John Lasher, Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Warren County and Bob Crowley, Board Member, recently presented a check for $4462.81 to Dr. Patricia Hawley, Director of Student Services for the Warren County School District.
The check, drawn from the Kids In Need Fund at the Community Foundation, was used to pay for Christmas gifts for students in the Warren County School District. For years the School District staff and teachers have worked to try to provide Christmas gifts for students. In 2015, a group of local philanthropists learned of the plight of homeless students in the district and started a fund to benefit them. The fund was named the Kids In Need Fund.
“For over a year, the Foundation has worked in coordination with the Warren County School District to provide support for these students,” Lasher noted. “The district staff working with all the county’s schools uses a process to identify students’ needs. In order to preserve the confidentiality of the students, no identifying information is provided to the Foundation. We just approve purchases to be made by the district personnel, and provide a check to cover them after the shopping is completed.”
“This program has been a wonderful support for those students who may need anything from a notebook to a jacket. The contributors who use the Foundation to help us are so generous,” Dr. Hawley commented. “We are careful not to duplicate the efforts of the agencies that are also providing support for these students. Teachers and Guidance Counselors in all the schools know how to work with Central Office staff to provide needed items for these young people.”
Information about the Warren County School District may be found at the District’s website: wcsdpa.org. Tax deductible gifts to the Kids In Need fund may be made by check payable to the Community Foundation of Warren County listing the Kids In Need Fund as the recipient of the donation. Cash contributions to the Fund are accepted at the Foundation Office at 310 Second Avenue Warren. For more information about the Kids In Need Fund or other Community Foundation programs supporting our Warren County Students contact the Community Foundation of Warren County at 814 726-9553, or visit us at 310 Second Avenue in Warren.
