HARRISBURG PA – Two Pennsylvania grants with a total value of nearly $1 million will benefit students in the Pottstown, Pottsgrove and Owen J. Roberts school districts, area state representatives announced Wednesday (April 15, 2026).
Pottstown-based YWCA Tri-County Area won a $500,000 grant to expand intervention-centered programming outside of school time. Trellis for Tomorrow, headquartered in Phoenixville, received $460,451 for its after-school program, Project THRIVE.
Both grants were presented by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, under its School Safety and Security Committee. More than $64 million in grants funding was distributed by the commission to organizations across the state.
The local wins were jointly announced by state 146th House District Rep. Joe Ciresi (Montgomery County) and 26th House District Rep. Paul Friel (Chester County).
Photo provided by the Pennsylvania Department of General Services
How YWCA Tri-County Will Use Its Funds
The YWCA plans to expand its Youth Community Building and Empowerment initiative, Ciresi reports. The prevention-centered, out-of-school-time program serves about 200 middle school youths in the three districts across Montgomery, Berks, and Chester counties.
Its funding application states the program responds to significant needs. It benefits students who report high rates of school-based and community violence exposure, low feelings of safety and elevated rates of depression, self-harm, and substance use.
“Helping young people thrive requires looking beyond the school day,” Ciresi adds. The funding provides “our at-risk youth with … educational, mentoring, and peer-led advocacy supports” to help them recognize their own value and their potential for positive change,” Ciresi says.
Programming through the ‘Y’ will be based at its Pottstown Integrated Wellness Complex, 724 N. Adams St. It intends to connect students from the districts in bi-monthly “Empowerment Sundays,” evidence-based curricula, mentoring, and structured recreational activities.
The money will partially support a director and manager of youth education and prevention position, a director of recreation position, and employee benefits, Ciresi says. It also covers some travel costs to transport youths to program sites; supplies and operating expenses; and fiscal management, compliance, operations, and organizational support.
How Trellis For Tomorrow Will Use Its Funds
Trellis for Tomorrow’s Project THRIVE, Friel reports, provides twice-weekly after-school programming that integrates experiential gardening education, social-emotional learning, mentoring, leadership training, and micro-internships.
The organization intends to expand and grow its existing Garden Club in the Pottstown district. It will offer a structured, prevention-focused after-school program that serves about 30 middle and high school students annually.
Funds will support employee pay, travel for field-based learning at Trellis garden sites, and equipment needed for garden expansion, grow towers and safe tool usage, according to Friel.
“Investing in after-school programs supports the safety, academic success and potential of our youth,” Friel said. “This kind of programming transforms critical afternoon hours – after 3 p.m. – into a positive destination. Students can gain support, build confidence, and engage with the community and beyond.”
“It’s also refreshing to see Trellis for Tomorrow use its unique agriculture and gardening mission to help students,” Friel adds. “As we well know in Chester County, agriculture is the leading sector in our commonwealth, offering both a bounty of opportunity, and purpose and enrichment for anyone interested in it.”
Our local news reporting includes articles about public, private, home-school, non-profit, and organizational education institutions and issues within, or that affect residents of, Montgomery, Berks, and Chester PA counties. Find more education articles here.
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