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Community Foundation Awards $182,500 in Grants

March 29, 2017

“A cool slate of grants” is how Bob Allen described the 23 projects funded by the Greene County Community Foundation (GCCF). Allen was the last grant recipient to speak at the Community Foundation’s donor recognition and grant awards celebration Monday evening at the First Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall in Jefferson.

“I want to thank everybody in this room for all the volunteer work you do to make this community great,” Allen said as he invited people to give themselves a round of applause for their efforts. Allen, a volunteer youth football coach, accepted a grant for the Greene County Youth Athletic Association. He is also a member of Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation.

The GCCF awarded grants totaling $179,500 at its 12th annual event. This was the first full year of funding coming from Grow Greene County, which holds the gaming license for Wild Rose Jefferson. For comparison, the GCCF awarded $119,000 in grants in 2016.

Prior to awarding the grants, GCCF president Tom Wind noted the Community Foundation was started in 2005 with donations from 41 persons totaling $54,000. In 2016, 80 donors gave a total of $7,500. A total of $180,000 has been put in the endowment fund, and the investment has grown to $330,000.

Most members of Grow Greene County were at the celebration. Lori Mannel, a former member of the Community Foundation board who is now part of Grow Greene County, noted that Grow Greene County has made commitments to disburse about $2.5 million in the county and surrounding counties to date.

In the 12 years since the Community Foundation was established in 2005, the group has awarded 231 grants totaling $1.2 million to more than 80 different Greene County non-profits.

Grants were awarded and accepted by representatives of the various groups as follows:

• City of Scranton, $27,412, replacement of playground equipment near the Community Center, Julie McAleer and Randy Winkleman;
• VFW Post 9599, $22,584, benches, flag poles, lighting, etc for Freedom Rock Park, Don Ihnken and Dawn Rudolph;
• City of Grand Junction, $22,000, necessary repairs to the municipal swimming pool, Teresa Lansman and Alan Robinson;
• Highland Township Cemetery, $18,281, GPS mapping and gravestone restoration, $18,281, John McCormick and Tim Towers;
• Greene County Early Learning Center, $14,460, replace furniture and carpet, Cherie Cerveny;
• Habitat for Humanity, $10,000, replace roofs, exterior paint, etc on Helping Hands project homes, Angie Jewett;
• Greene County Historical Society, $9,876, match for CDBG façade improvement grant, Roger Aegerter;
• City of Jefferson, $6,491, update surveillance cameras on Doreen Wilber statue and target, Don Orris;
• New Hope Village, $6,000, vertical lift platform at New Hope Bargain Shoppe, Cindy Beck and Lisa Willis;
• Jefferson park and recreation department, $5,502, install surveillance system at municipal pool, Vicky Lautner;
• Paton-Churdan Community Schools for P-C Early Learning Center, $4,609, age and developmentally appropriate equipment, Morgan Fredricksen;
• Greene County Community Schools, $4,500, subscription to Scholastic News for all students gr. K-8, Julie Neal;
• City of Scranton, $4,300, refurbish Memory Room at Community center, Dawn Rudolph and Amy Christian;
• Sierra Community Theatre, $4,125, video captioning and audio amplification devices, Steve Pope;
• Bell Tower Community Foundation, $3,066, souvenir penny press machine, Carole Custer and Jean Feldmann;
• Jefferson VFW Post 9599 for Boy Scout Troop 534, replace tents, $2,700, Scott Johnson;
• Youth and Shelter Services, $2,500, reducing barriers to employment for low income families, Sheila Paul;
• Assault Care Center, $2,000, lodging, transportation, etc for victims of domestic or sexual assault, Linda Mundon;
• Paton-Churdan Community Schools, $2,000, water bottle filling station, Amanda Tasler;
• Friends of Rippey, $1,908, renovation of restrooms at baseball field, Mary Weaver and Dan Brubaker;
• Jefferson Matters: Main Street, $1,485, rooftop art “Patches of Greene” on roof of Homestead Bakery, Deb McGinn;
• Greene County Youth Athletic Association, $1,300, ImPACT concussion software, Bob Allen; and
• Greene County Community Foundation, $3,000 for expenses.

Grant recipients (front, from left) Boy Scouts of Troop 534 Brady Stevens, Ty Purdie and Jackson Gerdes; (second row, from left) Kaleb Fisher, Parker Lehman, Brad Mason, Liam Wright, Jaden Wright and Nathan Wailes; (third row, from left) Teresa Lansman, Mary Weaver, Deb McGinn, Morgan Fredricksen, Jean Feldmann, Linda Mundon, Dawn Rudolph, Julie McAleer, Cherie Cerveny and Julie Neal; and (back, from left) Tom Wind, Sue Richardson, Lisa Willis, Amanda Tasler, Vicky Lautner, Angie Jewett, Don Orris, Mike Pope, Roger Aegerter, Don Ihnken, John McCormick, Bob Allen, Sheila Paul, Scott Johnson and scout Gunner Hooper, and Grow Greene County president Norm Fandel.