22 February 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                   Amy Berlean, Director of Communications  

                                                    513-863-1717

                                                                                                   [email protected]

Organization Providing Unique Experiences Receives Financial Support

Hamilton Community Foundation grants $105,000 to local organizations

Hamilton, OH – “Such a blessing” is what grant recipient Jim Foliano of Ticket to Hope calls their recent grant award from the Hamilton Community Foundation.

Ticket to Hope is one of three organizations who recently received grants from HCF, this being the first for the organization that just began operating locally. According to CEO and President, Jim Foliano, the grant will be used to provide unique experiences to folks facing hardships.

“We provide tickets to games, museums, movies, concerts and the transportation to get there for families dealing with loss, addiction, poverty, etc,” says Foliano. “The majority of families we serve have never had the chance to experience some of the opportunities we provide.”

Foliano says that Ticket to Hope was born from his own experiences of hardship growing up and remembering how much he looked forward to attending Cincinnati Reds games with donated tickets his dad would receive.

“My dad would put those tickets on the refrigerator and I would stare at them everyday in anticipation leading up to the game,” he says.

Year to date Foliano says Ticket to Hope has provided more than 1,200 unique experiences to those who need it most. The Hamilton Community Foundation grant will provide tickets, transportation and vouchers to Dayton Dragons games.

“We are just so grateful,” says Foliano. “This grant validates everything we’ve been doing for local families in need.”

In addition to the $5,000 granted to Ticket to Hope, HCF also awarded $10,000 to Catholic Charities for their Parent Project, a program that provides education to parents of at-risk and/or court referred youth. The Foundation also approved a grant for $90,000 over three years for StreetSpark, the public art initiative responsible for multiple murals, utility box designs and most recently the artistic wraps on three Butler County RTA buses. A $3,000 grant, awarded through a donor designated fund, was awarded to Reach Me, Inc for inclusion opportunities for people living with disabilities.

Founded in 1951, The Hamilton Community Foundation (HCF) has the largest collective impact on the quality of life in Hamilton, Ohio. By professionally managing more than 1,000 individual, family and corporate funds, as well as nonprofit agency endowments, the Foundation awards more than $5 million in grants and scholarships annually. HCF works to address new and emerging issues of community concern, while remaining focused on health and social issues, education and community revitalization. As the largest community foundation in Butler County, HCF is a public charity with $140 million in assets.

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