POTTSTOWN PA – Nine area non-profit agencies were announced Thursday (May 18, 2023) as recipients of grant money for specific projects distributed by the Student Philanthropy Council of The Hill School. Those selected to receive a total of $25,000 were chosen from among 19 applicants, “a record number,” according to the student-led council.
Its gifts were designated for a variety of causes, covering food insecurity, literacy advocacy, historic preservation, education, and mental and physical wellness.
Accepting grants were:
- Berks Connections Pretrial Services, and its Mothers’ and Fathers’ Voices Program. It allows incarcerated parents to create videos showing them reading children’s books. Recordings then are shared with their children. In this way parents and children can maintain and enhance their connections, and ease their transitions upon the inmates’ returns to their families.
- The Foundation for Pottstown Education and its new student grant program. Students in each of the Pottstown School District’s six buildings will work with teachers to create grant proposals for projects to benefit their schools. Eligible projects are those that enhance their school environment, touch as many children as possible, and typically are not funded by the school district.
- Montgomery Child Advocacy Project. Its mission is to prevent and end child abuse. The grant will support its recent purchase of a therapy dog named Nutmeg, who helps witnesses – especially traumatized children – remain composed and calm during often overwhelming court experiences. The funding will help provide food and veterinary services.
- Mother Goose: Read to Me. The program promotes early literacy among parents and their babies among socioeconomically disadvantaged families in the Pottstown area. Mother Goose partners with other agencies to give free age-appropriate books to parents and encourage them to read to their infants and toddlers. Families who benefit from this program often lack extra money to for such books.
- Pottstown FARM. The borough’s seasonal farmer market operates every other Saturday from May through October. Funding will allow FARM to encourage good nutrition and help under-served families. It will fill and bags with fresh, sustainable foods such as tomato sauces, jams, and honey, as well as some fresh vegetables and healthy recipes, and distribute them to those in need.
- Pottstown Historical Society. Its grant will allow society volunteers to rebind directories that date back more than 100 years. The society also will purchase archival-quality materials to protect other irreplaceable documents.
- Project Purpose. The organization provides low-income students with quality extra-curricular activities, and particularly serves students and families of the Rolling Hills apartment complex in Lower Pottsgrove. Its grant will provide its STEAM curriculum club called “Ignite” with hands-on, scientific inquiry enrichment projects and field trips for students in kindergarten through 8th grade.
- Schuylkill River Greenways. The council is helping to fund the Youth Watershed Education Program, offered at not cost to youths ages 10-14. Pottstown area participants will learn about environmental issues, conduct water quality-related testing, and enjoy guided paddling on the Schuylkill River.
- Steel River Playhouse. Steel River creates and presents professional-grade entertainment that contributes to the region’s cultural life. Its grant will provide youth scholarships to summer camp and summer-intensive production programs, and extend Steel River’s commitment to making arts education affordable to as many students as possible.
“We hope these grants will positively influence … our greater community, and we hope the recipients will share their success stories with us,” council president Anna Carroll of Chester Springs said.
About the Student Philanthropy Council
The Student Philanthropy Council at The Hill School was created to encourage students to learn about the value and processes of philanthropy; develop life-long habits of volunteerism and “giving back;” and provide funds to non-profits working to enhance the lives of Pottstown area residents.
It was founded during 2008 through a generous gift to The Hill School by the late Charles Frank III, a member of its 1959 graduating class and a former chairman of its Board of Trustees; and his wife, Elizabeth “Betty” Frank, of Florida. Mrs. Frank, the retired senior vice president of Lazard Freres Asset Management in New York, attended the May 10 (Wednesday) grants presentation ceremony.
Council members are selected through an application process that looks for students’ interest in altruistic endeavors, and in serving the community where Hill makes its home.
Request for grant proposals are distributed by and returned to the council, which then meets several times to discuss submissions and determine follow-up questions before visiting the non-profits’ organizations or conducting interviews with their administrators. Council members later meet with faculty advisors to they discuss how best to distribute its allocated funds.
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