March 11, 2025 – Pikeville, KY The Pikeville Community Foundation is honored to award 10 Pike County non-profit organizations with funding to help alleviate food insecurity issues in our community. Funding awarded totals $73,500.
Pikeville Community Foundation Board Chair Brad Slone said, “We know these gifts will go far in providing individuals, families and children in Pike County with the necessary food supplies every Kentuckian deserves. We are honored to steward these funds to these organizations that work diligently to ensure everyone in our community has access to food.”
Organizations receiving awards of $7,500 include the following:
- Pikeville Community Kitchen, Director Kathy Hamilton – Funding will be used for their Free Community Lunch Program, which includes meal delivery to Myers Towers and pizza lunch two days per week in Pikeville.
- Elkhorn City Community Church, Director Jerry Overstreet – Funding will be used for Elkhorn City Elementary School backpack program. Currently 85 children are enrolled in the program, which is 25% of the student population.
- Grace Community Kitchen, Director Debbie Bailey – Funding will be used for bi-weekly meals.
- Helping Hands of Phelps, Director Donita Hardin – Funding will be used for food box distribution on the third Thursday of each month.
- Aldersgate Community Church, Robinson Creek – Funding will be used for the Family Blessing Box Ministry, which is a monthly food give away. The program distributes 40 boxes per month.
- East Kentucky Dream Center – Funding will be used for the Food on Foot meal delivery program. Organization delivers hot meals in bags to those who do not have transportation.
- Faith Life Market, Director Jarred Arnett – Funding will be used for weekday lunch program.
- Handfuls on Purpose, Directors Rosa & Thomas McCoy – Ministry of Cornerstone Christian Church in Pikeville. Funding will be used for food program, which serves 300 families per month.
- Do Unto Others Food Ministry, Director Sandy Layne – Ministry of the Church of God Militant Pillar and Ground of the Truth. Funding will be used for a food program, which keeps non-perishable and perishable items available for those in need. Organization gets referrals from Pikeville Fire Department and others.
Receiving an award of $6,000 is the Coats for Kids/Phelps Backpack program which is a partnership with the Pikeville Rotary Club. Funding will be used to expand a backpack food program to Feds Creek Elementary School
The funding for the Pikeville Community Foundation Food Security Program was provided by Linda Johnson Templeton, formerly of Virgie, Kentucky and Bradenton, Florida, who passed away in 2020. Ms. Templeton loved her home region of Appalachian Kentucky and wanted to make sure she provided for the people and places closest to her heart in passing. Working with the Pikeville Community Foundation, she left a bequest that will carry on her legacy of nurturing others.
Established in 2019, the Pikeville Community Foundation is a collaborative effort of local people dedicated to the preservation and sustainability of Pike County. The Community Foundation is working to create a culture of giving and philanthropy that promotes community development. The Community Foundation serves as a resource to engage the community in cooperative and creative partnerships to strengthen and build a better future.
The Pikeville County Community Foundation is an affiliate fund of the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, the only nationally accredited community foundation located in and serving Eastern Kentucky. Pikeville Community Foundation board members are: Brad Slone (chair), Kathy Atkins (secretary), Fadi Al Akhrass, MD, Gerrie Clark, Rick Newsom, Helena Jackson, Paul Jones and Nee Jackson.
The Pikeville Community Foundation’s current grantmaking priorities include: health and wellness, youth, housing and family assets, culture and recreation, economic development, education, and the environment.
To donate to the Pikeville Community Foundation, mail a check to Pikeville Community Foundation, 243 Main Street, Pikeville KY 41501 or donate online at https://bit.ly/pikevillecf or visit the Foundation’s website www.appalachianky.org. Online donations can be set up to recur monthly, quarterly, or annually.
If you are interested in leaving your own legacy gift, contact Brenna Wallhausser, Chief Philanthropy Officer at the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, at (606) 439-1357 to learn how you can include support for Appalachian Kentucky in your will.
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