This year, the Community Foundation is partnering with Family First Health to fulfill our commitment to the United Way's Day of Action. We will be collecting non-perishable food items to distribute to the families served by Family First Health. The ultimate goal is to provide families with a bag of food so that they can create a meal at home and bring the entire family to the table.

If you will be visiting our offices between now and September 10, please make sure you bring an item to donate! Here's a list of requested items:

• baby food - any brand, any stage
• Good Start Formula - powder or concentrate
• baby cereal - any brand, any kind
• 100% juice
• baby crackers or snacks
• boxed cereals
• canned fruits and vegetables
• dry pasta - any kind
• jarred pasta sauce
• rice
• peanut butter
• jelly
• tuna
• canned soup
• condiments
• flour
• sugar
• granola/cereal bars
• coffee/tea/cocoa

Thanks for your help!

The Community Foundation awarded 156 grants worth a total of $1.53 million to benefit York County in the first six months of 2010. Click below to read more details about several of the grants. With your generosity, we can surpass this total for the second half of 2010. Give us a call at 717.848.3733 to find out how. We look forward to hearing from you!

We all get caught up in our vacation plans, and why not? We know we'll be able to kick back and relax, at least for a little while. But before you go, make sure you add "Give to the Community Foundation" to your to-do list. Planning your giving through the Community Foundation this summer will make you feel good even if you do forget your sunscreen! So give us a call - 717.848.3733 - or donate online, and make your summer great!

If you're a landowner in York County, you'll want to check out this series of FREE educational workshops that offers environmentally friendly techniques for residents to help make their properties more GREEN.

Farm and Natural Lands Trust of York County, York County Community Foundation, and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay bring you Preserving York County - 2010 Landowners Educational Workshops. These workshops will touch on issues such as residential woods management; rain gardens and rain barrels; native plants; organic lawns; and others. All workshops are free, but registration is required. Click below for details and to register!

Join the Community Foundation for our Annual Meeting on May 20. Our guest speaker is Feather Houstoun, President of the William Penn Foundation. You will hear firsthand about the Foundation's direction and plans for the future, and of course, we will look back at 2009. Be among the first to view our 2009 Annual Report!

Please RSVP to rsvp@yccf.org by May 14 or call us at 717.848.3733. We can't wait to see you there!

The Community Foundation is hosting an energy seminar, Cut Energy Costs, Brighten the Future, on Thursday, May 27, at our offices in York. If you work for a nonprofit, municipality, or school, or are an architect, designer, or contractor, this workshop is for you! This workshop will teach you how to assess a building's energy usage and develop energy savings strategies - and isn't that what we all need in today's world?

You will also learn about the Community Foundation's revised Energy Conservation Program and how to receive assistance (for nonprofits) from our nationally known energy consultant, Marcus Sheffer.

Register today! Questions? Call 717.848.3733.

The Community Foundation is the recipient of the latest $5,000 grant from Moxie, an award-winning advertising and communications firm in York. Moxie will help us create a new brand identity as we head into our 50th anniversary in 2011. The Moxie Grant Program provides two $5,000 grants per year to help nonprofits in South Central Pennsylvania promote their efforts in making positive change in their communities.

Thank you, Moxie! We look forward to working with you!

The 2010 York Federal Fellows - James Debord of YorkCounts; Jeffrey Myers of Penn State York Cooperative Extension, York County; and Stephanie Seaton of the York City Human Relations Commission - are ready to embark on their year-long journeys of professional and personal development. We wish them luck!

Please read more about the new Fellows and the program.

The Community Foundation is pleased to announce that Jane Conover will be joining the staff effective March 1 as Vice President of Community Investment. Jane comes to us from the YWCA of York and replaces Bryan Tate, who was named Vice President of Philanthropy in November.

Please join us in welcoming Jane! For more details, click on the link below.

By now we have all heard of the terrible earthquake that has devastated Haiti. Much of the country's infrastructure has been destroyed, which means that basic human needs - food, water, shelter - cannot be fulfilled. Early estimates indicate that up to one-third of Haiti's 9 million residents have been impacted in some way. As many as 100,000 people have died and thousands have been injured.

If you are a Community Foundation donor advisor and want to help the people of Haiti, please call us at 717.848.3733 or go directly though one of the relief organizations below. You can click on the organization's name for more details on their efforts. Please note that some of these websites are experiencing heavy traffic and may be temporarily unavailable.

American Red Cross

CARE

Catholic Relief Services

Salvation Army

United Nations Central Emergency Relief Fund

York College's Nurse Managed Centers have been able to remain open this January thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Community Foundation. The Centers serve the elderly and physically and mentally disabled patients in several York City neighborhoods. Audra Johns, the Centers' director, stresses the need for continuity of service, which benefits both student nurses and the patients. Read more in the York Daily Record!

(Photo courtesy of York College)

York County Community Foundation recently awarded $32,000 in grants to strengthen local nonprofits.

• $10,000 grant to Susquehanna Gateway Heritage Area
• $1,000 grant to the North East Neighborhood Association
• $10,000 grant to York College of Pennsylvania's Nurse Managed Wellness Centers
• $1,000 to Susquehanna Senior Center
• Up to $10,000 to the York County Rail Trail Authority

Congratulations to these deserving nonprofits! Please click on the link below to read more details about the grants.

York County Community Foundation held its 2009 Anderson Scholars Luncheon at the Agricultural & Industrial Museum on Monday, December 21, 2009. This annual event is held to recognize the Anderson Scholar recipients, whose dedication toward agriculture will help shape the landscape of our future. Since the Robert R. Anderson Family Fund was established in 1994 with a $1 million gift from the Estate of Dr. Isabel Anderson, it has awarded $328,250 in grants to 78 York County students, providing scholarship support for agricultural studies.

This year's Anderson Scholar recipients, pictured above from L-R (back row) are: Christopher Garner, Emily Kuhn, Amanda Hoffman, Jamie Lau, Cameron Shaffer, Alan Cornbower, and (front row, L-R) Fred Gouker, Kelsey McCleary. Not pictured are Lauren Delemar, Dustin Julius, and Randy Wilson. Congratulation to this year's Anderson Scholars!

At this time of year, our thoughts often turn to the richness of our relationships with family and friends as we plan for the holiday season. For many of us, it is also a time to plan our year-end charitable contributions in order to take advantage of tax deductions for 2009. 

As you contemplate your year-end contributions, please consider adding to the funds you have established at the Community Foundation or starting a new fund to fulfill your philanthropic passions. In addition, a contribution either from your Donor Advised Fund or done directly to the Community Foundation's Fund for York County would enable our Board to make grants that would have the highest possible impact right here in our own community.

To end your year on a giving note, call the Community Foundation at 717.848.3733 before December 31st and turn your passion into reality.

Congratulations to Bryan Tate, who has been named the new Vice President of Philanthropy at the Community Foundation. "Bryan is an outstanding community leader with a strong understanding of the needs of York County and a passion for how York County Community Foundation can have an impact in the community," says Bill Hartman, president.

Bryan moves into his new position immediately, and we know he will do a fantastic job! A search has begun for his replacement as Vice President for Community Investment. Details of the position and how to apply can be found in the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

The Community Foundation and 13 Dollars for Scholars chapters have awarded more than $5.1 million in scholarships to 4,400 students in York County since the Dollars for Scholars program began in 1995!

The photo shows representatives from the 13 DFS chapters receiving a check from the Community Foundation in the amount of $168,682.

York County Community Foundation is pleased to announce that Bill Hartman has officially begun his tenure as president. Bill has hit the ground running and is anxious to continue learning about York County and how the Community Foundation can best fulfill its mission to preserve and enrich the quality of life in York County.

Please join us in welcoming Bill!

Our 2009 Annual Meeting brought thought-provoking comments from Steve Gunderson, head of the Council on Foundations, and the announcement of our new president, Bill Hartman, who will officially join us July 13. Thank you to everyone who attended - we are lucky to have such caring and dedicated people within our community.

Please click the link below to read the highlights of Steve Gunderson's talk. His comments should inspire us to partner together to preserve and enrich the quality of life in York County.

At our 2009 Annual Meeting, May 21, we announced our board members for 2009-2010. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all incoming as well as retiring board members for their dedication to the Community Foundation and to York County!

York County Community Foundation will hold its 2009 Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 21, 5 pm, at the Yorktowne Hotel. The meeting is free and open to the public.

Don't miss this opportunity to hear our guest speaker, Steve Gunderson, President and CEO of the Council on Foundations. Mr. Gunderson will discuss the challenges and opportunities that philanthropy faces in this tough economic climate.

To RSVP, email rsvp@yccf.org by Friday, May 15, 2009.

Spring is here, so take a walk or drive through York to view the sunny daffodils - all 125,000 blooming bulbs were planted by volunteers for York County Community Foundation's Daffodil Digs over the last four years.

Grab a daffodil map, get out, and enjoy time with family and friends!

York County Community Foundation is working hard to ensure the continued vitality of our community nonprofits in this difficult economic time. With that in mind, today we announced changes in one of our grantmaking programs that we hope will allow nonprofits to continue to meet community needs.

Please join us in welcoming Robert Newcomer as our Interim President. We are thrilled to have Bob on board and know that his background and experience will lead us smoothly through this transitional time. We all look forward to working with him at the start of the New Year!

York County Community Foundation seeks a top-notch individual to join our program and grantmaking team. Broad community knowledge, excellent coordination skills, and a proven track record a must. Click below for position description and application details. Deadline is October 24, 2008.

Curious about what nonprofit projects have recently received funding? Read more here and be inspired!

Come on out and enjoy nature with your friends and family! We need volunteers of all ages to plant daffodil bulbs for the 4th Annual Daffodil Dig.  Interested in signing up? Contact Kristin Byrnes Baker at kbaker@yccf.org or call 717.848.3733.

Want to learn more? Click here.

Head on over to White Rose Bar & Grill during the month of August, order a Hot Rock Dinner, and $1 of the proceeds will go to support the Community Foundation's Beautiful York Program. So let's all eat well for a Beautiful York!

Foundry Park on the Codorus, a newly renovated park in downtown York on the Codorus Creek at Philadelphia Street, is open and ready for SPLASH!, its summer series of events and concerts. Support for the renovations came from $250,000 in grants from the Community Foundation, a state grant, and many individual and corporate donors. Thank you all for your support in beautifying our city!

At York County Community Foundation's Annual Meeting on May 22, members of the board, community, and staff welcomed new board members who will be serving for the next three years. Also honored were five dedicated and passionate community leaders who retired from the board. Click below to read more.

In 2008, the Codorus Watershed Endowment of York County Community Foundation will help various groups implement their projects and will also remain a resource for watershed stakeholders.

Jake Romig, president of Ecostruction, LLC., is the new Project Coordinator and the Endowment’s primary consultant. Former Coordinator Genevieve Ray will continue to provide support on a limited basis. Contact Jake at Codorus@yccf.org 

is pleased to announce the selection of six community leaders who received fellowships of $6,000 each to complete professional and personal leadership development. Click below to read about our 2008 Fellows and their exciting projects.