Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

AHOSKIE – Thanks to a grant from the Roanoke-Chowan Foundation, the Town of Ahoskie will purchase and install life-saving devices in town-owned buildings and emergency response vehicles.

At the most recent meeting of the Ahoskie Town Council, officials with the Roanoke-Chowan Foundation were on hand to present town officials with a check for $42,232.55. That money will be used to purchase AED units, which are automated external defibrillators. Those devices are used to help those experiencing sudden cardiac arrest.

According to the American Red Cross, these portable, lightweight units easy-to-use medical devices that can analyze the heart’s rhythm and, if necessary, deliver an electrical shock, or defibrillation, to help the heart re-establish an effective rhythm.

In addition to the town-owned buildings, AEDs will be placed in Ahoskie Police cars and fire department vehicles.

The town had applied for the Roanoke-Chowan Foundation grant earlier this year. Reba Green Holley, Missions Chair, and Wendy Vann, president of the Foundation, presented the check to the town on Aug. 13.

Ahoskie Mayor Weyling White thanked the Foundation for the work they do in the local area to improve health and wellness.

“We give away five percent of our core every year and this year that came to approximately $800,000,” said Green Holley. “Applications for the next round of funding are currently being accepted for health and wellness projects, especially those dealing with early childhood health and nutrition.”

Applications open Jan. 1, 2025 for the next round of funding

The Foundation – which serves Bertie, Gates, Hertford and Northampton counties – is particularly seeking applications/proposals for services related to Access to Care (includes transportation), Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, and Healthy Lifestyles (Nutrition, Food Security, Physical Activity, Social Determinants of Health).

Additionally they interested in funding Childhood Weight & Health Management programs (Evidence Based) and Health and Wellness Transportation programs that focus on low-income clients with transportation barriers to medical appointments.

Eligible organizations must have qualified as exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or be public instrumentality. Grants are not made to individuals. To apply, visit www.roanokechowanfoundation.org to review the Grant Program guidelines and to access the online grant portal.

RFA’s and RFP’s must be submitted online by September 1, 2024.

Vann said more information about the grant application process, to include specific guidelines, can be found on the Foundation’s website.