Fluor-BWXT provides $3,000 donation to Friends of Portsmouth

May 6—SCIOTO — Fluor-BWXT recently donated $3,000 for charitable outreach in Scioto County to Friends of Portsmouth, a non-profit 501c3 organization.

"We are thrilled to offer our financial support to such a worthy organization," said JD Dowell, Fluor-BWXT Site Project Director. "Friends of Portsmouth strategizes their efforts by focusing on families, the youth, by creating memorable opportunities that strengthen the community. In a time torn apart by a pandemic, it is more important than ever to do more than watch. It's time to get involved."

Friends of Portsmouth hosts multiple food drives throughout the year, and organizes monthly cleanup activities and community-wide events. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Friends of Portsmouth has partnered with local agencies/organizations to host multiple food drives for families in need.

"Last year, Portsmouth River Days Queens helped raise money and food at 12 food drives," said Assistant Director Bryan Smith. "We try to find as many programs as we can beyond the usual community events and work closely with the city and councilmen to pick out areas of need in need of a cleanup throughout the year. When you start looking at the number of kids and families in our community, you see there is a huge need."

"Our biggest thing is really the community development side of it and taking pride in our city," Smith added. "There are a lot of volunteers. We never stopped, we kept going. It'll be a good year. We're trying to think outside the box—to find something safe for people to do that they want to do."

In addition to hosting cleanup programs, Friends of Portsmouth hosts cleanup programs and is responsible for popular Scioto County events such as Winterfest and the 4th of July. They provide tickets for several of the events to children from less fortunate families through the Boost Our Kids program.