1.A New Funding Model: Lancaster Farmland Trust

Typical:           Cultivating a local donor base to support the work of the organization. 

Ah-Ha:             Rather than draw funding from exclusively from Lancaster, the Farmland Trust will use Community Foundation grant dollars to qualify for matching funds from the Philadelphia-based Pew Charitable Trust and the William Penn Foundation. Not only does this bring additional resources to invest in Lancaster County, but will allow Lancaster to become the first county in the nation to preserve 100,000 acres of farmland.  

2.  A New way to Impact Lives: Bethany Christian Services

Typical:           In the traditional foster care system, families in crisis have their children removed from the home and placed with qualified foster families.  Parents may have a difficult time having their child return home or fear losing custody. 

Ah-Ha:             Bethany Christian Services is using grant dollars for a new model, called Safe Families for Children, based on community support. Rather than have their children removed, parents in need are paired with a loving host family that can accept the children into their home whenever a crisis comes up, without fear of losing custody.  Children have a safe, reliable place to turn to without splintering families.   

3.  A New Approach to Health: SouthEast Lancaster Health Services

Typical:           Parents take children to the doctor when their child is ill or needs a medical check-up.  Separately, parents schedule routine dental exams or see the dentist in an emergency. 

Ah-Ha:             SouthEast Lancaster Health services will use grant dollars to implement an integrated dental/medical care model to combat the epidemic level of tooth decay affecting impoverished and minority children.  The program will embed dental hygienists in the medical departments to do on-the-spot dental assessments of at risk children, provide fluoride and offer immediate dental care as needed.