Operation Our Town awards grants

Aug 31, 2023

LAKEMONT — Twenty-four programs aimed at the education and prevention of drug use in Blair County were awarded about $60,000 in grants from Operation Our Town on Tuesday.

Over the past 16 years, Operation Our Town, an organization formed by local business leaders to combat drug use in Blair County, has awarded $1.3 million in grants to area nonprofits.

For this grant cycle, awards were given to organizations ranging from the Altoona Area Public Library’s Focused on Foundations program, which will create a new play group for children that teaches their parents/guardians about their child’s early development, to Evolution Expression’s Arts for Healing Program, which helps at-risk youth combat the effects of trauma through art-related activities.

Evolution Expressions Program Director Ashleigh Nearhoof said that some of the other programs they offer include Zoomba Jam, yoga, baking and an LGBTQI group that is “completely free for any kiddo in the community.”

“A lot of the kids involved in our programs are also involved in a counseling service, and our allies group is strictly for children who are in the community,” Nearhoof said.

In a different vein, the Booker T. Washington Revitalization Corp will be putting its grant money toward constructing a new playground in the Garden Heights neighborhood of Altoona, said volunteer Dave Cunningham. The volunteer nonprofit organization works closely with the Central Blair Parks and Recreation Commission to identify and revitalize existing parks and playgrounds.

“Being so close to the commercial district of the city, that particular lot as it stood earlier in the year was pretty run down and was kind of an attractive place for trouble,” Cunningham said. “We had a group of concerned citizens in the area approach our group to say, ‘We would like to see something happen here similar to what you’ve done elsewhere.'”

Cunningham said that work on the playground would start “any day now” and that it should be finished by the end of the year.

Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Blair County Interim Executive Director Jane Gable said it is both an in- and out-of-school program that has mentors and students pair up.

“We are just so grateful to the Operation Our Town funding because we couldn’t do it without you,” Gable said. “You help us with our materials; you help us do whatever we can in this program. We spend a lot of time training our mentors to be good mentors to our littles, who are primarily at-risk kids.”

Following the handing out of awards, Operation Our Town Secretary and Chairman of Blair Companies Phil Devorris thanked those in attendance for the work that they do, saying that “every bit of the money we have raised has gone back” into the community.

“When this started back in 2006, it was Michael (Fiore) standing up at a banking meeting saying ‘guys, I don’t know what to do but we need to do something,'” Devorris said. “The only way we figured out what to do was being fortunate enough to be in a community with folks like you that are touching people day in and day out and saying ‘look, I can do more and I’m willing to do more but I just need some help.'”

Operation Our Town will begin accepting grant applications in May 2024, according to Executive Coordinator Shawna Hoover.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.

Grant Recipients

– Altoona Area School District Adult Education’s Key to a Bright Future ($1,375) awarding high school equivalency scholarships for Blair County adults.

– AASD’s Education Leading to Employment and Career Training Program ($1,375) to provide pregnant and parenting teens nutritious meals at special events, provide students with necessities for their household and ensure students have safe and suitable car seats/safety items for their children.

– Altoona Area Public Library’s Focused on Foundations ($1,000) for a new play group for children, birth to age 3.

– AASD Foundation’s Project SOAR ($5,000) for supplies and program materials for financial assistance to pursue a post-secondary education.

– Arts Altoona’s After School Arts Program ($1,000) for free, consistent arts programming for youth in elementary and middle school throughout each school year.

– Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Blair County: Students and Mentors Achieving Results Together ($6,000).

– Blair Regional YMCA: Family Y-Nite ($1,000) to help low-income families attend activities that bring families together in a fun, safe, affordable and drug-free environment, which provides food, resources, art, music and crafts.

– Booker T. Washington Revitalization Corp: Garden Heights Playground ($2,500).

– Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown: Getting Ahead ($1,000) to be used to walk beside those in poverty, homeless or nearly homeless, to introduce strategies and tools to become self-sufficient, allowing them to have a choice to get ahead.

– Central Blair Recreation and Park Commission: Youth Sports Program Supplies/Equipment ($2,999) for new program supplies and equipment for youth sports programs.

– Child Advocates of Blair County: CHOICES Summer Program ($500) for supplies and incentives for a youth summer program at Evergreen Manors that will include educational topics and agency speakers, as well as topic-related crafts, games and activities.

– Evolution Expressions: Arts for Healing Program ($2,500) to provide programming for youth with the purchase of art supplies to help at-risk youth combat the effects of trauma.

– Gloria Gates Memorial Foundation: After School Program ($13,000) to fund educational materials, incentives, healthy snacks, field trips and individual assistance to youth at-risk enrolled in three after-school programs held within the low-income housing developments of Evergreen Manors, Fairview Hills and Logan Hills.

– Home Nursing Agency Foundation: Healing Patch ($2,500).

– Morrisons Cove Memorial Park: Stay Drug Free at Spring Cove ($1,375) for drug prevention and mental wellness events.

– Northern Blair County Recreation Commission: Sponsored Youth Program ($1,000) to work with at-risk students or those in need, by providing programming/activities that promote a healthy lifestyle while also being educated on drug and alcohol awareness.

– Overflow Church: Jefferson Park Neighborhood Outreach ($1,375) for supplies for neighborhood outreach events at Jefferson Park such as community cleanup days, cookouts, trunk or treat and Easter egg hunts.

– Roaring Spring Community Library Association: Hydroponics on a Shoestring ($1,000) to promote drug prevention and recovery through reducing food insecurity by offering hydroponics.

– The R.O.C.K. at 2nd Avenue: Reaching Out to Community Kids ($6,000) to purchase food and program supplies for youth in pre-K through grade 12 and provide a home-cooked meal, gym/physical activities, arts and crafts and age-appropriate small groups that encourage healthy living.

– Tyrone Area School District: Arts Elevate ($2,000) to buy an additional potter’s wheel for an after-school program aimed at creating an environment to support disenfranchised and disconnected students through mentorship and art.

– Tyrone Snyder Public Library: Socialize Our Salute ($1,000) to support the social group for veterans that will help foster a core support group in a substance-free environment for local veterans centered around the veteran experience.

– United Way of Blair County’s Family Resource Center’s Parents as Teachers and Parent Education Classes ($1,500) for program supplies and educational materials.

– YES to Kids: Youth Empowerment Scholarships ($2,500) to improve the lives of disadvantaged youth by keeping them active and involved in extracurricular activities.

– Young Life of Central Pennsylvania: Young Life Camp ($500) to help high school students who cannot afford to attend Young Life Camp.

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