(YORK, PA, October 24) – Local community members helped York County Community Foundation (YCCF) advance its vision to create a vibrant York County by awarding eleven nonprofits with grants totaling $63,040.
The community grant making program of YCCF invites residents from across York County to bring a wider perspective to the review process. Volunteer grant readers evaluated grants of $6,000 or less from the THRIVE grants from the Fund for York County and the Hahn Home Fund for Embracing Aging.
This year’s volunteer grant readers reviewed sixteen applications and awarded $45,040 for THRIVE grants, and $18,000 from Embracing Aging.
“We are grateful to have many community grant readers who display a great passion for supporting and aiding our community’s growth through this grantmaking program,” said Roth J. Preap, Grants Program Officer at YCCF. “This cycle, we had twenty-two grant readers from nine different York County zip codes and each individual brought their own expertise, experiences, and perspectives to their evaluations. I am very excited for future grant cycles where our community grant readers can continue to help us transform our community in a positive way.”
Community grant readers are members of the community who are at least 18 years old, reside in York County, and are not employed by a nonprofit agency serving York County. They participated in grant evaluation training held by the community foundation and used an online system to read and score the grants before deciding which nonprofits received funding.
THRIVE grants focus on programs and collaboratives that transform lives and the York community by helping low-income people achieve economic mobility.
Grants are awarded to organizations or collaboratives that support YCCF’s strategic direction in creating new programs, expansion of existing programs, and planning and research.
Embracing Aging grants support new or existing programs that focus on helping adults age fifty and older.
Our most recent THRIVE grant recipients include:
- Children’s Museum of Lancaster for its new Museums for All program which provides learning opportunities for low-income children and their grownups with a discounted admission rate to Hands-on House.
- Young Thinkers of York, Inc. for its GEAR (Gaining Early Access to Robotics) Project Part 2 that uses robotics and engineering to teach students how math, science and technology can be used in the real world. The grant will provide 15 new robots to grow the program.
- YWCA York for its Bridge Housing Program Financial Literacy Program provided to domestic violence survivors in its Bridge Transitional Housing to break the cycle of poverty.
- The Movement of York, Inc. to grow its capacity at the Movement Pantry. The pantry aims to empower individuals to gain access to the resources they need through a trauma-informed approach.
- PennCares Support Services for its Community Enrichment Project to assist low-income families through a coat and shoe drive, a breakfast with Santa, and an Easter Egg Hunt Program.
- Junior Achievement of South Central PA to provide experiential educational opportunities for K-12 students in Title 1 schools in York County focusing on financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship.
- York Habitat for Humanity to provide financial education for low-income first-time homeowners with York Habitat. The homeownership program requires new homeowners go through financial counselling.
- York Jewish Community Center to support the coordination of its Family Services programs, including a food pantry, senior transportation, and resource referrals, providing a wrap-around safety net for low-income individuals.
“We are in our third year of offering this grant program. Community volunteers tell us how much they enjoy learning about the various nonprofits by reading their grant applications. They say it provides an increased knowledge about the many resources and programs available to enrich the lives of York Countians of all ages” shared, Cathy Bollinger, Managing Director of Embracing Aging.
Our most recent Embracing Aging grant recipients include:
- Suicide Prevention of York for its “Make It Ok to be an Older Adult” campaign to help those suffering both mentally and physically to not feel alone.
- PennCares Support Services for its “Wits Workout and Aging Positively” training programs for older adults at the White Rose Senior Center.
- Hospice & Community Care for its Enhancing Care Through Intergenerational Volunteer Pilot Program to build a diverse, intergenerational volunteer program to strengthen its patient care, primarily given to York Countians over the age of fifty who suffer from a serious illness.
York County Community Foundation is proud to support the positive impact of these programs that ensure everyone in York County has the opportunity to THRIVE!
