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Dominion Foundation

The Dominion Foundation has awarded:

• $15,000 to the Good Samaritan Clinic.

• $5,000 to the Onion Gang.

$5,000 to the Mission of Mercy dental clinic.

PARKERSBURG - Three free health programs in the Mid-Ohio Valley shared $25,000 in donations Tuesday from the Dominion Foundation.

Receiving allocations were the Good Samaritan Clinic at Murdoch and Emerson avenues, the Onion Gang in Pleasants County and the free Mission of Mercy dental clinic planned this summer in Parkersburg.

The $15,000 for the Good Samaritan Clinic couldn't have come at a better time, said Administrator Cynthia Moore. The money will be used for operations, she said.

Structural work on the building, which included reinforcing the foundation, was recently completed and cost $25,000, an unforeseen expense, she said. Construction was completed last week, Moore said.

"The building actually was caving in,'' she said.

The Dominion Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources and is funded by shareholders. The grants aid the uninsured and underinsured and can be used for examinations, prescriptions, lab and diagnostic tests.

The Onion Gang and the dental clinic will each receive $5,000, said Bob Fulton, a spokesman for Dominion Hope.

The Onion Gang is the popular reference to the Major Medical-Emergency Fund with the Pleasants Community Foundation, said Jim McKnight, executive director of the foundation. The fund is financed by the sale of Vidalia onions, an onion known for its sweetness, which started around four years ago and has even blossomed into a festival, said McKnight, who also is a member of the Onion Gang.

McKnight is appreciative of the donation.

"This is a grant directly to us," he said.

The major medical fund helps residents who are faced with an emergency catastrophic medical condition, McKnight said. Occasionally, it's used to help residents pay rent or utilities over the winter, he said.

The dental clinic will be held July 31 and Aug. 1 at West Virginia University at Parkersburg. Organizers are expecting more than 1,200 residents from the region will use the clinic.

A Mission of Mercy dental clinic in the Eastern Panhandle last year drew about 1,200 people.

Twelve clinics and programs in West Virginia will receive contributions, Fulton said. More than $1 million will be donated to programs and clinics in 14 states, he said.

Economic conditions highlight the importance of their missions, Fulton said.

"These health clinics meet some very critical needs," he said.