The Greening Coatesville Initiative is another example of the        Brandywine Health Foundation bringing the right partners together, at the right time, to address the issues our community has identified as a priority.

Cities where parks, recreation and trails play a vital role in the lives of their residents are vibrant places to live and have proven to be attractive to businesses and residents. In a disadvantaged urban community, public parks, recreation, and green spaces are particularly important. These resources offer opportunities for people of all incomes, abilities, and social circumstances to come together in a common space to experience nature, build strong family and community bonds, get fit, play, de-stress, and enjoy life.

In 2016, the City of Coatesville, Brandywine Health Foundation, and Natural Lands partnered to complete a five-year action plan for the city’s parks: “Coatesville Park 2021, An Action Plan for Lively Parks and Healthy People.” The planning process included a significant amount of public input, which yielded a clear list of the community’s priorities that are addressed by all phases of the City’s Action Plan: The City of Coatesville 2021 – An Action Plan for Parks and Recreation (click to view or download) Funding for the assessment was provided through the Brandywine Health Foundation with generous support from ArcelorMittal, PECO and the Philadelphia Foundation.

Following the Action Plan, the Brandywine Health Foundation, Natural Lands and the City of Coatesville created the Greening Coatesville Initiative to begin the transformation of the public parks and recreation system into a safe community treasure where residents can play, socialize, get fit, and connect with nature, and where businesses thrive because people want to live, work and visit here.  The three focus areas for this work include:

1. Build capacity. Build the City’s capacity to provide the safe and well maintained park system that its citizens desire.
2. Build community. Channel the incredible volunteer interest into addressing the City’s highest priority programs and park improvements. Enlist non-profit partners to carry out programs and physical improvements that meet City needs and desires.
3. Build facilities (and maintain them). In accordance with the Needs Assessment and future priorities,   seek funding for highest priority physical improvements to City parks and facilities.

Thanks to this initiative, Coatesville caught the attention of  KaBOOM! They came to Coatesville on October 7, 2016 and helped the community build a spectacular playground in Patton Park, in the West End of Coatesville in 6 hours, with generous financial and volunteer support from PECO and the Applestone Foundation.   
 
Fortunately, a window of opportunity opened to transform Palmer Park in Coatesville’s East End, into a source of community pride and a healthy, thriving place for children, families, and adults to recreate. In 2017, the City – again with the assistance of Brandywine Health Foundation, Natural Lands, and with funding from Chester County – completed a master plan for the park with enormous input from neighbors surrounding the park.  This revitalization, broken into four phases, will seamlessly blend traditional play equipment and basketball courts with winding paths, seating, beautiful landscaping, educational water features, natural play equipment, and green infrastructure elements that manage storm water. All generations will enjoy these newly created spaces. The innovativeness of the project introduces natural play and conservation features in an impoverished community where such play experiences are quite rare.

The Brandywine Health Foundation is launching the fifth year of the exciting Coatesville Area Youth Philanthropy Program underwritten by Citadel.  This program will provide high school students from the greater Coatesville area with the opportunity to become engaged, involved, and to give back to their community through philanthropy and civic engagement.

The Coatesville Area Youth Philanthropy Program, or CAYPP for short, was designed by two high school students, and is for teens between the ages of 14 to 18 who reside in the Coatesville area to learn about the world of philanthropy. Throughout the course of the program, participants do not only learn how to give $15,000 in grant money to organizations in Coatesville, they will also learn a wide variety of skills including but not limited to leadership, teambuilding, communication, business, and more! The program is accepting applications now until Friday, October 11, 2019, 4:00pm.

The program will meet approximately two to three times a month. Meetings will take place on a combination of Thursday evenings from (5:00 to 7:00 p.m.) and Saturday mornings (9:00 a.m. to Noon) from October through May.

This exciting program provides youth with the opportunity to be engaged in grant making from soliciting grant requests, reviewing grant proposals, going on site visits, and determining which community organizations to fund.

In addition to giving back to the Coatesville community, students who participate in this once-in-a-lifetime experience will gain the tools they need to succeed in both high school and beyond, as well as participate in a program that stands out on both college and job resumes! (more)

The Coatesville Area Youth Philanthropy Program is looking for teens that are highly committed, determined, and looking to make a difference. These individuals will have a significant amount of responsibility in determining how grants will be awarded in the community.  To apply complete an application online here, or download it here.

CAYPP’s philanthropic endeavors are being funded by a generous donation of $100,000 over the next five years from Citadel Federal Credit Union. Each year the youth will have $15,000 to disburse to non-profits serving the greater Coatesville area that they have selected.

COATESVILLE, PA 

The Brandywine Health Foundation is launching the fourth year of the exciting Coatesville Area Youth Philanthropy Program underwritten by Citadel and The Marshall-Reynolds Foundation.  This program will provide high school students from the greater Coatesville area with the opportunity to become engaged, involved, and to give back to their community through philanthropy and civic engagement.

The Coatesville Area Youth Philanthropy Program, or CAYPP for short, was designed by two high school students, and is for teens between the ages of 14 to 18 who reside in the Coatesville area to learn about the world of philanthropy. Throughout the course of the program, participants do not only learn how to give $15,000 in grant money to organizations in Coatesville, they will also learn a wide variety of skills including but not limited to leadership, teambuilding, communication, business, and more! The program is accepting applications now until September 28, 2018.

The program will meet approximately two to three times a month. Meetings will take place on a combination of Thursday evenings from (5:00 to 7:00 p.m.) and Saturday mornings (9:00 a.m. to Noon) from October through May.

This exciting program provides youth with the opportunity to be engaged in grantmaking from soliciting grant requests, reviewing grant proposals, going on site visits, and determining which community organizations to fund.

In addition to giving back to the Coatesville community, students who participate in this once-in-a-lifetime experience will gain the tools they need to succeed in both high school and beyond, as well as participate in a program that stands out on both college and job resumes!

The Coatesville Area Youth Philanthropy Program is looking for teens that are highly committed, determined, and looking to make a difference. These individuals will have a significant amount of responsibility in determining how grants will be awarded in the community.  Youth may apply by downloading an application here.

For further information, contact:
Alyson Ferguson, MPH

CAYPP Program Manager at Brandywine Health Foundation
302.270.7266 Cell

aferguson@brandywinefoundation.org

Strategic Plan

Since 2001, the Brandywine Health Foundation has been making grants to local nonprofit organizations serving the Greater Coatesville area to address health equity issues among communities disparately impacted by poor health. This year, the Foundation began to implement a new strategic plan, focusing on three priorities, and outlining future investments to improve the social, economic, environmental and political challenges that impact healthy living.

The first of the three priorities is specifically aimed at helping people live healthy and well. We are working to improve systems of care across nonprofit and for-profit businesses, government, and philanthropy by creating seamless access and transition to programs and services for struggling individuals and families.

The second strategic priority centers on creating healthy spaces and places for people to thrive. We are addressing the intersection of public health and community planning and design in ways that support the development of inclusive healthy indoor and outdoor public spaces.

Our third strategic priority pertains to the role of the Brandywine Health Foundation in leading community-driven change. Community engagement is the cornerstone of the work we do and by empowering people in the places where they live, we strengthen their ability to shape the policies, services and programs that affect them directly.

With these new priorities in place, Brandywine Health Foundation is better positioned to broadly address health inequities that take place outside of the doctor’s office. Our new strategic plan will build on existing assets to help reshape our community for greater equality and lasting change.

Core Activities

*Helping residents build power to shape decisions that affect the health of their families and communities

*Strengthening collaborative partnerships between public, private and community-based organizations
Investing in organizations and initiatives that improve health outcomes

*Supporting transformational change in health and human service safety net systems
Ensuring that health is prioritized in economic development and public safety

Listen. Learn. Lead. 

These words embody our continuing commitment to the residents of Greater Coatesville to LISTEN to their concerns. LEARN from their insights and incorporate what we’ve learned to better LEAD as advocates for a more equitable and healthy community. We hope you will join us in this mission to create a thriving Greater Coatesville for all.

We are proud to serve the Greater Coatesville area as the largest philanthropic organization dedicated solely to improving the community’s health.

We fund grants, scholarships, and programs to improve health, promote youth development, and build a vibrant Coatesville community.

Together, we have tackled some of the toughest national issues right here at home. But there is still more work to be done!