Community Corner

A Vote to Give Grant Money to Greater Norristown PAL

The group is participating in a contest where the winning environmental and community projects will receive a grant.

The Greater Norristown Police Athletic League’s (GNPAL) Community Winter Garden is one of 17 entries in Pennsylvania American Water’s Community Investment Challenge where groups with projects that affect the environment and their community are vying for grant money allocated by the public’s vote, according to Pennsylvania American Water’s Director of Communications & External Affairs, Terry M. Maenza.

The top three projects within Pennsylvania American Water’s service area, which will be determined by the public voting on Facebook, will receive the grant money. For further information, visit HERE. The direct link to voting on Facebook is HERE.

The geographic region for the groups participating in the challenge is Eastern Western and Central Pennsylvania.

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According to Kenneth A. Fennal, GNPAL’s Program Director, they decided to take Maenza’s offer to have them participate because they believe that they have a good program that is a helpful presence in their community. GPAL is located in Norristown and serves the greater Norristown area.

“We also feel that our Community Winter Garden has a uniqueness that is original to the Norristown Area, Montgomery County and the State of PA,” Fennal wrote in an email to Patch.com.

Find out what's happening in Norristownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to Fennal, the project will be a learning opportunity from individuals in their elementary school years to their college years, involving skills of earth science, health and agriculture. The Norristown Area High School has already worked with their community garden for several years. It will also tie into their Cooking Class for Adults.

As of noon on Monday, the GNPAL project has received 43 votes; the highest number of votes has been allotted to Downtown Scranton Spring Planter Beautification Project, with 98, and the lower number has been allotted to Tri-County CleanWays, with 4 votes, according to Fennal.

Voting ends on midnight, Dec. 8.

The GNPAL is a not-for-profit organization that serves families and youth in the greater-Norritown area, bolstering self-esteem, good citizenship and respect for the law and working against substance abuse, according to Fennal.


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