Pocono Environmental Education Center awarded for highest number of unique donors
Milford. The center, which provides environmental and sustainability education to students in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania area, received donations from 40 donors and raised more than $4,401.
Milford /
| 09 Jul 2021 | 01:18
Shelly Lunsenbigler and Terry Finlayson show children how to make little mice out of milkweed pods at the Pocono Environmental Education Center (File photo by Marta Serra-Jovenich) (
)
The Pike County Commissioners on July 7 presented the Pocono Environmental Education Center with an award of $500 for being the organization with the highest number of unique donors in the county during the Northeastern Pennsylvania Gives event.
The event was sponsored by the Scranton Area Community Foundation.
Overall, the Pocono Environmental Education Center, which provides environmental and sustainability education to students in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania area, received donations from 40 donors and raised more than $4,401.
Overall, 218 local non-profits registered for the NEPA Day of Giving, 20 of which were from Pike County. The event raised about $1.2 million, surpassing the organization’s goal of $1 million and doubled the number of donations brought in last year.
There were other award winners from Pike County as well.
GAIT Therapeutic Riding Center received a $250 award for receiving the last donation on the day of the event.
The Hearth and Home Award went to Pike County Hands of Hope for being the first Pike County organization that provides housing assistance to receive $500 in unique donors. The group also received the $500 Legal Eagle award for having the highest number of unique donors, at 21. Hands of hope raised $1,800 of its $2,000 goal.
Six winners received ten $50 gift cards to the Hotel Fauchere for getting donations from outside New York, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania.
Additionally, the Greater Pike Community Foundation gave a $3,000 grant to the Initiative Fund, which was started about two years ago by Bill Lovejoy and Jason Ohliger to help pay for the training of volunteer EMS volunteers in the county.
Pike County Commissioners Director Matthew Osterberg said there is now about $25,000 in the fund and another class is ready to go.
“Many organizations benefited from this,” Osterberg said. “It shows how a community can come together to serve all of us. All of those organizations do something that serves people.”
