(York, PA, April 16, 2025) – York County Community Foundation (YCCF) is excited to announce its most recent round of grants to local nonprofits. The Foundation continues to fuel community transformation and remains committed to creating a vibrant and thriving community. In its first quarter, YCCF awarded over $228,700 in grants to thirteen nonprofit organizations.
“These grants reflect the diverse interests of our donors and highlight critical issues that impact career development, childhood education, health, housing, and transportation. We are amazed by the innovative solutions offered by nonprofits and their unwavering dedication to this important work. We know this work would be impossible without the generous contributions of our donors who play a vital role in driving this progress, and for that, we are deeply grateful,” shared Natalee Gunderson, President & CEO of YCCF.
The latest Grants from the THRIVE Grant Program Include:
- $23,364 to the York Jewish Community Center, for expansion of a second infant classroom at Gan Rimon Campus Child Care. This service expansion project will enable more residents with infants to improve their financial stability through employment, health care, or education, knowing their child is safe and secure.
- $20,000 to the West York Borough Police to hire a juvenile engagement officer. A dedicated police detective will help identify and target high risk youth within the West York & York City Communities. Youth will receive mentoring services, connections, referrals to other community-based social programs, and opportunities to explore educational and trade-related schooling opportunities.
- $10,000 to Wee Connect Early Learning Center, Inc., to enhance the quality of its educational offerings by purchasing the Teaching Strategies curriculum. This comprehensive and research-based program will transform their approach to early childhood education, ensuring every child receives tailored, developmentally appropriate learning experiences.
Grants and Prizes Supporting Give Local York:
- YCCF created a $50,000 Stretch Pool for YCCF Agency Fund Holders participating in Give Local York. The Stretch Pool is only available to nonprofits with an agency endowment at YCCF and will be divided evenly between all participating organizations. It’s our way of saying “thank you” for trusting YCCF to be your partner and for all the work you do to help make a vibrant York County! YCCF encourages non-profit organizations to establish an agency endowment funds to build a perpetual income source. We are pleased to offer this additional support to nonprofits that have taken this important step of creating a sustainable future for their organization.
- The Bob Hoffman Fund at York County Community Foundation has awarded a $5,000 grant for the Give Local York Stretch Pool. Organizations that promote sports and fitness are eligible for this prize. Robert C. Hoffman, the founder and then president of York Barbell Company, Inc. championed the causes of healthful living, nutrition, and physical fitness. Upon his death in 1985, the Bob Hoffman Foundation began funding “the promotion of public health and physical fitness through education, nutrition, exercise and athletic competition.” YCCF administers the Bob Hoffman Sports and Fitness Fund, continuing Mr. Hoffman’s legacy. Organizations in these categories will be entered to randomly win one of five $1,000 prizes on Give Day. Winning organizations will be selected during the 4 AM hour on May 2, 2025.
- The Mabel L. Slifer Fund for Animals and People in Need at York County Community Foundation has awarded a $5,000 grant for the Give Local York Stretch Pool. Organizations that promote the wellness and safety of animals are eligible for this stretch pool. The Mabel L. Slifer Fund at YCCF supports organizations that provide a home to stray and abandoned animals, curb animal cruelty, and educate the public on animal wellness and safety. Organizations in that category will be entered to randomly win one of five $1,000 prizes on Give Day. Winning organizations will be selected during the 2 PM hour on May 2, 2025.
- Memorial Health Fund, a supporting organization of the York County Community Foundation, has awarded a $15,000 grant for the Give Local York Healthcare Stretch Pool. Health and wellness organizations that participate in Give Local York are eligible for this stretch pool.
- The Hahn Home Fund for Embracing Aging will award $1,500 to one small/medium nonprofit and $1,500 to one large/extra large nonprofit that offers programming to York County individuals age 50+ who receive the most donors between the hours of 9 PM on May 1 through 12 PM on May 2, 2025. Winners will be selected by a random drawing by Give Local York staff.
Additional Grants from YCCF Include:
- $20,000 from the Bob Hoffman Sports & Fitness Fund to Lincolnway SportCenter for its Gloves Across the Globe Boxing for Community Unity program. This program focuses on outreach to youth facing difficulties at home or at school. A network of trained coaches and mentors are provided to help guide youth to seek higher education and become healthy, skilled, and productive members of society.
- $15,000 from the Chester H. Thomas Foundation Fund to River’s Edge Community Services for its Eastern York Workcamp. This camp brings together 300 youth and leaders from across the country to provide basic home repairs for aging adults, low-income, and disabled residents. The projects include constructing wheelchair ramps, building porches, adding trailer skirting, and painting interiors and exteriors of homes.
- $15,000 from the Bob Hoffman Sports & Fitness Fund to Accountability For Life to update gym equipment for its Strength and Conditioning Refresh program. AFL provides athletic training resources, academic support, and life skills coaching to over 75 at-risk youth to teach them discipline and consistency through physical fitness.
- $15,000 from the Bob Hoffman Sports & Fitness Fund to Eastern York Recreation Authority for its Blessing Field Revitalization project. Updates will be made to the baseball fields used by the Eastern York Recreation youth baseball and softball programs.
- $14,900 from the Michael L. and Catherine A. Gleim Fund to LifePath Christian Ministries for its Certified Recovery Specialist Training Program. Certifications will train current case management staff to better support individuals in recovery. Skills include advocacy and crisis intervention, knowledge of ethical standards, and awareness of cultural differences.
- $11,000 from the Doris E. Schwartz Education Fund to Positive Energy Arts for its 5-week preschool program called, Children’s Movement Circus, for Pre-K Counts’ students in York City. The Children’s Movement Circus curriculum was developed by Terpsichore Quest Educational Consulting as an Arts and Literacy Program for Pre-School and Kindergarten students. Through a series of circus-themed exercises, imagery, games and stories, children practice creativity, peer interaction and cognitive awareness.
- $10,000 from the Mabel L. Slifer Fund for People and Animals to Bell Socialization Services to support programs for twice as many residents at the Bell Family Shelter. Within the next year, Bell expects to serve an additional 400-500 individuals in need of housing in York County.
- $10,000.00 from the Mabel L. Slifer Fund for Animals and People to Omega Horse Rescue & Rehabilitation Center for its Horse Rescue & Rehabilitation program. This grant will allow us to rescue horses from being slaughtered and rehabilitate them to increase their chances of being adopted by their Forever Family.
- $1,500 from the Jeffrey D. Myers LGBTQ+ Fund to DreamWrights Center for Community Arts for non-gendered dressing rooms. To be as inclusive as possible, two non-gendered dressing rooms will be constructed. Adding more unspecified rooms with storage space and costume racks will further the accessibility goals of DreamWrights.
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