Kathryn Yarzebinski said JRA is a statewide organization based in Richmond, and while its work supports the entire James River, the group wanted to build something that would directly benefit the community in the greater Lynchburg area.
Join us on May 14, 2025, at noon for a day of golfing fun with proceeds benefiting the Dennis Carter Student Athlete Scholarship for regional high school students!
This is an endowed fund administered by the Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Click the button below to learn more and register today!
There are plenty of reasons to donate to the Lynchburg Community Foundation. Here are seven of them.
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From the News & Advance
October 7, 2024
By Rachael Smith
The James River Association (JRA) has long been dedicated to protecting and promoting the health of Virginia’s iconic waterway. As part of this mission, they’ve recently completed the Upper James River Education Center in Madison Heights at Riveredge Park — a project that owes much of its success to local partnerships, including a $100,000 grant from the Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation (GLCF).
The outdoor learning facility, which has been in the works for more than five years, is designed to provide accessible, immersive experiences for students and the community.
Through funding from local foundations and donors, JRA, a nonprofit that serves as an advocate and guardian of the James River, created a campus of facilities that includes a renovated indoor teaching space and offices, multiple outdoor classrooms, a new river access trail and a landing. The new center also includes a historic batteau, a flat-bottomed vessel used during the Colonial period and to transport tobacco on the James River.
“We’ve been operating educational programs in the Lynchburg area for over a decade, but this facility has truly transformed what we can offer,” Charles Johnson, Upper James education manager for the JRA, said. “It’s a fully accessible space with indoor and outdoor learning areas, allowing us to run programs for all students, regardless of physical ability.”
Kathryn Yarzebinski said JRA is a statewide organization based in Richmond, and while its work supports the entire James River, the group wanted to build something that would directly benefit the community in the greater Lynchburg area.
“In 2022, they applied for our Century Fund Grant to help complete the center and we were excited to support a project that brings both environmental education and greater access to the river,” she said.
“Most of our grants are smaller, but this is the largest one we give each year. It’s competitive and nonprofits have to show how the grant will be a game changer for their project,” she said. “JRA’s proposal was incredibly strong, combining education and environmental conservation — two areas we’re deeply committed to supporting.”
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December 2024: Fall 2024 Grants Announced: Largest Ever Distribution!
August 2024: $100,000 Century Fund Grant Winner Announced
May 2024: 2024 Scholarships Awarded
March 2024: The Ginger Paris LCS Strings Fund
December 2023: Fall 2023 Grants Total Over $684,000
November 2023: Youth Philanthropy Program Returns
June 2023: Century Fund & Fifty Fund Grants Awarded
April 2023: Ensuring Higher Education is within Reach of Local High School Students
February 2023: Answering the Urgent Need for Housing
December 2022: GLCF Grants at Work in our Community
This fund was established in September 2023 from resources provided by the late George Webster Reynolds of Columbia, Maryland (1944-2018). The fund honors the life of George Webster Reynolds, a renowned African-American mechanical engineer who was born and grew up in Washington, D.C.
After graduating from Howard Univesity with a B.A. in Mechanical Engineering, he went on to receive a Masters in Engineering degree from George Washington University and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard University. He received numerous awards for his excellent job performance and his dedication to advancements in science, engineering, and technology during his years of employment with such major companies as Westinghouse, General Motors, and Northrup Grumman.
As a youth, Mr. Reynolds traveled each summer with his grandmother, Beatrice Webster, to her childhood home in Madison Heights, Virginia where he spent several weeks visiting his cousins and other relatives. While there he stayed in the residence of his late great-grandparents, George W. Reynolds (1866-1949) and Hattie King Reynolds (1862-1926) that was built around 1900. Although three of their offspring died in infancy, their surviving children included twins George and Hattie, Beatrice, Greene, Nazareth, and Mabel (Jerlean).
George Webster Reynolds, whom this fund commemorates, had a lifetime interest in preserving the legacy of his ancestors and that of other African-American residents of Amherst County, Virginia and the surrounding areas.
The fund will support historic preservation (research and other activities that document, preserve, and protect the architectural, historical, genealogical, educational, spiritual, and cultural contributions of African-Americans to communities in Amherst County and the surrounding areas) and the education of the public about the African-American heritage of Amherst County and surrounding areas.
Stuart J. Turille Provides an annual grant to be awarded by the Youth Philanthropy Council to a local nonprofit serving youth & children.
In 2003, with the Greater Lynchburg Community Trust was preparing to commemorate its 30th anniversary, there was a motion to create an exciting new program. The Youth Philanthropy Council would put high school seniors in the "driver's seat" for making important grants to local nonprofits with the guidance of an advisory committee.
Stuart J. Turille, former President & CEO of the GLCT, volunteered to chair the Youth Philanthropy committee. This allowed the program to get started. Stuart remained dedicated to the program, and served on the committee for 15 years until 2018.
During each of those years, the YPC awarded two grants. One was $10,000 and sponsored by Wells Fargo annually. The second was $5,000 and provided by the GLCT's operating budget. This was called the Youth Philanthropy Service Award.
In 2023, after Turille's passing, the Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation renamed the existing Youth Philanthropy Service Award Fund in honor of Turille. It is now the Stuart J. Turille Youth Philanthropy Award Fund.
As of June 30, 2023, the fund’s balance was $28,079.61. Once it reaches a balance of $100,000, it will generate the $5,000 needed annually to provide a grant without impacting the operating budget of the Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation.
This $5,000 grant, along with the $10,000 grant that is provided by Wells Fargo Investment Management, is awarded annually to a local nonprofit serving children and youth. Our local nonprofits are extremely thankful to have the support, as it allows them to sustain and expand important initiatives that care for children.
This program is a win-win situation for our youth and our community; our youth obtain an awareness of their community and its needs, and a local charitable agency receives necessary money to continue their programs!
Fundraising is underway, with a goal of $100,000 by June 30, 2025. Click here to give to the Stuart J. Turille Youth Philanthropy Award Fund today!
Make a gift to the GLCF today!
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The Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation works to solve our community’s greatest challenges by providing grants and scholarships, and by helping individuals, families, and organizations create their charitable legacy.
Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation
MAIL CHECKS TO:
1100 Commerce Street
Lynchburg, VA 24504
Phone: 434.845.6500
Email: info@lynchburgfoundation.org
Join us on May 14, 2025, at noon for a day of golfing fun with proceeds benefiting the Dennis Carter Student Athlete Scholarship for regional high school students!
This is an endowed fund administered by the Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Click the button below to learn more and register today!
