WEST CHESTER, PA — The Chester County Community Foundation announced the recent awarding of $29,250 in grants through the Neil Joines Fund, organized under the auspices of the Community Foundation. After carefully reviewing competitive grant applications, volunteer members of a grant panel awarded $29,250 to 9 nonprofits in the Chester County region.
Active community member Neil Clarence Joines passed away in 1992 after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. The Neil Joines Fund was formed to honor his legacy and fulfill his passion for supporting the arts in his Kennett Square community.
The Neil Joines Fund supports organizations that provide arts and culture programming to residents within the Kennett Square community. Funding can also be used to support young musicians and artists by granting scholarships to students and providing awards for the winners of local piano, art, and drama competitions.
Per Neil’s request, three grant panelists are annually appointed by the Board of Directors of Longwood Gardens, Borough of Kennett Square Borough Council, and Supervisors of Kennett Township to allocate the funding. This year’s panelists included Paul B. Redman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Longwood Gardens; Jeff Darman, President of Darman & Associates; and, Scudder G. Stevens, Esq. of M. Lyons Law Group.
The panelists allocated $1,500 to Brandywine Valley Chorale; $1,500 to Camp Dreamcatcher for their children’s arts & culture programming; $1,750 to the Garage Community & Youth Center; $3,250 to the Kennett After-School Program; $5,250 to the Kennett Area Park Authority for the Park’s Summer Concert; $1,000 to the Kennett Food Cupboard/KACS for its podcast program; $5,000 to the Kennett Library/Bayard Taylor Library for the construction of the new Kennett Library & Resource Center; $8,500 to Kennett Symphony; and, $1,500 to Mighty Writers.
To learn more about the Neil Joines Fund, visit https://chescocf.org/fund/neil-joines-fund/.
For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and Microsoft Start.