Seven Mahoning Valley nonprofits will be honored Wednesday night as the Western Reserve Transit Authority announced the winners of its 2026 WRTA Nonprofit Awards on Tuesday.
The awards will be presented at a dinner on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at the B&O Station Banquet Hall in Youngstown, WRTA said in its announcement. WRTA is the public transit authority serving Mahoning County, and it said the annual awards recognize the organizations its riders rely on every day.
The Warren Junior Women’s League received the Valley Impact Award, for the organization with the broadest footprint or deepest measurable service, and the Youngstown Skatepark Association received the Grassroots Hero Award, honoring a smaller, neighborhood-focused organization, WRTA announced. Thrive Mahoning Valley won the Innovation in Service Award for a creative approach to community needs, and the Economic Action Group won the Excellence in Collaboration Award for its partnerships with other agencies, volunteers and local institutions.
The Abilities Unite Foundation received the Hearts and Souls in Action Award, honoring an organization driven by compassion for those who need it most. Catholic Charities Regional Agency received the Community Cornerstone Award as a long-standing institution with an established record of service, and Wings Over the Valley received the Rising Star Award as a newer organization making a significant impact in a short time, according to WRTA’s announcement.
“At WRTA, we measure our success by getting people to their destinations,” WRTA quoted CEO Dean Harris as saying in the announcement. “For many of our riders, those destinations are the nonprofits that serve this Valley every day — the places where someone finds a meal, a safe place to stay, help for their family, or a chance to move forward.”
“Taking this night to honor nonprofits isn’t just a tradition. It’s a way to acknowledge that when these organizations thrive, the entire Valley moves forward,” Harris said in the announcement. WRTA said the awards encourage community support through volunteerism and donations and help connect residents with services.
The newly designed awards were created by a local marketing firm and produced by YBI, and will be presented to the seven organizations at the Nov. 11 celebration, WRTA said. The event is supported by YBI, Spectrum Reach, Platt Insurance, Soup City Designs, EyeView Media and Farris Marketing/StrategiX Social, according to the announcement.
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