Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation Awards $1.25M in Grants in Spring 2019 for Local Organizations, Quality of Life
Pottstown, PA – July 30, 2019 – The Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation (PAHWF) has awarded 37 grants totaling $1,249,497 in grant requests to local non-profit organizations, schools and municipalities during the spring grant round of fiscal year 2018-2019 that sustain and grow health and wellness, and ultimately strive to improve quality of life.
Twice per year, the Foundation accepts grant requests which are based on criteria that ensures the programs impact healthy behaviors, physical and emotional health or that strengthen non-profits, and ultimately the community.
“To make a difference in the health and wellness of our residents, we evaluate our grantees very carefully to provide a balance of programs within our priority areas. Ultimately, we want the region to have the tools and resources available that people need to make wise choices that affect the health of their lifestyle; collectively it can impact and improve the entire community’s needs,” said Foundation President Dave Kraybill.
The grants were awarded according to the priority areas of grant funding as categorized below.
To invest in (Priority Area #1a) promoting healthy living through nutrition, activities and programs in public and private schools to reduce obesity and encourage healthy living, $207,500 was awarded across five grants to:
- Brookside Montessori: BWell
- Coventry Christian School: Wellness Improvement Project
- Pottsgrove School District: 2019-2020 Health & Wellness Proposal
- Pottstown School District: PEAK Whole Child Wellness Community Expansion
- Spring-Ford Area School District: Wellness Matters 2019-20
Four grants were awarded totaling $59,500 for (Priority Area #1b) improving parks, programming and the built environment to increase access to physical activity to:
- Borough of Pottstown: Potts Drive Park Playground Renovations
- Douglass Township-Montgomery County: Capacity Building Project- Tracking the Trace of Footprints
- East Coventry Township Parks and Recreation: Finding Your Way to Our Parks
- North Coventry Township: River Bend Park Playground Phase II
Twenty-one grants totaling $727,200 were awarded toward organizations for (Priority Area #1c) creating and promoting social networks involving healthy living:
- Accion Comunal Latinoamericana de Montgomery County: Community Health Connections (CHC)
- Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust: Railbike Expeditions through the Secret Valley- PA’s First Railbike Experience
- Expressive Therapy Concepts Inc.: Smashville Badminton- Kids and Adult Fitness Program
- Foundation for Boyertown Education: Organization Sustainability
- Foundation for Pottstown Education: Operating Salaries
- Greater Pottstown Tennis and Learning Association: Game, Set, College
- Green Valleys Association: Outdoor Education Programs at Pottstown Schools
- Habitat for Humanity: Pottstown Resident Leadership Training & Neighborhood Revitalization
- Julian Dorsey Foundation: Further Infrastructure Development
- Meals on Wheels of Chester County, Inc.: Assistance in Purchasing Meals for Needy, Homebound Individuals in Spring City
- Michaels Community Services Corporation: Food Security for Residents of Rolling Hills Apartments
- Montgomery County Community College Foundation: Social Entrepreneurship Competition
- Olivet Boys & Girls Club: Triple Play/Weekend Hours
- Preservation Pottstown: Pottstown Farm & Regional Artisan Market
- Project Purpose: General Operating
- Save Alliance Foundation: The Youth Empowerment Project
- TriCounty Community Network, Inc.: Pottstown Children’s Discovery Center
- TriCounty Community Network, Inc.: Swim Club Partnership
- United Way of Boyertown Area: PAHWF Matching Grant
- Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board: 2019 Valley Forge Invitational
- Work Opens Resources Key to Success: Road to Growth
Four grants totaling $56,750 were awarded to the following organizations for (Priority Area #2) funding learning opportunities for physical and emotional health:
- Community Health and Dental Care, Inc.: Dental Sealant Project
- Laurel House: Counseling
- Maternal and Child Health Consortium of Chester County: Healthy Start and Access to Benefits for Vulnerable Families in Pottstown
- Spring-Ford Counseling Services: Mental Health Programming for School Students
To fund (Priority Area #3) learning opportunities and strategic planning to strengthen non-profits, PAHWF awarded three grants totaling $198,547 to:
- Pottstown Area Industrial Development Inc.: PAID
- TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Inc.: Board Leadership Training Program
- TriCounty Community Network, Inc.: Community Funding Developer
For more information on the Foundation’s grant-making, please visit https://pottstownfoundation.org/grantmaking/learn-how/grantmaking-cycles.