EIGHTY FOUR, Pa. – The Washington County Community Foundation (WCCF) is encouraging members of the community to participate in its web-based People’s Choice Award contest, which runs from October 25 through November 25. The winning non-profit will receive a $5,000 unrestricted grant.
The People Choice Award contest highlights volunteer testimonials from 25 local non-profits which were designated as Charity of Excellence honorees earlier this year. To be considered for the special Charity of Excellence distinction, non-profits were evaluated on four criteria: quality and variety of programming; community impact as gauged by the number of people served relative to the operating budget; volunteer engagement; and the organization’s financial improvement over the last five years.
The 25 Charity of Excellence honorees include: Blueprints, Bradford House Historical Association, CASA for Kids, Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Donora Public Library Association, Dress for Success Pittsburgh, Friends of the Canonsburg Town Park, Genesis of Pittsburgh, Lemoyne Community Center, Literacy Council of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Little Lake Theatre, Low Cost Spay Neuter Washington County, Meals on Wheels @ the Crossroads, Mon Valley YMCA, Mon Valley Youth and Teen Association, Monongahela Valley Hospital, Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services, The CARE Center, TRPIL, Village of FPC, Washington Area Humane Society, Washington Hospital, and Washington Symphonic Orchestra.
Supporting any of these organizations through the People’s Choice Award contest is fast and easy. Community members need only visit the Community Foundation’s Storybook website at https://storybook.wccf.netand view their favorite charity’s volunteer story. At the end of the contest period, the non-profit with the most unique pageviews will receive the People’s Choice Award, unless that organization has been selected by the WCCF for the top Charity of Excellence award in which case the charity with the second highest pageviews will receive the People’s Choice Award.
“Volunteers are the lifeblood of the charitable community, and reading the inspiring testimonials of how and why these individuals give so generously of their time and talents puts a fresh new perspective not only on the work that these organizations perform but also the impact that they have in our community,” said Betsie Trew, WCCF President & CEO. “We hope that Washington County will join us in celebrating the efforts of both these volunteers and the non-profits they support by casting a vote in the People’s Choice Award contest on storybook.wccf.net.”
The Charity of Excellence initiative is part of the WCCF’s celebration of its 25th Anniversary in 2020. In total $150,000 in unrestricted grants is being awarded to 25 local charities through the Charity of Excellence initiative. All grants are being issued through the Alvin and Carol Berthold Fund, the WCCF’s largest discretionary grantmaking fund.
About the Washington County Community Foundation
The mission of the Washington County Community Foundation is to improve the quality of life in Washington County by promoting and facilitating philanthropy. It was one of the first community foundations in the country to be approved for the rigorous National Standards for Community Foundations and was re-accredited in 2020. It is the largest publicly-supported grant-making foundation in Washington County and cumulatively has provided approximately $19 million in grants.