The Centre Foundation just unveiled two “book benches” as part of its Centre Inspires grant program, but the foundation isn’t standing around patting itself on the back.
After all, the Centre Inspires grant is an annual endeavor, so the foundation is already rolling up its sleeves to figure out who will be the next recipient of the $100,000 grant.
“The idea is for this to be a collaborative, county-wide grant that brings different kinds of organizations together: traditional non-profits, schools, businesses, churches,” says Irene Miller of the Centre Foundation.
“This year’s theme focuses on health and social services. We want to take those ideas, use them to foster community engagement and touch as much of the county as possible.”
Although dozens of organizations from across Centre County submitted ideas, only five organizations made it to the final round: the New Leaf Initiative, the First Presbyterian Church of Philipsburg, CentreBike, Alleghany Lutheran Social Ministries and People Centre’d on Diabetes.
The State College-based New Leaf initiative is known for its focus on entrepreneurship and innovation, but now it wants to help people rethink the way people think about food.
“This project is looking to create food centers that are accessible to many different parts of the food system in our community,” says New Leaf growth director Eric Sauder. “We want this to be a front door for food access and distribution, as well as a place to host different events like culinary training.”
Sauder describes these centers somewhat like a cross between a farmer’s market and a food pantry. The program would connect local farmers and food banks, while also drawing on unused food from restaurants and grocery stores to promote food education and battle food insecurity in Centre County.
The First Presbyterian Church of Phillipsburg also wants to partner with area food banks, but in a different way. Congregation elder Holly Kithcart says the church wants to create “soap pantries” in Centre County that serve the poor and disadvantaged.
“When people are struggling financially, it can be hard to come up with the extra dollars for personal care products,” Kithcart says. “If food is something that you have to worry about, then money to spend on cleaning products is going to take second place.”
These soap pantries would provide everything from shampoo and toothpaste to cleaning products and laundry detergent while partnering with food banks to identify clients. Kithcart says she hopes to improve the lives of the disadvantaged and help them stay “upbeat and spiritually healthy.”
CentreBike is taking a slightly different approach with its idea by using community roads to promote exercise, health and well-being by following the national trend of “open street programs.”
“Essentially, a community comes together to close down a section of roadway, maybe a mile or two miles, by inviting everyone to come out and take over their streets,” says Anna Nelson of CentreBike. “We want there to be everything from hula hooping to zumba classes to cooking lessons to hiking and dancing: everything that celebrates the community and being healthy.”
Nelson says similar initiatives have gained traction in major cities including Pittsburgh and Indianapolis over the past decade or so, giving the idea momentum she hopes to capitalize on. By partnering with county health organizations, she hopes to explore the possibility of planning a series of recurring open street events.
Miller says the Centre Inspires grant, in part, is meant to connect different organizations and people in a way they might not have thought about otherwise – and it seems to be working.
“Even if we don’t make it through this grant process, this has been a catalyst for thinking about how we can make our idea live again in the future,” Nelson says. “This has been a good kick in the pants for us to take a bigger view of what we’re doing.”
Representatives from Alleghany Lutheran Social Ministries and People Centre’d on Diabetes did not immediately return requests for comment.
