State College, PA – Centre Foundation’s annual round of competitive grants have been finalized and checks totaling just over $42,000 will be released! These grants are funded by “field of interest funds,” which were set-up by the original donors to support a various causes or geographic areas in Centre County. There are currently 13 of these funds, which open for applications each September.
“We received 78 applications from 42 organizations across Centre County,” explained Executive Director, Molly Kunkel. “The decisions were tough, but our staff and our board members ultimately decided these were the right projects to fund at this time.”
This annual granting cycle will distribute funds to communities and projects in each of the five Centre County school districts. It will fund programs that focus on education, health and social services, animal welfare, at-risk youth, and the performing arts. People across the county will be able to feel the impact of these numerous grants.
The Philipsburg Area Fund’s $1,540 grant will go to the Child Development and Family Council’s summer camp program for school age children in Philipsburg. With the rising costs of food, gas, housing, and other daily living items, many low-income families are unable to travel. The grant will help assist with the cost of travel to Washington, D.C., affording 30 children an opportunity to visit The Smithsonian Institution and other national museums.
The Counseling Service Fund, which supports organizations that provide behavioral and mental health counseling services in Centre County, made two grants totaling $4,800.
Park Forest Village Day Nursery will use its $800 grant to provide parenting education classes as an extension of the services offered to students and their families. The courses are designed to meet the developmental needs for children, adults, and families by focusing on emotion regulation, copying with stress, and building distress tolerance. Parents going through these classes will be in a better position to reduce and manage their children’s mental and behavioral issues.
Housing Transitions, Inc. will receive a $4,000 grant to provide a Life Skills Training program to the residents of the 24-hour staffing of the Centre House emergency shelter. The Life Skills Training program teaches residents with mental health concerns crucial life skills like healthy living practices, budget management, job search, parenting, and conflict resolution.
The Centre County Medical Society Fund promotes healthy lifestyles for children, making its $1,090 grant a perfect partner for Child Development and Family Council’s Strong Bodies = Strong Minds program. Having created an inside environment with an emphasis on healthy nutrition, the grant will provide the necessary funds to purchase playground equipment to help children develop motor skills, get moving, and have opportunity for creative and imaginative play.
The Patricia Farrell Music Fund supports all types of music programs – especially those focused on children – and is named after a former chair of Centre Foundation, an active community volunteer, a Penn State professor, and a musician. This year, the $5,255 was split among two grant applications.
The Pennsylvania Centre Chamber Orchestra will receive a $2,000 grant for an educational musical performance of “Peter and the Wolf.” The orchestra will tour local elementary schools throughout Centre County reaching over 1,500 children.
Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania will receive a $3,255 grant to support its new preschool program, Music Makers. The program will include a music class along with exhibits that explore the science of music and sound. Early exposure to music and rhythm impact brain development in young children and may help when it comes time to learn reading and math in school. Parents and children alike will benefit from this innovative musical themed program and exhibit.
J. Alvin and Vera E. Knepper Hawbaker Memorial Endowment Fund will grant $3,829 to the Penns Valley Youth Center. The youth center operates an after-school program for at-risk students in 6th through 12th grade where traditional services such as homework help and tutoring are offered as well as gym time, healthy snacks, and fun workshops. This grant will help provide a safe place for students to continue their learning experience while building positive relationships.
The Carolyn A. Petrus Memorial Seeing Eye Dog Fund will grant $11,496 to The Seeing Eye. This grant will provide first-time guide dog users and users of replacement guide-dogs with an intense instruction curriculum. Approximately five to seven individuals will directly benefit from this grant, providing them with increased confidence and independence to navigate their way through daily life in our community.
The Ruth E. Rishel Charitable Fund focuses on Rishel’s home community of Penns Valley. This $1,969 grant to the Centre County Youth Services Bureau for the Street Outreach Program in Centre Hall will provide a once-a-week after-school evening program for youth ages 5-17. Youth in the program are provided a safe place with structured activities that promote healthy starts and futures, and includes community service feature.
The Centre Children’s Fund, supporting services to at-risk children, will be divided among two organizations.
Home Nursing Agency Community Services will receive a $1,200 grant for Books for Babies program. Approximately 60 families served by the Nurse-Family Partnership program receive educational home visits regarding child health and development. The visits will emphasize the importance of daily reading to infants and toddlers. Books purchased through this grant will be used during the lessons and then be given to the family to read to the baby between session visits.
Centre County Youth Services Bureau (YSB) will receive a $433 grant to support the Wingate Homework Club that meets once a week after school at the Wingate Elementary School in the Bald Eagle Area School District. YSB provides a consistent, stable presence for up to 30 youth who are facing adversity. The Wingate Homework Club promotes ongoing relationships with caring adults in a safe and structured environment.
The Louis E. and Patricia H. Silvi Fund was established to support at-risk children, especially in the areas of early childhood education programs that improve the health, care, and education of young children. This year, the fund’s $1,032 grant will go to two organizations.
Park Forest Preschool knows that early childhood education offers a host of benefits for children, not just in academic skills, but also in health and emotional development. Park Forest Preschool will use a grant for $582 to support their work by providing free, high-quality, and structured preschool education to qualifying families.
Centre County Library & Historical Museum will receive a $450 grant for the One Book, Every Young Child learning initiative that highlights the importance of early literacy development to preschoolers ages three to six. The library will distribute 300 books to preschool children and their families while offering related literacy materials and special programming throughout Centre County.
Centre County PAWS will receive $922 from the Mattil Family Fund. In keeping with the animal welfare spirit of this fund, this grant will provide support to the orphaned kittens program which assists the youngest and neediest kittens brought to PAWS.
The Proud to be an American Fund will grant $1,314 to the Central Pennsylvania July 4th Festival. The grant will help expand the popular family-orientated Firecracker 4k race, which will celebrate its 15th year anniversary in July of 2016.
The William W. and Helen S. Litke Memorial Fund was established for the aid and assistance of the deaf and hearing impaired. Two organizations were awarded grants for this fund.
The high costs of hearing aids often make them out of reach for uninsured and low-income adults and seniors. Centre Volunteers in Medicine will receive $2,500 to help qualified hearing impaired patients apply for funding to receive hearing aids through the Starkey Hear Now Program.
Schlow Centre Region Library will use $3,000 from the Litke Memorial Fund to upgrade the library’s audio equipment in the community room. The library offers over 1,000 programs a year in the community room space and the planned audio improvements will provide microphones and speakers, thereby making the space more accessible to the hearing impaired.
The Ben Franklin Fund supports community projects with a broad reach, carrying out Franklin’s commitment to giving back to one’s community. Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts will receive $1,891 to support a glass armonica concert during First Night, held in downtown State College and attended by people from all over central Pennsylvania. The glass armonica was invented by Ben Franklin in 1761 and is credited as the first American musical instrument. The concert will combine music, history, art, and science into an unforgettable experience to help ring in the New Year.
For more information about all of Centre Foundation’s granting opportunities, please visit our website, follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Centre Foundation is committed to helping donors fulfill their philanthropic goals by building and maintaining a permanent collection of endowment funds. The Foundation champions the betterment of Centre County for both present and future generations with trustworthy leadership in shaping effective responses to community issues and opportunities.
