2016 GRANT RECIPIENTS

A total of over $47,000 in grants were awarded by Operation Our Town for the 2016 grant cycle to the following prevention and treatment programs:

Altoona Area School District Foundation:  Project SOAR (Study, Overcome, Achieve, Reward)
Identifies students who will receive financial assistance to pursue a post-secondary education, given that they meet program guidelines and participate fully in the program.

Altoona Boxing Club:  Youth Boxing
Will fund the purchase and upkeep of existing equipment and membership fees for low-income youth.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Blair County:  One-to-One Youth Mentoring
Evidence-based one-to-one youth mentoring program offered to children of Blair County between the ages of 6 and 18, who are paired with a trained adult mentor to do a variety of activities, to confide in as a friend, and to serve as a role model.

Blair County Adult Parole & Probation:  Job Fair for Individuals with a Criminal Background
Funding to assist individuals in combatting the barrier a criminal record places on finding employment. 

Blair County Truancy Task Force:  Fill the Empty Seats Campaign
Funding for a billboard campaign to saturate the community with billboard messages with a goal to educate and motivate residents to “Help Us Fill the Empty Seats” in schools.

Central Blair Recreation & Park Commission:  Youth Sports Program Supplies & Equipment
Will fund the purchase of new program supplies and equipment for the youth sports programs, including soccer, flag football, volleyball, t-ball, and basketball.

Child Advocates of Blair County:  Choices Summer Program
Will fund the purchase of supplies for a summer program for teen girls at Evergreen Manors.

Garver Memorial YMCA:  YMCA After School Program
Funding to provide assistance to low-income families and provide a safe place for their children attending the after school program for children in kindergarten through age 13.

Gloria Gates Memorial Foundation:  After School & Summer Program
After-school and summer programs provided for children ages 5 through 12 in a daily structured setting held within the low-income housing developments of Evergreen Manors, Fairview Hills, and Logan Hills.

Hollidaysburg Area YMCA:  Family Y-Nite
Offers their facilities to kids and their families one Saturday per month from October through June and provides swimming, arts and crafts, games, music, food, and local entertainment.

Joshua House, Inc.:  Cross-Town Basketball League
Provides teens in Northern and Central Blair County the opportunity to play basketball with students from their school and other schools in a safe and fun atmosphere, along with helping give life direction at a weekly dinner at Joshua House and through coaching mentorship.

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church:  Taking Control
Funding to provide life skills education for underserved youth in the community.

Northern Blair County Recreation Commission:  Northern Blair Rec Center Family Nights
Offers their facilities to kids and their families one Saturday per month from fall through spring and provides arts & crafts, local entertainment, and family movie nights.

Ski Gap Community Action Council:  Changing Lives Through Play – Basketball Court Project
Funding towards the construction of a basketball court for the community, which will be an added recreational activity to the existing softball field, volleyball court, and playground.

The ROCK:  Kids Community Program
Program for children in Pre-K through 12^th grade held at the 2^nd Avenue United Methodist Church, which includes a recreational period, classroom time directed at healthy living & moral decision making, arts & crafts, and a home-cooked meal.

United Way of Blair County:  Family Resource Center – Parents as Teachers Program and Make Parenting a Pleasure Parenting Class
Funding to provide program supplies for Parents as Teachers educational family home visits and group events, and educational materials for the Make Parenting a Pleasure curriculum.

Young Readers Council of Blair County – CPCF:  Home Run Against Drugs Give-A-Book Program
Will provide funding toward materials needed for personalized books that will be distributed through an assembly-based program to 2^nd grade students at five Blair County school districts to educate about the negative impact of tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drug use.