by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Aug 8, 2022 | CFFC News
The Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC) launched the Mask Initiative in April of 2020 to provide disposable masks to local organizations during the covid-19 pandemic. The initiative wrapped up in July 2022, donating nearly 300,000 masks to over 140 organizations. Online mask requests were open to first response organizations, healthcare organizations, human service agencies, churches, and other nonprofits serving Fayette, Greene, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties.
Thanks to a $30,000 grant from The Heinz Endowments and a $25,000 grant from the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation, CFFC purchased masks from local manufacturer DCG Supplies.
“At the beginning of the pandemic, we would review requests and have them picked up at our office every week. There were times when over thirty organizations would be picking up masks in one cycle,” explained CFFC Executive Director Renee Couser.
Fayette EMS
The Mask Initiative provided masks at no cost to organizations and became a reliable resource to help protect staff, clients, and residents as organizations continued to serve the community. Some of the organizations that received multiple mask donations include: Brownsville Ambulance Service, Centerville Clinics, Fayette County Drug & Alcohol Commission, Fayette EMS, German-Masontown Public Library, Greensburg YMCA, John Wesley A M E Zion Church, Mt. Macrina Manor, Salvation Army Uniontown, St. Florian Church, Verland, and Washington Christian Outreach.
“The Mask Initiative is a great example of our flexibility as a community foundation,” said CFFC Chair J.D. Ewing. “CFFC was able to create a new initiative to address the urgent needs of the community at the outset of the pandemic, all through philanthropy and while staying true to our mission,” explained Ewing.
To learn more about the Community Foundation of Fayette County’s mission, visit www.cffayettepa.org.
Uniontown Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center
“Everyone at our Fayette County home really appreciates receiving these masks from the Community Foundation of Fayette County!” said Verland’s Kathy Kacvinsky.
“We are grateful for the donation of these much-needed supplies. Your gift makes it possible for us to safely provide essential programs such as child care to the many families who rely on us,” said Greensburg YMCA’s Suzanne Printz.
by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Aug 1, 2022 | CFFC News, Grants
The Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC) is now accepting applications for the fall grant cycle. Organizations will apply through CFFC’s online grant system. All applications have a September 30 deadline.
The Burchinal Family Endowment Fund is accepting requests of $5,000 to support charities that provide health and medical care for Fayette County residents.
The Arthur and Millicent Gabriel Legacy Fund invites teachers, school counselors, and administrators in the Laurel Highlands School District and Uniontown Area School District to submit requests of $500 – $10,000 for reusable items that will enhance classrooms.
The Idea Fund invites teachers at St. John the Evangelist Regional Catholic School, Geibel Catholic Junior-Senior High School, Laurel Highlands School District, and Albert Gallatin School District to submit requests of $1,000 to enhance traditional classroom learning in any subject, show creativity in teaching, and expand the horizons of students.
The Patricia and Robert Metz Educational Fund invites requests of $500 from Uniontown Area High School to support teacher or student activities or the purchase of classroom materials for STEM teaching and learning.
Learn more about each grant opportunity and preview the application questions through CFFC’s online grant system. Please direct any questions to Rebecca Wardle, Communications & Grantmaking Coordinator, at 724-437-8600 x203.
by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Jul 14, 2022 | CFFC News
On July 8, Governor Tom Wolf signed into law HB1642, a sprawling public school system bill which includes a ban on scholarship displacement at public colleges and universities. This makes Pennsylvania the fourth state in the country to eliminate the practice of colleges and universities reducing a student’s financial aid package when the student receives a private scholarship.
A statewide coalition of scholarship providers, including the Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC), initiated the call for elimination of scholarship displacement in 2018. CFFC Executive Director Renee Couser explained, “As a community foundation, our duty is to carry out our donors’ intent when they entrust us with their charitable giving. When we award a scholarship to a student on behalf of a donor, and the university then reduces that student’s financial aid package, that essentially eliminates the scholarship’s benefit to the student and defeats our donor’s purpose in awarding the scholarship.”
The coalition included members of the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association, the Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Foundation, the Philadelphia College Prep Roundtable, and Pittsburgh’s Poise Foundation. State legislature and the governor took steps to address scholarship displacement, resulting in HB1642 being signed into law and going into effect immediately.
CFFC awarded over $195,000 to local post-secondary students for the 2022-2023 school year, from 54 scholarship funds. “We shared an information sheet about scholarship displacement to help educate applicants, and we include specific wording in our award letters that request our scholarships to be stacked on top of a student’s financial aid, instead of being displaced,” said CFFC Scholarship Coordinator Lee O’Neil. Now, this practice will be banned at public colleges and universities, and the conversation will continue to educate students, school administrators, and donors.
Read the Herald-Standard article
by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Jul 5, 2022 | CFFC News
The Community Foundation of Fayette County has closed requests for the Mask Initiative. The final donation requests in review will exhaust our mask supply and conclude this special initiative. Stay tuned for a full recap soon! If you have a question about your mask order that has not yet been received, please call 724-437-8600 x203.
by Community Foundation of Fayette County | Jul 1, 2022 | Building a Stronger Fayette
“The number of volunteer firefighters in Pennsylvania has decreased by 50% in the last ten years,” said Dr. Shawna Little, Workforce Development Coordinator at Connellsville Area Career and Technical Center (CACTC). CACTC hosted a five-day, hands-on Junior Firefighter Boot Camp to encourage young people to get involved in serving their communities as volunteer firefighters. The Community Foundation of Fayette County (CFFC) supported the boot camp with a grant from the Building a Stronger Fayette Fund.
Experienced fire service instructors lead 23 Fayette County students, middle school and high school aged, in the boot camp. Certified EMS personnel were also on scene to ensure everyone’s safety.
Students learned about the main facets of firefighter training throughout the five days, including engine work, ladder work, fire science, and vehicle rescue. Students experienced wearing full gear, connecting a hydrant and hose, forcing doors and vehicles open with tools, and more. On the last day, the students went to New Haven Hose Fire Company and worked in teams to respond to a fire simulation in a vacant house, putting their new skills to the test in a safe environment.
“The students came together and were focused and engaged in every skill we taught them, and in doing so, they learned self-confidence and teamwork…. All of the students were asking if we were going to host the boot camp again next year, which is a testament to how much they enjoyed their experience and gained from it,” said Dr. Little.
Ronald Barry is a Protective Services Instructor at CACTC and Chief of the South Brownsville Fire Company. He believes that supporting this boot camp “to ignite the spark in these young men and women will save lives and property well into the future.” CACTC’s first-ever Junior Firefighter Boot Camp was a success, providing hands-on training and education about the crucial services of local firefighters, which follows CFFC’s grantmaking theme of “building a stronger Fayette“.
Photos submitted by CACTC
