The Northern Piedmont Community Foundation (NPCF) recently awarded grants to the Volunteer Farm, Woodstock, Virginia; Community Touch, Bealeton, Virginia; and Scrabble School Preservation Foundation, Scrabble, Virginia from its Now & Forever Fund.

The Now & Forever Fund, established in 2005, is an unrestricted fund created to provide support to nonprofits in Culpeper, Fauquier Madison and Rappahannock Counties.

The Volunteer Farm was awarded a $1,500.00 grant for the 2008 planting season. The Farm provides fresh vegetables to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank for distribution through their network of 450 food pantries, soup kitchens, and Kids Cafes. Their shared service area extends from Loudoun County in the north to Bedford County in the south and includes the counties of Culpeper, Fauquier and Rappahannock.

Community Touch was awarded a $5,000.00 grant which will help run a Youth Mentor Program to assist underprivileged youth of the community in the areas of academic improvement, social skills and familiarity with the cultures of the world outside of their community environment.

The Scrabble School Preservation Foundation was awarded $7,500 to be used to reclaim and transform the two-acre grounds with walking trails, a vegetable garden, memorial groves and a plaza.

The Northern Piedmont Community Foundation is a public charity established in 2001. Over 700 community foundations exist in the United States, with 27 in Virginia. For information on how to establish a charitable fund, contact Elizabeth Henrickson at 540-349-0631 or P.O. Box 182, Warrenton, VA 20188.