Dec 23, 2017 3 min read

Community Foundation of Greene County recently distributed $8,500 in grants to local nonprofits and schools.

One new fund, the Early Intervention Enrichment fund, hopes to help children and parents spend time together. The $3,000 grant was given to Greene County Human Services Early Intervention program for its Play Zone in Early Intervention project. The money will be used to purchase tickets, food and supplies for monthly activities with parents and children. This is the first grant from this new fund.

Foundation Executive Director Bettie Stammerjohn said the money comes from an anonymous donor-advised fund. The donor has an extensive career in early childhood intervention and understands the issues facing area children, families and workers. When budgets get tighter and programs are cut, activities outside the normal services offered are typically the first to go, Stammerjohn said. These are extras that help with socialization, “that can be such a crucial aspect of children with needs,” she said.

The foundation awarded more than $3.1 million in grants and scholarships since 2001 from a variety of funds.

“I think that is pretty good for a community foundation our size,” Stammerjohn said of meeting needs in the community that might not otherwise be met.

Other grants distributed as part of the fall grant application process include:

• $500 to Greene County Career and Technology Center from the Excellence in Education Fund for a video production and editing portfolio project.
• Three $2,000 grants to Carmichaels, Jefferson-Morgan and Southeastern Greene school districts from Educational Improvement Tax Credit Fund. Carmichaels plans to update video equipment and software for their media broadcasting class, Jefferson-Morgan will use the money to purchase a 3-D Printer and a laser engraver/cutter for their Project Lead the Way engineering initiative and to Southeastern Greene will fund their Artist in Residence program.
• $500 to Eva K. Bowlby Public Library for the “So You Want to Babysit! Essentials” project from Cindy’s Wind Fund for Women and Girls.
• Six fall community grants were awarded, funded by Bob Bradford Fund and Forever Greene Fund: $1,500 to Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh for the Working for Greene project to help people looking for a job; $2,000 to Eva K. Bowlby Public Library to purchase new laptops for the Code Squad project, which teaches elementary-age children the basics of computer programming and animation; $500 to Penn State Extension Greene 4-H program to assist with expenses for the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day in May; $500 to Penn State Extension Greene 4-H program to offer a Birding Camp in June 2018 in partnership with Ralph K. Bell Bird Club of Greene County; $2,000 to the Pennsylvania Behavioral Health and Aging Coalition to provide training on older adult and mental health-related topics to first responders and emergency personnel in Greene County; and $2,000 to Weekend Food Program to provide packs of food for food insecure students in Greene County schools.

“It is a privilege to be able to support these programs conducted by our local schools and nonprofits, and especially to be able to make a difference in the lives of our children and families,” said Dr. Morris Harper, the board’s chairman. “As much as we at the Foundation would like to take the credit for making these grants, it is a great honor to work with the donors who make these grants possible. They are truly the philanthropists who have the desire to help our community.”