POTTSTOWN — It’s been 20 years since the sale of the nonprofit Pottstown Memorial Medical Center to the for-profit Community Health Systems resulted in the creation of the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation.
In that time, the foundation has provided more than $50 million in financial support to communities and organizations within a 10-mile radius of Pottstown — a process that is continuing with the bi-annual grant rounds.
Just this spring, the foundation issued grants worth $1.17 million to 42 institutions out of 53 that applied.
“That’s the greatest number of grant applications we’ve ever received, said board member William Scott Taddonio, who chairs the board’s Giving and Impact Committee.
In all, foundation grants have had an impact on 64,000 people Taddonio estimated.
During an anniversary dinner at Sunnybrook Ballroom, some of those supported over the last 20 years were highlighted in a video.
YWCA TriCounty Area
One of the community organizations with the longest history of partnership with the foundation is YWCA TriCounty Area, which has received 40 grants over the past 20 years totaling $42.1 million.
One of the first programs to benefit was called “Healthy Choices” and is designed to help “increase the knowledge of elementary and middle school girls in the Pottstown School District about healthy food, exercise, education, relationships and advocacy choices available to them, and the power in making healthy choices,” said Stacey Woodland, CEO of Pottstown YWCA.
That program started “with a cohort of a dozen young and has now evolved into hundreds” of boys and girls in seven area school districts, she said. “Funding from the foundation has made a huge difference in the lives of young girls.”
More recently, the foundation has supported the renovation of the south pool in the Pottstown Integrated Wellness Center building on North Adams Street in Pottstown which is home to both the YMCA and the YWCA TriCounty Area. It has been closed for more than a decade, she said.
“Without the foundation, think of the missed opportunities to support our youth,” said Woodland.
Boyertown Multi-Service
Over 19 years, the Boyertown Multi-Service agency has received 13 grants collectively worth $844,000 from the foundation.
Jocelyn Charles, the agency’s executive director, said those grants have been invaluable to programs like Preston’s Pantry, which supports 350 households with between, 15,000 and 27,000 pounds of food given out every month.
“If the foundation was not here, we wouldn’t be able to provide nearly the amount of resources that we do to families and community centers,” she said.
Community Health and Dental
More than $5.5 million divided among 21 different grants from the foundation have been received by the Community Health and Dental Center over the past 14 years.
Chef Executive Officer Bridgette McGivern said when the center opened in 2008, it saw 39 patients over the course of three days.
“Today, we have over 24,000 active medical and dental patients on our roster,” she said. “We see nearly 300 patients each day. Without the foundation. we’d never be able to do what we do.”
Schuylkill River Greenway
From helping to fund an extension of the Schuylkill River Trail in Berks County to supporting the Bike Pottstown free bike initiative, which is now combined with the Take it Outdoors facility that also rents kayaks, the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation has supported the Pottstown-based Schuylkill river Greenway organization for 19 years with 17 grants totaling $615,000.
“Without the foundation, we would have missed out on all this fresh air,” said Elaine Schaeffer, executive director of the Greenway.
Pottstown Athletic Club
Thirteen grants worth $831,000 over 11 years have helped the Pottstown Athletic Club to provide and expand a number of programs.
Rob Matthews, executive director of the club, said support for the club’s Pottstown Dragonboat Warriors team has resulted in several members reaching the national and international level of competition.
Crossfit, the club’s cornerstone, also has a spin-off, “Cross-Fit Resurgence, which helps athletes in recovery by engaging in physical training in a supportive environment. They’ve also supported funding for the future “Adaptive Athletics program that will support disabled individuals in the Pottstown area, through adaptive basketball, Crossfit and paddling,” he said.
“Without the foundation, we couldn’t provide much-needed support to under-served members of the community,” Matthews said.
STRIVE Initiative
Over the last five years, the foundation has provided six grants worth a total of $217,000 to the STRIVE Initiative, which provides mentoring, provides a class in audio production and produces a regular podcast.
“Our pipeline program starts early, with middle school students. Through our mentoring program, we match our students with a trained, caring adult who shares their interests and can support them on their educational and life journeys,” said co-founder and Executive Director David Charles.
“These mentors work with these students through high school and into their time at college. Through STRIVE, students develop into independent, driven and respected adults and successful community members,” said Charles. “Our youth wouldn’t have the leg-up they need, without the foundation’s help.”
The Path Forward
A lot has changed in the last 20 years and the foundation is now among them.
David Kraybill, who has been the foundation’s president for its entire existence, explained that the foundation is evolving into a community foundation.
“It has truly been a moving experience to be involved. We around the table have helped to create a community,” Kraybill told the roughly 200 people present at Thursday’s dinner.
“These past 20 years have been a true testament to the power of partnership. As we transition to a community foundation, we are able to deepen our impact and extend our reach in ways that reflect the needs and aspirations of the people we serve. Every grant, every donation, every dollar matters — weaving together a stronger, healthier future for us all,” Kraybill said.
According to its annual report, “As a community foundation, we’re expanding our focus beyond health and wellness by providing more opportunities for individuals to establish funds and endowments that will impact many other regional needs.”
This will allow donors to create targeted funds, such as one recently created to serve the needs of Vietnam Veterans, that exist under the umbrella of the new, broader community foundation.
“As a community foundation, we now have greater flexibility to utilize the resources entrusted to us in ways that truly reflects the needs and aspirations of the people we serve,” Kraybill wrote in a letter to support. “This transition ensures that every dollar given has the potential to reach farther, touching more lives and creating lasting change across our region.”
During an anniversary dinner Thursday, which carried the theme of “Seeds of Change,” the effort to involve the community in the foundation’s evolution into a community foundation was exemplified by the fact that the crowd was asked, through an electronic poll, to help choose a new name and a new logo.
Looking toward a new future, Kraybill told the audience, “Fasten your seatbelts. We’re moving ahead.”
