We are honored to share that the Mt. Sterling Community Center has received the Spring 2026 Friends of WIC Award from the Ohio Department of Health Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC).
The Community Center was nominated for the recognition by Gina Grace of Madison County WIC, highlighting the partnership that has allowed WIC services to become more accessible to families right here in Mt. Sterling.
Madison County WIC currently holds satellite clinics at the Community Center twice each month. In the nomination letter, Gina shared just how important having a local location can be:
“Being able to meet clients where they are at (location wise) and remove transportation barriers for those living in Mt. Sterling.”
With the main Madison County WIC office approximately 17 miles away, hosting clinics locally helps eliminate a barrier that could otherwise make accessing services difficult for families without reliable transportation. The nomination also shared that the Mt. Sterling clinic serves an average of approximately 20 clients each month, with some even able to walk to their appointments.
More Than a Place to Meet
One of the things that makes this recognition especially meaningful is that it celebrates more than the Community Center simply providing a space for WIC clinics.
As Gina wrote in the nomination:
“The staff at the community center go above and beyond simply providing us a place to host our clinic.”
The nomination highlighted several of the ways that our staff, volunteers, and programs have been able to support WIC families beyond the clinic themselves. That includes providing infant-friendly items from our monthly food pantry and working to accommodate changes in WIC’s clinic needs. It also includes a special contribution from our sewing group:
“We especially appreciate and want to highlight the frequent donations from their sewing group, who provide us with beautiful handmade blankets to be given to our clients with newborns.”
It is a wonderful example of how the different pieces of the Community Center can come together to make an impact—sometimes in ways we may not even realize at the time.
Grateful to Serve Mt. Sterling
We are incredibly thankful to Gina Grace and Madison County WIC for the nomination, to the Ohio Department of Health WIC Program for this recognition, and to everyone who plays a role in making partnerships like this possible.
At its heart, the Mt. Sterling Community Center exists to serve our community, connect our neighbors with resources, and create a place where people and organizations can come together.
We couldn’t think of a better way to describe why partnerships like this matter than one final thought shared in the nomination:
“We hope to inspire other projects, especially those in more rural counties, to partner with their local community centers. They are a great resource for hosting events and satellite clinics. There also may be groups housed within local community centers who can be a great partnership for WIC projects as well (like the sewing group!)”
We are grateful to be that resource for Mt. Sterling and the surrounding community, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Madison County WIC and finding even more ways to serve local families in the years ahead.
