North Penn Community Health Foundation
Awards $207,100 in Grants
The North Penn Community Health Foundation has awarded nine grants totaling $207,100 to local nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving the health and well-being of at-risk populations in North Penn communities.
North Penn Housing/Homeless Providers’ Network received $50,000 in grant support to develop a framework and strategy to overcome the currently fragmented homeless and housing service delivery system. The Network is comprised of representatives from Montgomery County Housing & Community Development, Indian Valley Housing Corporation, Indian Valley Opportunity Center, Manna on Main Street, Interfaith Housing Alliance of Ambler and Community Housing Services. The Network has engaged Jason Alexander to facilitate a critical exploration of how consumers are currently served by the homeless and housing service provider network and to identify opportunities to improve access to case management and housing services. The goal of this initiative is to develop a consumer-driven, results-oriented coordinated housing system. This grant will be administered by the Indian Valley Housing Corporation.
Strategic Planning grants ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 over one year were awarded to six organizations. Child Home & Community, Indian Creek Foundation, Manna on Main Street, Pennypack Farm Education Center for Sustainable Food Systems, Interfaith Housing Alliance and the North Penn YMCA. Each agency recognizes the importance of strategic planning as a foundation for the ongoing success and the significance of strategic planning in developing a thorough understanding of critical issues and choices facing their organizations. These strategic planning grants support professional facilitation and guidance of the strategic planning process. Each organization plans to engage board members, leadership staff and key stakeholders to develop a comprehensive strategic plan that will define long term and short term goals and a plan and timeframe for achieving those goals.
Many children in the Indian Valley return home from school and community activities and fail to receive a well-balanced evening meal. A consortium of nonprofit organizations including the Indian Valley Boys and Girls Club, Generations (formerly SAAC of Indian Valley), the Food Trust and Health Promotion Council of Southeastern PA received a grant of $14,600 over four months to conduct a feasibility study to determine the scope of this problem as it relates to participants of the Indian Valley Boys and Girls Club. In a creative collaboration, these partners will work together to conduct surveys and focus groups. Data will be used to determine the scope and nature of the need, and assess the feasibility of offering a nutritious evening meal to club members and perhaps also their families. The program will build upon and coordinate with ongoing efforts of the WISE SNAC initiative in the Souderton Area School District.
Developmental Enterprises Corporation was awarded a $7,000 grant over one year in support of creative movement and yoga therapy for consumers using its Hatfield facility. This grant supports an expansion of a pilot program started last year at the Worcester facility. Consumers of that program and the staff found positive results in reducing stress and improving anger management of the developmentally disabled adults served by DEC.
