Foundations Provides Grants to 10 Non-Profits Through Partnership in Youth Services Awards

Doylestown, PA (October 20, 2006) – Over 100 community service leaders, non-profit organizations, and local governmental leaders attended the Foundations Behavioral Health “Partnership in Youth Services” luncheon ceremony held at the Aldie Mansion at the Heritage Conservancy, 85 Old Dublin Pike in Doylestown yesterday. The event honored 10 non-profit community programs that are making a difference in the lives of local children with monetary grants of $1,000 each.

Foundations Partnership in Youth Services Award Winners: Left to right, seated: Beth Styer, Child, Home & Community; Mandy Thoman, Network of Victim Assistance; Mary Jo May, Community Conservancy of Music; Michael Ratajczak, Aldie Counseling Center; Jody Doyle, Tabor Children's Services; John Pfeiffer, BARC. Left to right, standing: Betsy Nilsen, Children's Developmental Program; Ann Marie Surovy, LifePath; Nicole Rufe, winner of Foundations' Morris M. Davis Award; Ron Bernstein, president and CEO of Foundations Behavioral Health; keynote speaker Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick; John Jordan, Bucks County NAACP Youth Council; Laura Soldano, Special Equestrians.

The Morris M. Davis Award, an award given annually to an employee whose contributions to Foundations Behavioral Health are judged to be an outstanding example for all staff was presented to Nicole Rufe, primary therapist who has been with Foundations since 1991.

Keynote speaker was Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, the United States Representative for the 8th District of Pennsylvania. Prior to serving in the United States Congress, Congressman Fitzpatrick served for ten years as Bucks County Commissioner.
One of his top priorities in Washington is to ensure that Congress works to provide equal access to medical care for low income families. As a county commissioner, Congressman Fitzpatrick sponsored the Bucks County Health Improvement Partnership (BCHIP) to address gaps in health services and to improve the health status of the community.

During his remarks, Congressman Fitzpatrick congratulated the honorees and encouraged community service leaders to continue their vital work to improve the lives of young people.

Foundations president & CEO Ron Bernstein and Congressman Fitzpatrick presented plaques and checks to the 10 local non-profit organizations. Among the community programs receiving grants were:

Aldie Counseling Center
Aldie Counseling Center of Doylestown is dedicated to provide education among Bucks County youth on mental health and substance abuse issues. With this grant, Aldie will offer dynamic presentations to junior and senior high school students. The focus will be on raising awareness on the devastating effects of substance abuse and to motivate young people already caught in the web of addiction to seek help.

BARC
BARC- Building Advocacy, Resources, & Community for People with Developmental Disabilities in Holicong, serves over 800 individuals from birth through retirement. They will use the grant to provide music therapy support to children ages 3 -5 with a wide range of special needs enrolled in BARC’s center-based pre-school program in Warminster.

Bucks County NAACP Youth Council
The Bucks County Chapter of the NAACP- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People located in Morrisville, works with young students to help them learn non-violent behaviors and encourages them to stay away from gangs. They will use the grant to groom future leaders and provide workshops on interviewing skills, conflict resolution, health and fitness, anti-gang seminars and a “stay in school” program.

Child Home and Community
Child Home and Community located in Doylestown is a community resource for childbirth, parenting, and support classes for pregnant and parenting teens. The grant will support their “Teen Parenthood Awareness: Fact & Fiction” pregnancy prevention program in the Bucks County Juvenile Detention Facility. The program provides teens with the skills necessary for effective decision making, improving their understanding of pregnancy and parenting, and motivating them to change potentially risky behavior.

Children’s Developmental Program
The Children’s Developmental Program in Quakertown is a community preschool and early intervention center that encourages children to develop friendships, independence, and early literacy skills. They will use the grant to purchase theme book libraries and the supporting theme box sets that are designed to improve literacy skills for pre-kindergarten children.

Community Conservatory of Music
The Community Conservatory of Music located in Doylestown, provides quality education and appreciation of performing and visual arts. Through its “Neighborhood Notes” program, The Conservatory will serve financially disadvantaged children who are unable to afford arts education and performance opportunities. The grant will be used to provide musical instruction to at-risk students who live in Bucks County.

LifePath
LifePath Ridgecrest Facility located in Sellersville serves medically fragile children with physical and mental disabilities, including seizure disorders, mental retardation, cerebral palsy and autism. They will use the grant to purchase a “Seca Model 954 Digital Chair Scale.” Because most of the children are fed via feeding tubes, the staff needs to monitor their weight and constantly adjust their feedings. This chair will allow the staff to bring the scale directly to the children.

Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA)
Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA) located in Jamison supports, counsels and empowers victims of sexual assault and other serious crimes while helping to eliminate violence in Bucks County. Through NOVA’s school outreach programs, they will increase awareness about Internet safety and the dangers the Web can present for students. With this funding, NOVA will increase the number of CyberSafety programs it presents to middle and high school settings in public, non-public and alternative school settings.

Special Equestrians Therapeutic Riding Program
Special Equestrians located in Warrington, seeks to improve the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals with disabilities through “equine-assisted therapy.” They will use the grant to provide therapeutic riding programs to at-risk youth, helping them to overcome issues of physical and sexual abuse, neglect, low self-esteem, learning and behavioral difficulties.

Tabor Children’s Services
Tabor Children’s Services of Doylestown is dedicated to keeping children safe, strengthening families, and promoting independence. The grant will enable them to conduct a social skills group for adolescents who are currently in foster care or who have left care and are struggling for independence. The group’s goal is to give these survivors of abuse and neglect, the skills to interact positively in the adult world.

“Foundations is proud to offer grants for the ninth year in a row through the Partnership in Youth Services program,” said Bernstein. “We also continue to sponsor the Foundations Partnership in Education program, which recognizes the achievements of local high school seniors for their demonstrated community service, commitment to academic performance, and quality of character.”

Sponsors of the program included:

Theodora B. Betz Foundation, Davis Trachtenberg, Inc. and Antheil Maslow & MacMinn (Platinum Sponsors); Harleysville National Bank, Robert Gilinger General Contractor, Merrill Lynch, Doylestown Office, and Thompson Telephone (Gold Sponsors); Ratner, Goodman, Limor, Lynn & Associates, LLP, Charles H. Rose, CLU, CHFC, Magellan Health Services, Alvin H. Butz, Inc., Gilmore & Associates, Inc., AC Janitorial & Supplies LLC, and C & N Industrial Supply (Silver Sponsors); Advanced Furniture Services Group, Metropolitan Fire Protection, Bi-County Fuels, Smolow & Landis, Crown Fence, QED Sales, Inc., McMackins Plumbing & Heating, Pocono Produce, General Healthcare Resources, 309 Office Furniture, Alstin Advertising, Baldwin Publishing, Informed Systems, Senior Mechanical, Chalfont Hardware, Inc., Seams Perfect Carpet, Van’s Lockshop, Quality Products & Services, Regent Tree Service, The Flag Shoppe, LLC, Doylestown Floor Covering, Bucks County Community College Foundation, Electrashield Alarm Company, Robert Edwards Painting Company, All A Board, Inc., Jack & Jill Ice Cream (Bronze Sponsors)

Foundations Behavioral Health is the only freestanding non-profit adolescent psychiatric hospital and residential treatment center in Bucks County. Foundations offers a full array of services for children, adolescents and their families.

For more information on our treatment and community programs and services at Foundations Behavioral Health, please visit the web site at www.fbh.com or call 215-345-0444.