Nine local organizations have been awarded grants totaling more than $500,000 from the Richmond Health Equity Fund (HEF) to address various health disparities across the city.

The grants will fund initiatives focusing on health care access, education, chronic disease management, food security, mental health and substance use recovery.

The announcement was made at the Overlook at ChildSavers in Church Hill on Tuesday afternoon, where city officials and community representatives gathered to celebrate the partnerships and the good they could do.

“We are profoundly grateful to be a part of this cohort of grantees,” ChildSavers CEO Robert Bolling said, “and excited to work together toward a healthier, more equitable future in our community.”

In addition to ChildSavers, other grantees include Family Lifeline, the Women Can Inspire Foundation, Hitting Cancer Below the Belt, Sacred Heart Center, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief Richmond, RVA Community Fridges and the Atlantic Outreach Group.

Anthony Clary, founder of the distance running group We Off the Couch, said the grant will allow them to expand services into recreational centers and further their connections with schools.

Clary, who lost 100 pounds through distance running and now has more than 1,500 runners in his group, welcomed the opportunity to improve both the physical and mental health of the broader community.

“It’s beautiful to provide a space where you can grow and be your best self, not only physically but as a whole person,” Clary said.

The grants represent a significant community benefit, as evidenced by Mayor Danny Avula, whose family relied on ChildSavers’ services more than a year ago after the murder of his adopted daughter’s biological sibling.

Avula helped establish the HEF in 2021 in his former role as director of the Richmond and Henrico health districts, in response to the health disparities highlighted by the pandemic.

Three years later, he was clear that the services it supported remained essential.

“These are priorities for the Health Equity Fund because this is what the data shows are affecting our city residents,” Avula said. “It’s what the data show are driving disparate impacts between Black and white communities.”

With these latest grants, the HEF has allocated more than $3.8 million to organizations from an initial investment of $5 million using American Rescue Plan Act funds. Avula said the HEF is continuing to seek local funding sources to ensure these grants can continue.

Currently, those supporters include the Community Foundation, the Bob and Anna Lou Schaberg Foundation, Atlantic Union Bank, the Dominion Charitable Foundation and the Robins Foundation.

The HEF is now accepting applications for its 2025 funding cycle, which will remain open until Sunday, March 30.

Organizations interested in applying can submit applications at rhphf.org/health-equity-fund.