WEST VIRGINIA (March 26, 2025) – West Virginia First Foundation (WVFF) kicked off its “Hold the Line Tour” Thursday in Parkersburg, visiting the North Star Child Advocacy Center—recipient of the largest Initial Opportunity Grant awarded by the Foundation to date.
North Star was awarded $720,000 to support the expansion of its facilities and services for children in crisis across Wood, Wirt, Pleasants, Ritchie, and Calhoun counties. The site visit took place following the Foundation’s quarterly board meeting, part of a new initiative to pair each board meeting with a visit to an Initial Opportunity Grant (IOG) awardee in the surrounding region that are making direct, tangible impacts in the fight against substance use disorder.
“This visit and this award speak volumes about the value of North Star’s work,” said WVFF Executive Director Jonathan Board. “After seeing the truly incredible things they are doing in such a confined space, it’s clear that this expansion will allow them to do even more for the children and families they serve.”
The visit marked the first stop on the Hold the Line Tour, a statewide effort by the Foundation to recognize and uplift the awardees of the IOG that have long stood on the frontlines of West Virginia’s addiction crisis. Board members toured North Star’s current interview rooms, medical exam space, and administrative offices, as well as the adjacent floor that will be renovated using the grant funds.
North Star Executive Director Greg Collins has led the charge to expand the center’s footprint, which currently consists of about 3,000 square feet. With the new funding, the center will nearly triple in size, taking over an additional 4,500 square feet in the same building to house therapy space, classrooms, and on-site offices for law enforcement and child crime investigators.
North Star conducts more than 600 forensic interviews with children each year—the highest number of any center in the state. These interviews are often part of investigations into severe abuse, including sexual violence, physical trauma, and neglect, many of which are directly linked to the devastating impact of addiction in families.
“These children are coming from some of the worst situations imaginable,” said Collins. “The crimes we see aren’t stories from somewhere else—they’re happening right here, in our neighborhoods. This grant means we can serve them better, and it means our staff can do their work with the space, tools, and support they need.”
The Hold the Line Tour will continue across the state throughout 2025, shining a light on IOG awardees that continue to hold the line in West Virginia’s battle against the opioid epidemic—often with limited resources and in the face of generational trauma. Through targeted investments like the Initial Opportunity Grant program, the Foundation aims to ensure those doing the work are equipped to do even more.
For more information, visit wvfirst.org.