Centre County Community Action Grants

3 Dots Downtown
Music education camps engage middle and high school students in collaboratively exploring electronic music, composition, performance, and multi-media production in a marriage between STEM and the arts. Students, more than 50% of whom identify as girls, will fluidly explore current approaches to music, technology, and production through creative, open-ended play. https://3dotsdowntown.com

Program Grant: $2,750

“Book boats” promote literacy for 2- to 5-year-old-children in schools and community centers serving disadvantaged students. They provide a private place to read and encourage reading in the hopes of increasing literacy.
https://districttwo.altrusa.org/centre-county/

Program Grant: $3065

C-NET Centre County C-NET is a not-for-profit government and educational access network that informs the public on subjects useful and beneficial to the community via cable television channels and internet communications. The AAUW grant funds support training and administration for a C-NET production internship for three semesters. C-NET internships provide hands-on production experience for female college students who have chosen to major in a technology or communication field. While many women now pursue these career fields, it is still far less common for women to be leaders in the technology side of the media industry. http://www.cnet1.org

Program Grant: $1,500

Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts Children’s Day provides artistic, educational, and fun program offerings for children and families. They also encourage exploration of a diverse range of artistic expressions from of a variety of cultures. http://arts-festival.com

Program Grant: $3,000

Centre County Print FactoryIn an atmosphere of inclusivity and acceptance. The AAUW-funded Life writing workshop is for high school students who identify as female. Zines emphasize personal interests, self-expression, and creativity. http://www.printfactorybellefonte.org/

Program Grant: $900

Centre Helps The Basic Needs Case Management Program is a short-term case management program to assist low and moderate-income Centre County residents facing basic needs crises, serving single women and single-mother residents of Centre County. Median household income is significantly lower when the head-of-household is female, and there is no male partner present. https://www.centrehelps.org/

Program Grant: $4,000

Centre Safe Books and materials to build awareness and empower victims/survivors of domestic violence are now available at libraries and bookstores throughout Centre County, thanks to the AAUW grant. They increase access to information that helps survivors with understanding the impacts and issues surrounding their situation and make strides toward healing. https://www.centresafe.org/

Program Grant: $8,500

Centre Volunteers in Medicine The Dental Hygiene Education Program for Women is based on data that shows that women are more likely than men to have unmet dental needs due to cost. Sensitive periods that require special attention to women’s oral health include the transition to puberty, various periods during the menstrual cycle, the use of birth control pills, during pregnancy, and the transition to menopause.
https://www.cvim.net/

Program Grant: $10,000

Jana Marie Foundation Jana Marie Foundation builds connections and promotes mental well-being among young people and their communities. The AAUW grant funds Side by Side, where the mother-daughter relationship is explored through creative expression. This bond is important to maintain, especially through the middle school years. The program includes girls in grades 6-8 and their mothers or caregivers. janamariefoundation.org/

Program Grant: $2,250

Leadership Centre County Leadership Centre County increases the community leadership pool by bringing diverse individuals together for networking and exposure to community issues, opportunities, and needs. Graduates become leaders in positions of responsibility in Centre County. The AAUW grant provides partial scholarships for up to four women who do not otherwise have the financial ability to attend.
leadershipcentrecounty.org/

Program Grant: $2,200

Mid-State Literacy Council 70% of MSLC students are women. The program serves immigrant and refugee populations who are particularly in need of English.The AAUW grant provides scholarships to low-income or unemployed female adult students. The education women gain provides them the opportunity to obtain employment, qualify for training programs, and enter higher education. They are role models for their children.
https://www.mid-stateliteracycouncil.org/

Program Grant: $11,400

Park Forest Preschool Park Forest Preschool is a state-licensed tuition-free program for qualifying families that prepares children for kindergarten success. Parent programs are offered to support our families. The AAUW grant funds the Trauma-Informed Education program, helping staff interact with children and their families who have had or are currently experiencing trauma. Strong social support from a teacher can mitigate symptoms and prevent longer-term effects of trauma on a child’s mental and/or physical health.
https://www.ccunitedway.org/park-forest-preschool/

Program Grant: $690

Random Acts of Reading Random Acts of Reading supports children by providing exciting literacy projects. The AAUW grant funds a book vending machine stocked with 500+ books, targeting a low-income school district. It includes a Golden Ticket to a literacy program where a found golden ticket leads to an author event and a book for every child in the school.
https://www.randomactsofreading.org/

Program Grant: $2000

RISE – Reading IS Enlightening RISE (Reading IS Enlightening) helps ensure that early childhood educators in Centre County elementary schools have access to high quality children’s books that affirm diversity in our world. This program provides children’s books that address experiences of diversity and issues of social justice to Centre County preschools, elementary school libraries, and public libraries.
https://www.facebook.com/ReadingISEnlightening/

Program Grant: $1,000

Schlow Centre Region Library Women’s Wellness: The Minority Experience In and Out of the Workplace is a program that addresses the challenges that minority women experience in their daily lives. These challenges are often different or in addition to those experienced by white women. This history of the female minority experience in Centre County is not well-documented, nor is there a local collection of materials that identifies or offers relief from daily stressors.
 www.schlowlibrary.org

Program Grant: $1,550

The Rivet at Discovery Space of Central Pennsylvania The Rivet at Discovery Space is now a partner site for the Alliance for Creative Rural Economies (ACRE), supporting entrepreneurs by assembling creative business owners to learn, grow, and connect through courses and in-person meetings. Women are often underrepresented in this group. The AAUW grant funds two Centre County women to participate in the program. The goal is to support small women-owned businesses to grow and thrive. https://discoveryspace.org/

Program Grant: $10,160

Bellefonte Reads The mission of Bellefonte READS is to foster a love of literacy within the community by putting quality books into the hands of children and families. The AAUW grant funds books for their One Book, One Bellefonte initiative, where thousands of a selected collection of books, chosen along a specific theme, are made available for free to community members. This year’s theme was Discover Your Roots and featured four children’s books. https://sites.google.com/a/basd.net/bellefonte-reads

Program Grant: $1,500