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Please enjoy this slide show of photos of our many activities over the years

It started simply enough. In 1996, an anonymous community member wanted to donate money to establish an annual scholarship for a Penn Manor High School graduate.

As a publicly funded entity, the school district could not accept such a gift, so the idea of establishing a separate, nonprofit foundation to benefit Penn Manor students was set into motion. On April 7, 1997, Penn Manor Education Foundation was officially established. Its first deposit, in November 1997, was a mere $500.

The early years were difficult, and it wasn’t until 2000 that the Foundation gained official nonprofit status that enabled it to award Venture Grants to classroom teachers and scholarships to graduating seniors.

Today, PMEF is one of the most successful education foundations in Lancaster County. We have awarded more than $750,000 in grants to enhance learning, both in and out of the classroom, for Penn Manor students. The grants have funded environmental field studies, musical instruments, 3D printers, physical education equipment, books to foster independent reading and countless visiting authors and artists in residence.

In addition, we now administer more than 35 scholarship funds that have provided over $500,000 in financial assistance to our graduates to pursue college and careers.

In 2016, PMEF expanded its scope to add the Strong & Healthy Families initiative to support our families experiencing economic, physical or emotional hardship.

Our growth would not have been possible without our dedicated volunteer board members and the many individuals and businesses that have generously supported our programs over the years. From our humble beginning, we have grown to the point that our assets are now approaching $2 million!

Today, Penn Manor Education Foundation serves as a model for other education foundations to follow. And it all started with a simple act of generosity.

“Reaching 20 years as an organization is not in and of itself anything special, but funding $750,000 worth of classroom venture grants is,” said PMEF board president Pat Kline. “So is providing $500,000 worth of scholarships to graduating seniors.  And now we have the opportunity to play a bigger role in assisting our Penn Manor families with financial needs.

“These are all funding opportunities that complement the mission of Penn Manor School District — creating a better community … one student at a time.

We thank you for your support and look forward to the next 20 years!