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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Operation Our Town awarded more than $80,000 to 21 local programs during a press conference Tuesday.
The awards were presented to the winners of the 2026 Prevention Grant cycle.
"Prevention takes many forms. Each of these programs are an example of what prevention looks like -- not just reacting to problems, but investing in people before they start," said Shawna Hoover, the nonprofit's executive director.
The R.O.C.K.
The R.O.C.K. (Reaching Out to Community Kids) at Second Avenue received $10,350 -- the most funding awarded from this year's grant cycle.
The funding will be used to purchase food and supplies for a program for youth, which provides a home-cooked meal, physical activities, arts and crafts and age-appropriate small groups that encourage healthy living throughout the week, said director Ashley Harclerode.
"We're very excited because this year we are extending our program," Harclerode said, noting they're expanding operations to Monday through Thursday for dinner, games and help with homework, resumes and college applications.
"We're very excited because this is a big endeavor that we have not done before, but we're excited to see where this takes us," Harclerode said.
Gloria Gates
The Gloria Gates Memorial Foundation received $10,250 for its after-school programs.
The funding will be used to fund educational materials, craft materials, prizes, field trips, special events, snacks and individual assistance to youth-at-risk enrolled in three after-school programs in underserved communities, according to foundation Executive Director Jess Brunner.
On Aug. 31, the foundation will start its 27th year of providing free after-school programs for children who live in one of the city's lower income areas, Brunner said, noting 19 of those years were made possible because of Operation Our Town funding.
"The hope is to, in another 27 years, be able to provide more places (and) more programs for more kids because it takes a community," Brunner said, adding Operation Our Town is "the basis of community."
The Door
The Door Student Services received $9,500 for its Door Stars program, which includes incentives to reward kids who are becoming helpful, productive citizens year-round at the teen center, according to executive director Dave Taylor.
In 2002, a study by the Center Against Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that teenagers who regularly attend church and have dinner with their family at least three times a week "turned out better" than other kids, who engage in antisocial behavior, crime, drugs and violence, Taylor said.
"My thought in running this teen center was, what about the kid that doesn't have a family to have dinner with? What about the home that has no dinner and the kid that has no family to sit down with," Taylor said, adding he wanted to create a pseudo family experience where there's a dinner table with a hot meal and a caring adult to listen and talk with teenagers about their problems.
Since then, The Door has served more than 200,000 meals and the kids who've gone through their program "have turned out a lot better," Taylor said, adding many of those teenagers face issues of substance abuse, teen pregnancy and self-harm -- the "big one" more and more kids are engaging in, he said.
The Stars program was started about a year and a half ago to reward kids who do chores and engage in community service acts, like picking up trash at local parks, Taylor said.
In the months of June and July alone, more than 1,000 stars were awarded to local kids doing positive things, Taylor said, adding if kids don't earn enough stars, they don't participate in "field trip Friday" -- one of their biggest incentives.
"These funds will be used to reward those kids to be the incentives, and we'll be the people who will be family in their lives to see that they turn out better," Taylor said.
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Blair County received $9,000 for its school-based mentoring program.
The funding will be used to help create and support matches between mentors and mentees in all the youth mentoring organization's programs throughout Blair County, thus providing children with meaningful relationships to help reduce the likelihood of substance abuse, criminal mischief, school absenteeism and violence, said Executive Director Billie Egan.
The organization matches high school students with youth in either elementary or middle schools, Egan said, adding the kids learn a lot from each other through extracurricular activities that the Operation Our Town funding helps pay for, such as a private movie event at an AMC theater.
New this year, the funds will also be used to help cover the cost of things like cleats for students who want to participate in extracurricular activities but can't afford the costs or registration fees, Egan said.
Other recipients
The Salvation Army - Altoona Worship and Service Center received $6,000 for its unsheltered assistance programs. The funding will be used to provide meals, clothing, laundry, shower supplies and transportation for unsheltered individuals.
The Altoona Area School District Foundation and Refuge Youth Network each received $5,000 from the grant cycle.
The foundation's funding will be used for its Project S.O.A.R. program, which stands for study, overcome, achieve and reward, to purchase supplies and program materials for students that have been identified to receive financial assistance to pursue a post-secondary education.
Refuge's funding will be used to provide meals, transportation assistance, curriculum and program supplies in order to increase youth access to structured, substance free programming throughout Blair County.
Families United for Change received $2,900 for C.C.'s Boutique, which assists women with essential necessities -- including clothing and personal hygiene items -- after successful completion of a treatment program.
The Altoona Area School District's adult education program received $2,813 to invest in the future of Blair County adults who lack a high school diploma by awarding high school equivalency scholarships to pay for the cost of General Educational Development tests.
The district's Education Leading to Employment and Career Training program received $2,668 to provide pregnant and parenting teenagers with items from a food pantry, partner incentives, strollers and pack and plays to support them in ways that traditional funding sources do not allow.
The Nehemiah Project received $2,500 for its Kids Konnect after-school program to provide meals, snacks and supplies for tutors and crafts for the program.
The United Way of the Southern Alleghenies' Family Resource Center received $2,000 for its parents as teachers program.
The Home Nursing Agency Foundation received $1,985 for the Healing Patch Children's Grief program. Funding will be used to assist with the supplies associated with peer support groups held twice monthly during the school year for Blair County children and their families who have recently experienced the death of a loved one.
Blair County Head Start received $1,890 for its head start fatherhood/male initiative. The funding will be used to expand fatherhood and male involvement opportunities within Blair County Head Start, fostering positive adult-child relationships, increasing family connectedness and promoting protective factors that support long-term prevention efforts.
Blair Emergency Services Chaplain Platoon, Evolution Expressions, NAMI Blair County PA and Overflow Church each received $1,500 for their programs.
Tyrone-Snyder Public Library and Young Life of Central Pennsylvania each received $1,000. The Roaring Spring Community Library Association received $500.
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.