A West Virginia University program creating organized recreation in rural communities has received a $250,000 grant from the Benedum Foundation.

The West Virginia Rural Recreation Program, administered by Michael Schuett, an associate professor in the Recreation, Parks and Tourism Resources Program in WVU s Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences, is in its third year.

“The Benedum funds, which will be disbursed to us over three years, will allow us to hire full-time staff, purchase equipment and provide this program to more communities throughout the state,”Schuett said.

The program, executed in its first two years by graduate student Melissa Garretson, was modeled after similar programs in South Carolina and Illinois. Schuett, Garretson and Steve Selin, associate professor in recreation and parks, refashioned those models to suit West Virginias rural communities. Since its inception, the program has helped organize summer recreation programs in Davis and Thomas, W.Va.

“There are many tangible and intangible benefits to this program,”Schuett said.”We provide organized recreation activities for communitiessports, arts and crafts, outdoor recreationwhere there were none previously. A less tangible benefit is the quality of life and community building that results from the community working together to get the programs going.”

The program got its start in 2000 through a pilot phase funded by the W.K Kellogg Foundation. Over the past two years, the Kellogg Foundation has provided about $40,000 to the program.

“The Benedum funds will provide for expansion and growth of the program,”Schuett said.

The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation was established in 1944 by Michael and Sarah Benedum, both West Virginia natives, as a memorial to their only child, Claude, who died while serving in World War I. The Foundation authorizes grants in West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania in areas of economic development, education, health and human services, community development and the arts.

The grant was made through the WVU Foundation as part of its Building Greatness Campaign: West Virginia University, a $250 million fundraising effort being conducted by the Foundation on behalf of the University. The WVU Foundation is a private, non-profit corporation that generates, receives and administers private gifts from individuals and organizations for the benefit of West Virginia University and its affiliated organizations.