AHOSKIE – It’s all about helping the community.

The Bertie-Hertford Community Foundation recently presented awards from its Community Fund.

PAWS of Hertford County, Inc. received a grant of $450 to support the spaying and neutering program of stray cats and to help administer rabies shots.

The Girl Scouts of Colonial Coast were the recipients of a $300 grant to help support the Saturday Sampler program led by the Council to benefit girls from local at- risk communities.

The North Carolina Symphony concert to be held in December for all Hertford County children will benefit from a grant of $100.

In addition to these grant awards, six awards totaling $5,800 were distributed from the MC Ashe Family Scholarship fund.

These scholarships were presented to Karla S. Holley, Roshana Marguerta Ashe, James M. Hanson, Tony Clinford Chamblee, Jamaal R. Davis and Denisha Marquinette Gatling.

The students are all graduating seniors from public high schools in Hertford and Northampton counties

Cola Ashe founded the scholarship in 2001 in memory of his parents and brother.

The newly organized Bertie- Hertford Women’s Fund awarded two grants this year.

The Pregnancy Care Center of Ahoskie received a grant of $845 to help purchase pre- printed literature packages for public distribution and to purchase pregnancy testing kits.

The second grant of $1,250 was given to the Food Bank of the Albemarle to support the outreach efforts for the Rural Food Delivery program into areas of the counties that are not fully served.

The Food Bank serves 15 counties in northeastern North Carolina.

John McGlaughon, the resource developer for the Food Bank, said there is a great need for food in the area.

“One in every five people in the area lives at or above the poverty level,” he said. “There is also a need for donations of food and resources to food pantries.”

He added that the service the Food Bank provides would not even be possible without donations, money from the state, government and fundraising.

“It takes a lot of different fundraising and effort to make this work,” he said.

“These grants are important to our community,” echoed Laura Beasley, president of the Bertie- Hertford Community Foundation board.

“Many critical programs would not be possible without the generosity of many individuals and organizations that have supported Bertie-Hertford’s Community Fund.”

The Community Fund was established to help support local charitable needs through annual grants.

“I feel that people need to take advantage of the grant opportunities,” said Beasley.

She added that people can apply for grants each year, starting in March

In addition to the Community Fund, the Bertie- Hertford Community Foundation supports 29 other endowed funds to benefit local charitable purposes.

Any organization or individual who wishes to increase the principal of the Community Fund can make tax-deductible contributions.

The fund is managed and allocated for the benefit of Bertie and Hertford counties.

Donors can also establish designated funds for their own causes with an investment of at least $10,000.

The Bertie nHertford Community Foundation is an affiliate of the North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF).

A community foundation is different than a private or corporate foundation because it allows donors of various financial means a way to combine their resources in order to help charities.

The NCCF, established in 1988, is a statewide community development organization created to build capacity through philanthropy.

The foundation seeks gifts from individuals, corporations and other foundations to build endowments and to ensure financial security for non-profit organizations in the state.

The NCFF is a member of the Council of Foundations, the North Carolina Association of Community Foundations and the North Carolina Network of Grantmakers.

The foundation operates through a unique network of seven regions, organized through 59 affiliates, designed to provide local resource allocation and community assistance.

The NCCF administers more than $115 million in assets that sustain nearly 1,000 endowment funds established to provide long-term support of a broad range of charitable needs, nonprofit organizations and scholarships in more than 65 counties across the state, with an emphasis on underserved areas.

For more information about the foundation, contact Peggy Birkemeier at 252-491-8166.