WHEELING — Dominion Energy doesn’t just help to keep the lights on, it also supports local agencies that help area residents meet all sorts of needs.

Four area nonprofit organizations will be able to further meet critical needs of community members in need, following generous donations to each agency from Dominion Energy this month. Three of those gifts were made at the Catholic Charities West Virginia Wheeling office. The fourth was made in Wetzel County.

Catholic Charities West Virginia, Marshall County Family Resource Network and Youth Services System Inc. were each recipients of $5,000 grants from Dominion Energy’s Charitable Foundation. The donations were made in recognition of the work that each organization provides to meet critical needs of people in the community.

“Through these three grants, we are pleased to support worthy nonprofits as they meet the critical needs of community members living in northern West Virginia,” said Dominion Energy External Affairs Representative Christine Mitchell. “As a public service utility, we are encouraged by the work these groups are doing to serve those experiencing hunger, homelessness, and limited access to basic needs.”

Mitchell said each year Dominion Energy donates about $1.4 million from the company’s critical needs initiative to non-profits which assists families throughout sixteen states with basic human needs like: food, water, shelter and access to medical and dental care.

Representatives from all three organizations expressed gratitude for the generous donations and explained how the funds will assist each organization.

Youth Services System Inc. Communications Manager Betsy Bethel-McFarland said the funds will go towards assisting vulnerable youth and adults in the area.

“We will be using part of the funds for our transitional living program which gives shelter, food, and services to youth aging out of foster care or are in danger of becoming homeless,” Bethel-McFarland said. In addition, she said part of the funds will be used for the YSS Winter Freeze Shelter that runs from December through March for the local homeless population.

Catholic Charities CEO Beth Zarate said they are extremely grateful for the generous donation, especially during the winter months, when their clients are greatly in need of their services. She said it will help assist the agency’s meal delivery program for the disabled and vulnerable elderly residents who are home bound.

Meanwhile, Mountaineer Food Bank received a $20,000 grant from Dominion Energy to help support Mountaineer Food Bank’s Project Harvest.

“Through this grant, Dominion Energy is reaching across the state to support better access to nutritional food for community members in our service areas,” Mitchell said. “By their efforts, the Mountaineer Foodbank will reach 10,000 children and adults suffering from food insecurity in nearly every county in West Virginia,” Mitchell added.

Project Harvest will focus on decreasing hunger in West Virginia while increasing access of healthy foods in communities that do not have the capacity to regularly distribute them.

“Over the past couple years, Mountaineer Food Bank has placed a strong focus on the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables being accessible to our agencies to aid in improved health and more effectively meet the needs of their clients throughout all of MFB’s existing programs. As a result of this focus, our produce distribution has grown tremendously and the number of programs we are sourcing produce through has increased as well. Those innovative programs include; school produce markets, school backpack and pantry programs, just in time distributions, mobile pantry programs, drop and go’s, Veterans Table programs, RX pantry programs, fresh start programs, silver lining senior feeding programs, and more. Adding fresh produce to each of these programs allows our agencies and programs to offer their clients fresh produce that otherwise may not be available to them,” Becky Conrad Director of Development for Mountaineer Food Bank said.

Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Dominion Energy is one of the nation’s largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of about 31,000 megawatts of electric generation; 106,400 miles of natural gas gathering, storage, transmission and distribution pipeline; and 93,600 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines. According to its website, the company operates one of the largest natural gas storage systems in the U.S. with more than a trillion cubic feet of capacity, and serves nearly 7.5 million utility and retail energy customers.

“Our company is built on a proud legacy of public service, innovation and community involvement,” the site states. “In addition to our core businesses, Dominion Energy and our 21,000 employees invest in the communities where we live and work and by practicing responsible environmental stewardship wherever we operate.”