OUR MISSION AND VISION
The children of West Virginia will be healthy, empowered, and resilient.
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SSJHWF strengthens the holistic health of West Virginia’s children and their families.
OUR VALUES
We affirm the Congregation of St. Joseph’s belief in Unity, working In and Through the Ordinary, and
Shifting from a Culture of Power and Privilege to One of Inclusivity. In our work, we seek unity by
building relationships with our grantee partners that are characterized by mutual trust and genuine
collaboration. We honor the idea of working in and through the ordinary by funding operational needs
that are often overlooked. We recognize philanthropy’s significant role in perpetuating a culture of
power and we seek to transform that dynamic in our work as a foundation.
We adopt the values of trust-based philanthropy, including its core values of power-sharing,
equity, humility, transparency, curiosity, and collaboration, because they are an expression of our
core values and identity.
OUR HISTORY
The Sisters of St. Joseph Health and Wellness Foundation (SSJHWF) is a sponsored ministry of the Congregation of St. Joseph's Mission Network. It was created in 2001 as the result of the sale of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Parkersburg, WV. While no longer providing acute health care, the Sisters wanted to ensure that the funds would be used for the health and well-being of WV's most valuable resource—our children. After extensive research and consideration, it was determined that the foundation would primarily fund school-based health centers to provide health care and mental health services. Thanks to the leadership of the foundation, WV now has over 160 school-based health centers in 40 WV counties serving over 84,000 children. In recent years, the foundation's board widened the scope of funding beyond school-based health initiatives to include programs that not only address children's needs but that of the family unit, including efforts around child abuse prevention, family supportive services, in-home family education, and much more. Since its inception, the SSJHWF has served every county in WV with over $16.5 million in funding.