and wellbeing

SAYRE, Pa. ( WETM ) — Dozens of people from eight area organizations and other Guthrie providers were awarded on Tuesday and presented with funding at the first Community Benefit Brunch.

The brunch was an extension of the Donald Guthrie Foundation which has provided grant funding to agencies in the community that focus on helping others and the overall wellness of the region.

Following the meal, announcements were held, and representatives from each group went in front of everyone to accept a plaque as one of eight grant recipients.

Funding for the grant expanded in 2024 and allowed Guthrie to increase the grant recipients.

According to Guthrie’s website , the following groups received funding from the grant:

• Twin Tiers Baby Bank: $10,000 to provide diapers and wipes for babies and toddlers in Steuben and Chemung counties.
• Racker: $9,000 for training for six program therapists who work at TST BOCES and OCM BOCES in EMDR.
• The Children’s House Child Advocacy Center: $10,000 for updates to the therapy wing, where a variety of services are provided to help child victims and their protective caregivers.
• Family & Children’s Service of Ithaca: $5,000 for the clinical internship program, which provides mental health interns with high-quality education, hands-on learning, and support.
• The Potter’s Hand Foundation Inc.: $5,000 for the mental health coaching program, which provides mental health interns with high-quality education, hands-on learning, and support.
• Cornell Cooperative Extension of Steuben County: $6,000 for the Veggie Van.
• Southern Finger Lakes Pride: $2,500 for the Bloom program.
• This is My Quest: $2,500 for the NatureWise program.

This is the largest list of grant recipients that Guthrie has been able to have since the start of the grant in 2015.

Guthrie’s CEO/President Ed Sabanegh wants to help and provide for the community and meet the needs of the people and said that supporting agencies like the ones mentioned above can help the community’s needs.

“We feel that the community has a lot of needs and we want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can in a variety of different directions to help those needs,” Sabanegh said, “We have been very privileged to be able to work with this group and we’ll continue to grow the program,” he said.

To be eligible for grant funding, groups have to go through an application process, with Sabanegh saying a Guthrie team looks at the causes and the ability to deliver on the promise of making a difference in the community.

A recipient from Tuesday’s ceremony, Deb Kuehner, executive director and founder of the Potter’s Hand Foundation, talked about how much every bit of funding helps when it comes to giving aid and support to victims of domestic violence.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to be selected by Guthrie to receive this grant,” Kuehner said, “We are always looking for funding opportunities in the community, we have about a $550,000 annual budget because we are a 24/7 residential facility and so anything that we can do to bring in the funds to support the women we serve is a blessing,” Kuehner said.

If groups are looking to apply for the grant, methods can be made anytime as the grant has a rolling application system. Dr. Sabanegh said groups looking to apply for next year’s grant can contact his office and they’ll have the groups get connected with the right.

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