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2025 Grant Recipients
A total of over $77,000 in grants were awarded by Operation Our Town for the 2025 grant cycle to the following prevention programs:
AASD Adult Education Program: HSE: Unlocking Doors to a Brighter Future
Funding awarded will be used to invest in the future of Blair County adults who lack a high school diploma by awarding HSE (High School Equivalency) scholarships to pay for the cost of GED subtest exams necessary to earning their High School Equivalency Credential.
AASD ELECT Program: ELECT (Education Leading to Employment & Career Training)
Funding awarded will be used to provide pregnant and parenting teens with items from a food pantry, partner incentives, strollers, play yards, and pack & plays to support them in ways that traditional funding sources do not allow.
Altoona Area Public Library: Parent and Caregiver Resource Library
Funding awarded will be used for parenting and caregiver books, brochures, literature, marketing and advertising to help parents and caregivers gain knowledge and confidence to help their children reach developmental goals.
Altoona Area School District Foundation: Project SOAR (Study, Overcome, Achieve, Reward)
Funding awarded will be used for supplies and program materials for students that have been identified to receive financial assistance to pursue a post-secondary education, given that they meet program guidelines and participate fully in the program.
ArtsAltoona: After School Arts Program (ASAP)
Funding awarded will be used to offer free, consistent arts programming for youth in Elementary and Middle school throughout each school year, enabling youth to make positive decisions and to discover and nurture their talents and passions.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Blair County: S.M.A.R.T. School-based Mentoring Program
Funding awarded will be used to help create and support matches between mentors and mentees in all of the SMART School/Site-based Mentoring Programs throughout Blair County; thus providing children with meaningful relationships to help reduce the likelihood of substance abuse, criminal mischief, school absenteeism, and violence.
Blair County Head Start: Head Start Drive to Thrive Program
Funding awarded will be used to provide gas cards to support Head Start families experiencing housing instability or financial and transportation barriers, helping them remain enrolled, access critical medical, dental, and mental health services, and stay connected through family engagement events that foster ongoing participation in the program and its vital resources.
Blair Emergency Services Chaplain Platoon: B.E.S.C.P.
Funding awarded will be used to provide special events: Badges, Belles’s & Beaus’s Ball and Family Christmas Party in support of serving and caring for the individuals (and their families) who serve our communities as first responders and emergency services personnel.
Booker T. Washington Revitalization Corp.: Vets Field Revitalization
Funding awarded will be used to purchase backstop pads as part of a larger restoration effort at Vets Field, located at 24th Street and Maple Avenue, which will be utilized by many youth in the community.
Families United for Change: C.C.’s Boutique
Funding awarded will be used to assist women with essential necessities, including clothing, coats, socks, shoes, and personal hygiene items after successful completion of a treatment program.
Family Services Incorporated: Victim Services Program’s FSI Justice Project
Funding awarded will be used to cover court-ordered supervised visitation fees (which are often cost prohibitive for parents who are victims of domestic violence) for the safety and protection of children when domestic abuse is present between their parents.
Gloria Gates Memorial Foundation: Afterschool programs
Funding awarded will be used to fund educational materials, craft materials, prizes, field trips, special events, snacks, and individual assistance to youth-at-risk enrolled in three after school programs in underserved communities.
Health, Opportunity, Purpose, Empowerment (H.O.P.E. Drop In Center): Enhancing Community Engagement through Improved Audio-Visual Equipment
Funding awarded will be used to assist with the purchase of a public address system (PA system) for use in daily operations, trainings, meetings, and other programming for attendees. This includes the purchase of on-stage stands, and a wireless microphone system.
Home Nursing Agency Foundation: The Healing Patch Children’s Grief Program
Funding awarded will be used to assist with the supplies associated with peer support groups held twice monthly during the school year for Blair County children and their families who have suffered the death of a loved one, as well as supplies for their Blair County in-school groups, called Patch Clubs.
Northern Blair County Recreation Commission: Youth Sponsorship Program
Funding awarded will be used 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: N.E.X.T. (Nourish the soul, Educate the mind, Xpel the negative, Train the body)
Funding awarded will be used to purchase student workbooks, food supplies, instructor guides, and handouts, expanding access to innovative education, personal, and workforce development to underserved communities.
Refuge Youth Network: Altoona After School Program
Funding awarded will be used to purchase program supplies, transportation, tech/media resources, curriculum, and printing to aide in a growing after school program for teens in our community.
The Door Student Services, Inc.: The Door Stars Program
Funding awarded will be used to provide the transportation, meals, and supplies costs for monthly field trips throughout the school year, aimed at mentoring youth towards completing their education and becoming productive community-oriented adults.
The Nehemiah Project: Kids Konnect
Funding awarded will be used to provide meals, snacks, supplies for tutors, and crafts at the Kids Konnect afterschool program, which provides a safe and nurturing environment for school-age children.
The R.O.C.K. at 2nd Avenue: The R.O.C.K. (Reaching Out to Community Kids)
Funding awarded will be used to purchase food and supplies for a program held on Wednesdays for youth in Pre-K to 12th grade, which provides a home-cooked meal, gym/physical activities, the arts, and age-appropriate small groups that encourage healthy living.
The Salvation Army – Altoona Worship & Service Center: Unsheltered Assistance Programs
Funding awarded will be used to provide meals, clothing, laundry & shower supplies, and transportation for unsheltered individuals to help them secure permanent residence and provisions that will help them not revert to negative options.
Tyrone-Snyder Public Library: Read to Rise
Funding awarded will be used to provide books, audiobooks, program materials & incentives, signage and marketing to empower teens with non-fiction resources that support drug abuse prevention, mental health, crime awareness, and career readiness, helping them make informed, positive choices for their futures.
United Way of the Southern Alleghenies’ Family Resource Center: Parents as Teachers & Parent Education Classes
Funding awarded will be used for program supplies and educational materials for the parent education programs Parents as Teachers (evidence-based home visiting) and Parent Education Classes.
