The Portsmouth Area Ladies (PALS) are preparing to consider a new series of grants in May, as they close another quarter of giving. The group is composed of a plethora of dedicated women who live and work in the Portsmouth community and aim to improve the quality of life in the area through microgrants, and, sometimes, larger grants, based on scope of project.
The group’s mission statement follows as, “Portsmouth Area Ladies, Inc. (PALS) will engage in fundraising events and activities using volunteers to support charitable needs and organizations that will improve the quality of life and the changing needs of the residents in Portsmouth and the surrounding area. PALS will cooperate with other not-for-profit organizations when appropriate and address the needs of community children which are not being met by other organizations. The Portsmouth Area Ladies Inc. (PALS) is a 501C3 organization”
There are a lot of reasons PALS members participate in the program. To President and longtime member, Tami Davis, the answer is obvious.
“I think it was instilled in me a long time ago that I should do all I can to help people. If I can help people through PALS, that’s what I want to do,” Davis explained. “I enjoy helping people. I always have. For the longest time, I was involved in events at the Southern Ohio Medical Center. Programs like Hollydays and Festival of Trees, the Horse Show, working in the fair booth, working to raise money for the Guilds to use to help the hospital with new equipment, build the Friends Center, etc. When the Friends of SOMC group was no longer, several of the ladies that had been involved wanted to stay involved and formed PALS. I was one of the founding members. We decided we would work to make a difference in the community through fundraising and helping others by providing them funds. In the years since the organization was founded in 2007, we have given away more than $168,000.”
The non-profit spends the year fundraising through reverse raffles, purse bingos and more to raise funding that they then divert to other non-profits who offer social programming, community development and more. They also offer scholarships.
Last cycle, they received one grant, which was for Portsmouth Area Arts Council for $1,000. To support their production of “Oliver, Jr.”
“We love the ladies involved in PALS and their mission of bettering our community,” PACT Executive Director Bailey Hartlage said. “We always know we can depend on them to support our mission of providing arts to the youth of our community and it is groups like PALS that make our mission possible.”
Their grant application is an easy process that can be found online at portsmouthpals.org.
Davis explained that any area non-profit can apply and the group does give priority.
“We support anything that benefits our community, should we have funding appropriate to the ask,” Davis said. “We especially like helping those involving children, since they are the future of this area.”
PALS is an extended network of driven locals. Some of them include Tami Davis, Teri Webb, Shawn Jordan, Linda Woods-Jones, Debbie Smith, Patty Tennant, Carol Davis, Therese Egbert, Tess Midkiff, Kay Nouyack, Phyllis Fried, Rhoni Maxwell-Rader, Lynsi Eason, Jill Arnzen, Linda Woods-Jones, Ruth Ann Logan, Betty Kennedy, Julia Wisniewski, Toni Dengel, and more.
“PALS would love to have other ladies join us. All they need to do it go to our website and complete an application,” Davis said.
Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2022 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved
