STATE COLLEGE — In 2015, Don Hamer, a scientist, entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of State of the Art Inc., established the Hamer Foundation Community Disaster Fund to help residents of Centre County impacted by a county-wide natural disaster.
The fund is intended to serve as a “second tier” of emergency funding when other sources are exhausted or unavailable. Hamer was inspired to set up the fund after witnessing the far-reaching effects of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. He reached out to Centre County United Way to serve as manager of the $1 million fund.
“When I received the call from Don telling me his intent to set up the disaster fund, I was overwhelmed,” remarked former CCUW Executive Director Tammy Gentzel. “His level of generosity was extraordinary. He was an astute businessman with high expectations and impeccable standards. Knowing he trusted us with the responsibility was an honor.”
Although the initial intent of Hamer’s compassionate gift to Centre County was for natural disasters, The Hamer Foundation and CCUW agreed that Hamer would have jumped into action had he been alive to experience the COVID Pandemic. In May 2020, CCUW announced that Centre County residents who were directly affected by the pandemic and needed help with rent, mortgage payments, food, utility bills, medical needs, childcare and more could apply for relief from the Hamer Disaster Fund. Requests for financial assistance went through Centre Helps so the organization could best assess the individual’s needs and explore all available support before applying for Hamer disaster funding, thus staying true to the “second tier” model Hamer specified.
In February 2023, after 20 months of processing requests from local residents and COVID assistance programs ending across the country, Centre County United Way stopped processing requests for COVID related aid. Today, the Hamer Foundation Community Disaster Fund remains a viable source of relief to Centre County in the event of future community-wide disasters.
Hamer’s gift to Centre County helped our neighbors who needed assistance with rent (439), mortgage payments (16), medical bills (15), electric bills (49), car payments (31), hotel costs (17), dental bills (8), other utilities (47) and other basic needs (33). The individual requests could not exceed $1,000, and payments were issued directly to the vendors. In total, the Hamer Fund helped 1,602 people by providing $542,781 of relief to our neighbors who were most impacted by the loss of employment and other COVID related issues.
Paula Williams, current CCUW executive director, was impressed with the level of support Hamer provided.
“I have heard what a wonderful man Don Hamer was and how he gave so much to so many. His impact on Centre County will be felt for many years to come through the Hamer Disaster Fund, and CCUW is proud to uphold his legacy.”
For more information, visit ccunitedway.org.
