Lansdale , Pa. – The North Penn Community Health Foundation has awarded $407,500 in grants to local health and human service agencies to improve the quality and accessibility of health care for underserved residents in the area.

Eleven nonprofit organizations received the grants, which are intended to benefit people with chronic diseases, promote the use of volunteers, improve wellness and informed decision making, and strengthen the organizational effectiveness of the recipient organizations.

“For the last two years, the foundation has been evaluating local healthcare needs and using our resources to support the agencies that provide critical services to our community,” said Russell Johnson, executive director of the foundation. “We expect that these grants, awarded over the last several months, will help us achieve our expanding mission in several important areas.

The individual grants, ranging from $20,000 to $100,000, support a broad spectrum of programs with such goals as:

• providing opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities to participate in fitness activities;
• refining a Web site, developed with earlier North Penn funds, to effect better school-to-work transitions for students with disabilities;
• building the capacity of a camp for special needs youth to attract and professionalize a volunteer corps;
• developing a case management program that encourages self sufficiency among adolescent parents; and
• creating a school- and home-based counseling and social services program for K-6 students considered at risk of failing in school.

About half the total grants awarded – $212,000 – were earmarked for services to individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions. Another $120,000 was targeted for promoting wellness and informed decision making. The remainder covered the foundation's goals of promoting the use of volunteers and strengthening organizational capacity.

The Penn Foundation is the recipient of the largest grant, $100,000, to cover two years of costs for its Autism Family Support Center . The center seeks to address the child and family needs of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. The funds will be used to recruit, hire and train a developmental specialist, establish a family education and support service, and begin an after-school program.

Another grant of $50,000 was awarded to the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania to establish a drop-in center for individuals with mental health and emotional problems. The drop-in center will offer social and recreational activities for about 200 individuals. Research suggest that such services help reduce isolation and loneliness considered a precipitator of symptom relapse and re-hospitalization.

The North Penn Community Health Foundation, created three (3) years ago as a hospital conversion foundation, uses a grant-making budget of more than $1 million to identify and invest in programs that will improve the health, welfare and quality of life in the community.

Following is a list of the recipients and the amounts of their grants: