Community to Benefit from $1.6 Million in Grants Awarded by Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation

COMMUNITY TO BENEFIT FROM $1.5 MILLION IN GRANTS AWARDED BY POTTSTOWN AREA HEALTH & WELLNESS FOUNDATION
Board Approves $600,000 Increase in Fiscal Grant Budget Due to High Quality Requests

Pottstown, PA, June 5, 2007 – In its spring round of grants, the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation was pleased to announce that they are investing over $1.5 million into the local community to enhance the health and wellness of area residents through its grant program. This final amount took the Foundation over its fiscal grants budget of $2.5 million, to $3.1 million. “We had an unusually large number of grant requests that were high quality, fit our mission and were very worthy of funding,” stated Charles F. Palladino, Board President, Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation. “The board was confident that we could handle it from a fiscal perspective. We had the monies available and just didn’t want to decline applications for great programs.”

The Foundation provides grants to non-profit health and wellness providers, who use the money to develop and enhance programs that support their purpose. “Since grants are our cornerstone, we take an outcomes-based approach to grant-making,” comments Dave Kraybill, Executive Director, Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation. “Outcomes are things that benefit people, such as new knowledge, increased skills, a positive change in attitude or values, or a positive change in behavior or an improved condition. We award grants to area organizations that best use their resources, services and products to help people improve their health and well-being.”

The Foundation distributes grants according to its four long-term goals:

• Goal 1: Reduce Behavioral Risks
• Goal 2: Improve Access to Medical Services
• Goal 3: Enhance Formal and Informal Supports
• Goal 4: Improve Physical and Social Environment

In support of the “Reduce Behavioral Risks” goal, the Foundation is donating $956,795 to the following 18 community organizations and programs:

1. Boyertown Area School District – Healthy Hearts and Minds Physical Education Curriculum
2. Brookeside Montessori – Health Education Programs
3. Daniel Boone Area School District – Coordinated School Health Program
4. Devereux Foundation – School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS)
5. Falkner Swamp Nursery School, Inc. – Health and Wellness Initiative
6. KenCrest Centers – REACH Project, Empowers People with Developmental Disabilities to Make Healthier Lifestyle Choices
7. Maternal and Child Health Consortium of Chester County – Healthy Start Program
8. Owen J. Roberts School District – Fit for Life
9. Pottsgrove School District – Dance Dance Revolution, Elementary Physical Education Program
10. Pottstown Public Library – Family Place Library
11. Pottstown School District – Pottstown Early Action for Kindergarten Readiness (PEAK) Health Initiative
12. Pottstown School District – Healthy School Communities Initiative
13. Spring-Ford Area School District – Healthy Choices 2007-2008
14. St. Aloysius School – Steps to a Healthier You – Walking & Nutrition
15. St. Pius X High School – Fitness Center
16. The Growing Center, Inc. – Horticultural Therapy for Community
17. YWCA Tri-County Area – Healthy Choices “My Choice! My Voice! Girls in Charge!” Program
18. YWCA Tri-County Area – Summer Out of School Quality Time Program

In support of the “Improve Access to Medical Services” goal, the Foundation is donating $40,000 to the following two community organizations and programs:

1. Children’s Aid Society – Women’s Voices Healthy Choices
2. Special Olympics of Pennsylvania – Special Olympic Athletes

In support of the “Enhance Formal and Informal Supports” goal, the Foundation is donating $228,112 to the following six community organizations and programs:

1. Boyertown Area Community Wellness Council – Public Awareness Program
2. Family Services of Montgomery County – Project HEARTH
3. Project Outreach – Winter Assistance Program
4. Tri-County Community Network – Community Programs and Operating Expenses
5. United Way of Boyertown – Challenge Grant to Maximize Residential Giving
6. United Way of Southeastern PA (SEPA) – Challenge Grant to Motivate Current and Future Donors

In support of the “Improve Physical and Social Environment” goal, the Foundation is donating $346,425 to the following 11 community organizations and programs:

1. Green Valleys Association – Environmental Health Teacher Workshop
2. Lower Pottsgrove Township – Sprogels Run Park
3. North Coventry Food Pantry – Food Pantry Program
4. North Coventry Township – Connect Existing Hiking Trails to Woody’s Woods
5. Pottstown Parks & Recreation – Leverage for Recreational Facilities in Pottstown
6. Pottstown Parks & Recreation –Spray Park
7. Preservation Pottstown – Bike Pottstown
8. Royersford Outreach, Inc. – Support Food Pantry and its Programs
9. Schuylkill River Greenway Association – Douglass Bridge Debris Removal
10. The Rotary Club of Boyertown – A Playground for Everyone Project
11. West-Mont Christian Academy – Renovations to Gymnasium and Weight Room

The Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation’s mission is to enhance the health and wellness of area residents by providing education, funding and programs that motivate people to adopt healthy lifestyles. For more information on the Foundation as well as grant information, visit www.pottstownfoundation.org. For motivating information and delicious healthy recipes, click on “Mission: Good Nutrition,” which is their ½ hour television program promoting healthy living and lifestyles that airs on Channel 27 PCTV every Thursday at 7:00 p.m.