Tri-Valley Receives Grant for CDL Training

Dresden, Ohio – Every spring, the J.W. & M.H. Straker Foundation awards area nonprofits with grant money that organizations have applied for to fund projects and programs that benefit youth within the community. This year, the foundation provided five grants in excess of $100,000 dollars and Tri-Valley High School’s Commercial Drivers License program was one of the recipients. 

The $105,000 dollar grant was awarded to allow the school to purchase a tractor-trailer for their facility that will be located behind the middle school and Tri-Valley CDL Instructor Todd McLoughlin discussed how the program still works with Mid-East Career and Technology Center but can now offer a more convenient experience for the students.   

“We were in partnership with with Mid-East and we did have a truck out there and it was just a great opportunity for these young men to take advantage of, you know of earning their CDL’s. I think we’re one of the few schools or the only school in the state of Ohio that offers this program. But now with this grant we’ll have the opportunity to have our own truck here to finish their pad-hours and drive-time here at Tri-Valley.”

Graduating Senior Ethan Helms explained how the program fits in with existing vocational curriculum offered by Mid-East. 

“This program is very unique. I actually go to Mid-East. So I would go to the high school in the morning, take my CDL and then go to Mid-East and I do Powerline there. And one of the big things for power linemen is to get your CDL. So the opportunity was there and it was nowhere else. And if I can get my CDL, it just makes me more marketable and able to get a job in the field.”

J.W. & M.H. Straker Foundation President Susan Holdren noted that due to the size of the Spring Grant awards, the Fall Grant will not be offered.

For this grant cycle, the Foundation will support the CDL training program at Tri-Valley school with a grant of $105,000; assist with pool repairs and maintenance in the Village of Dresden at $126, 702.00; help Franklin Local School’s transition to STEM programming with $169,980.00; and grant the Girl Scouts of Southern Ohio $188,525.00 to install a new roof at their Zanesville facility. The Foundation awarded $100,000.00 to the Abbot Home to support its capital campaign.

Additionally, the Straker Foundation grants committee approved these grant requests:

$50,000.00 Allwell Behavioral Services; vehicle to support CORE programs

$30,000.00 Appalachian Ohio Adventures; update Marina Trail at Dillon State Park

$34,369.60 Big Brothers Big Sisters of Zanesville; Lunch Buddies and staff training 

$12,000.00 Bethel Mission; “Food for All” program

$68,600.00 Breaking Free Therapeutic Riding; completing final stages of facilities improvement

$49,000.00 Buckeye Valley Y; starting “Y on the Fly” programming

$15,000.00 Central Trinity United Methodist Church; stained glass renovation

$74,300.00 ForeverDads; complete phase four of their building restoration

$51,832.25 Homeless Hands; remove and replace siding on the Greenwood facility

$10,000.00 I Am A Warrior; suicide prevention efforts

$42,773.00 Larry Miller Elementary School; new playground

$60,000.00 Maysville Schools; various educational initiatives

$35,000.00 Muskingum Behavioral Health; Naomi House roofing and matching grant for vehicle

$8,000.00 Minority Business Network of Southeastern Ohio; printing Volume 4 of Archives of the People

$15,000.00 Muskingum County Center for Seniors; entertainment equipment and sound system

$11,633.19 Muskingum County Library System; virtual reality equipment

$5,000.00 Muskingum County Social Justice Coalition; public relations and training costs

$8,294.27 Muskingum Valley Soil and Water; High Hill Community garden

$10,000.00 Muskingum Valley Garden Society; downtown plantings

$20,000.00 New Concord Summer Baseball and Softball; replace fencing on two fields

$15,450.00 New Covenant Church; renovations to flooring, accessibility, etc.

$30,000.00 Ohio University-Zanesville; experiential programming and student support programs

$40,000.00 PAWS of Muskingum County; spay and neuter services for domestic and feral cats

$19,544.72 Project Blueprint; sports equipment, travel expenses, hygiene materials, etc.

$10,000.00 Red Cross of Southeastern Ohio; awareness education and blood drives

$5,000.00 Roseville Historical Society; develop website

$10,000.00 Salvation Army; emergency social services

$10,000.00 Shrivers Hospice; Someday is Today program

$10,000.00 St. James Episcopal Church; kitchen floor replacement

$8,000.00 Transitions; retaining wall and walkway repair

$25,000.00 Tri-Valley Middle School baseball; fencing, storage. Mower

$26,856.00 Union Baptist Church; resurface parking lot

$17,525.00 The Wilds; playground/pavilion at Straker Lake

$10,750.00 Y-Bridge Arts Festival; entertainment/publicity

$30,000.00 Y-City Midget League Baseball; park improvements

$6.398.84 Zane Grey Elementary; COSI field trip

The Foundation also funded two continuing grants to Habitat for Humanity of Southeastern Ohio and the Muskingum County Literacy Council; three other potential funding projects are in discovery stages.