Purich, a retired financial planner with a 42-year career, has volunteered more than 800 hours in two years with GICV’s GoodGuides Program. Leading by example, he became a trained mentor and has personally recruited more than 40 volunteer mentors. He has also served as a mentor himself for six youth on a consistent basis and actively assists GICV staff with many projects throughout the year, throughout the community.

Through his efforts, Purich was instrumental in organizing "safe mentoring sites" throughout the community. He coordinated with leaders and representatives of more than 20 organizations to ensure that these sites provide positive support for youth.

In her nomination letter, Phyllis J. Bandstra, GICV’s President & CEO wrote, "While building his Community Intervention Plan and identifying area organizations to join forces, Steve learned about our GoodGuides Program that we launched in January 2010 and called a meeting with our key staff. Since that meeting, Steve has been highly instrumental in supporting our mission. In May 2011, our agency recognized and honored Steve as one of our Collaborative Partners of the Year for his initiation, involvement, and dedication to the GoodGuides Program."

The Elsine Katz Volunteer Leader of the Year Award is given to a local Goodwill Industries volunteer in recognition of outstanding leadership and service to a member Goodwill Industries organization. It is named in honor of the late Mrs. Elsine Katz, a past president of Goodwill Industries Volunteer Services at Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee (Nashville) who endowed the award.

For his volunteerism and leadership, Purich will receive his award at GII’s annual Delegate Assembly meeting in Miami, Florida on June 24, which he will attend with GICV staff members.

For more information on GICV’s GoodGuides Youth Mentoring Program, please contact Cindy O’Connor, Program Manager at (814) 536-3536, ext. 304.

“This year, we received more applications than we typically do for our spring grantmaking round, so the committee had a very difficult task at hand,” said Mike Kane, executive director. “We’ve found that, in trying to serve the best interests of the community and to make the most of the resources with which we have been entrusted, the sectors that generally receive the most funding from this committee are health and human services, community development, and children and youth. That was true again for this round. But we admit that we’re also eager to learn from the community and have an open conversation about its needs. We’re doing that currently through our strategic planning process – asking about specific issues that are important to them so we can keep our goals aligned with their priorities.”

Clearly, Community Foundation donors are making a difference in the Cambria-Somerset area. Below is a breakdown of how the money will be used by various groups.

Community Foundation funding will go toward equipment purchases for various programs at:

• The Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset
• Kids on Stage
• The Quecreek Mine Rescue Foundation
• BottleWorks Ethnic Arts Center
• Middle Taylor Township Volunteer Fire Company
• Nanty Glo Volunteer Fire Company
• Revloc Volunteer Fire Company
• Pitt Johnstown’s Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center
• Confluence Creative Arts Center
• Portage Area Historical Society
• Portage Public Library
• Portage Area Joint Recreation Commission
• Portage Area Ambulance Association
• Berlin Brothersvalley High School FFA Co-op
• Meyersdale Area School District (two programs)
• Dauntless Fire Company
• Greater Johnstown Youth League Association
• Cambria & Somerset Conservancy
• 1901 Church, Inc. (The Former Immaculate Conception Church, shown in the photo above)
• Hope Fire Company
• YWCA of Greater Johnstown
• Greater Johnstown Community YMCA
• The Learning Lamp
• Cambria County Library
• Bedford County Arts Advisory Council
• Johnstown United Methodist Parish Home Repair Project
• Bedford County Chamber of Commerce Youth Leadership and BASIC programs
• Girls Scouts of Western PA in Bedford County
• Women’s Help Center

Community Foundation funding will go toward vehicle purchases for:

• Johnstown Police K-9 Unit (shown in the photo on our homepage)
• Summerhill Township Volunteer Fire Company

Community Foundation funding will go toward special event programming for:

• The Pennsylvania Consort Society
• NAMI of Cambria County
• Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art
• Downtown Bedford, Inc.
• Laurel Arts
• Chestnut Ridge Future Business Leaders of America

Community Foundation funding will go toward repairs and renovations at:

• Somerset, Inc.’s Trinity Park
• The Russell House
• Meyersdale Area Historical Society
• The Inclined Plane

Community Foundation funding will go toward new or continuing programming at:

• ArtWorks in Johnstown!
• Ronald McDonald House of Charities
• Camp Cadet of Somerset County
• Laurel Highlands Council - Boy Scouts of America
• Behavioral Health Services of Somerset and Bedford’s WRAP for Kids program
• Community Action Partnership of Somerset’s Koot Karts program
• Home Nursing Agency’s Healing Patch
• Pitt Johnstown’s Summer Youth Camps
• Keystone Chapter of the American Red Cross
• First Book – Johnstown
• Boys & Girls Club of Somerset County
• Cancer Caring Center’s Women’s Support Group
• Johnstown Free Medical Clinic
• Center for Community Action’s Prescription Assistance Program

The funds that contributed to these projects were: Alan L. and Lana J. Miller Family Fund, Benjamin Bosler Fund, FPL Energy Meyersdale Wind Power Fund, Ed Sheehan/Mark Pasquerilla Birthday Party Fund, Penelec Fund for the Future of Greater Johnstown, Portage Area Endowment Fund, Laurel Highlands Cancer Program Fund, Robert Waters Charitable Trust, and the Somerset County Community Fund.

Grants considered by the Distribution Committee for unrestricted funds are based upon applications from charitable organizations. The application deadline for the next round of funding is Friday, August 31, 2012.

What are we doing well? What should we be doing differently? Are we making an impact? Please click here to take our brief online survey. It will help us to turn your community concerns into our "marching orders" for the future.

Fundraisers have just started to benefit this fledgling fund, but they're off to a great start. iPACT was recently sponsored by Blended Schools Network. April 11, 2012, marked the 10th Anniversary of blendedschools.net and they did an all day on-line jubilee, with iPACT as the charity of the day. They raised $775 and the organization's CEO, Jed Friedrichsen, matched it for a total Blended Schools Network member contribution of $1,550. Not bad for their first fundraiser!

• Inaugural LIft Johnstown Open: May 7, Sunnehanna Country Club
• Nicholas Enos Memorial Scholarship Fund Golf Outing: May 11, Ligonier Country Club, Contact Regis Walsh 412-561-3999
• Memorial Hospital of Bedford County Foundation Golf Outing: June 1, Down River Country Club, Contact Michelle Speck 814-623-6161 ext.4427
• Erin Hostetler Scholarship Fund Golf Outing: June 18, Windber Country Club, Contact Roger or Nancy Hostetler 814-487-4184
• Christopher "Bub" Ream Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament: June 29, Somerset Country Club 
• Forest Hills Educational Endowment Golf Outing: July 13, Windber Country Club, Contact Rev. Jon Gulnac 814-489-8096
• Steph and Kris Scholarship Fund Golf Outing: July 15, Indian Lake Golf Course, Contact Bill & Stef Zubek 814-754-8073 or Dan & Marie Roman 814-754-5607
• Laurel Auto Group Charity Fund Golf Outing: July 23, Sunnehanna Country Club, Denny Nealan
• Ernie Blough Memorial Golf Outing: July 28, Indian Lake Golf Club, Contact Ernie Blough, Jr 814-241-5730
• Dave Seidel Memorial Golf Outing: August 18, North Fork Golf and Tennis Club, Bill Seidel
• Pete Duranko Golf Classic: TBA, North Fork Golf and Tennis Club, Contact Joe Driggs 814-266-7755
• David W. Griffith Memorial Golf Outing: August 25, Glengarry Golf Course, Contact Patricia Griffith 814-446-6431
• Alleghenies United Cerebral Palsy Golf Tournament: August 27, Windber Country Club, Contact Julie Bratton 814-262-9600 ext. 1401
• David J. Rizzo Scholarship Fund Golf Outing: September 10, Indian Lake Golf Club, Contact Norma Creager 814-467-7908

For our strategic planning, we are once again working with Peggy Outon, Executive Director of the Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management at Robert Morris University. She and her highly skilled team will lead our efforts to envision how we can continue to be an agent of impactful philanthropic activity and how to outline our opportunities for growth.

The research that Peggy compiles will include local attitudes toward philanthropy and its role in filling community needs, what motivates people to give to charitable causes and to volunteer, and the region’s greatest challenges and needs. She and her team, along with the Foundation staff and our strategic planning committee, will also conduct phone and face-to-face interviews, web-based surveys and focus group discussions on these topics. While this work will include questions specifically regarding the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, the Somerset County Community Fund and the Bedford County Endowments, it will also focus on philanthropy in general.

Visit our website often for more information. In fact, you can even be an important part of the process by participating in our e-survey. It will be launched soon right here on our website shortly!

The Community Growth Project is ready to roll, with clean-up days scheduled in these neighborhoods:

Moxham - Saturday, April 14th (9am - 12pm)
Minersville - Saturday, April 28th (9am - 12pm)
Hornerstown - Saturday, May 5th (9am - 12pm)
Oakhurst - Saturday, May 12th (9am - 12pm)
Downtown - Sunday, May 20th
Morrellville - Saturday, June 2nd (9am - 12pm)
8th Ward - Monday, June 4th (9am - 12pm)
Prospect - Saturday, June 9th (9am - 12pm)

Contact Jim Buday (814-536-6141) to schedule a clean-up day for your neighborhood!

• Autumn’s Angels Foundation (shown above): The mission of this fund is to provide comfort, support, and a place of tranquiity for those who have lost an immediate family member; encourage faith in God to inspire the souls of the brokenhearted; revitalize play areas and create areas of beautification in memory of children who have passed; and to foster health, fitness and education for surviving famiy members. A basket raffle will be held on March 24th (1-4pm) at the Ebensburg YPCC to benefit Autumn's Angels. Contact Dana Danchanko at 814.242.0127 for more information. 
• Christopher Bub Ream Scholarship Fund:The purpose of this fund is to provide two annual scholarships for Somerset Area High School senior football players.
• Oreo Foundation Fund: This scholarship fund was created to honor the memory of Alexa Marie Eplett, who lived her life thinking of and doing for others first. She touched so many lives through her acts of kindness, humor and unique outlook on life. "Just like the middle of an Oreo cookie, she was not only the middle child but the sweet center of our family ... hence the nickname of "Oreo" that Alexa was given, and the name for her foundation." This scholarship is to be given to those students who best demonstrate Alexa's passion to always pay it forward to others and who best exemplify her beautiful spirit.
• Westmont Hilltop Alumni Association Fund: This fund was started by a group of graduates of Westmont Hilltop High School who are working together to raise funds to support the endeavors of the Westmont School District and to provide community support for worthy non-profit organizations. There will be fundraisers and membership dues as ways to participate.
• iPACT: The Interactive Patient Assistive Communication Technology Fund was started by John and Rhonda Augustine to support patient recovery through the use of technology, such as ipads, Notebooks and even Leapfrogs for the very young, as a means to communicate with hospital personnel when in intensive care units and unable to speak.
• Camp Cadet Fund: This fund was started to support any endeavor that benefits Camp Cadet of Somerset County, including their annual Golf Outing and Motorcycle Run and annual appeal letter. Camp Cadet is run by volunteers from the Pennsylvania State Police who help young people grow and develop through physical fitness, self-discipline and increased self-esteem.
• Wendy Hollern Spencer:  This donor-advised fund was started for community support in memory of Wendy Hollern Spencer, who understood the meaning of giving to and helping others.

We are pleased to announce the launch of its new website, which it shares with its partner fund, the Metropolitan Edison Sustainable Energy Fund of the Berks County Community Foundation. Please visit the site at www.metedpenelecsef.org to learn more.