A Legacy of Caring

Somerset County residents have once again stepped up to unexpected challenges and heartily supported the Community Foundation and the #SomersetCountyGives endowment campaign.

Over the past year, new Somerset County funds and legacies have helped to ensure clean waterways now and into the future, and to upgrade recreational facilities, small community playgrounds, and parks. New trails were opened to enhance an already busy trail system in the county. Two veteran parks began construction, and daycares were kept open to support working families. Many fire departments around the county were able to keep their doors open during the pandemic despite not being able to hold fundraisers—and then grants were made for valuable equipment to help them be even more effective and safe. Watershed projects were supported, and art and history facilities and nonprofit organizations that might not have otherwise survived in tough times were able to continue providing much-needed services.

New scholarships, along with the hundreds of others already in place, once again gave so many Somerset County students not only financial help, but also the feeling of support from a community that cares about their education and their future. The Community Foundation also supported economic development projects in several Somerset area communities and facilitated energy project grant awards to help to save costs and advance sustainable energy around the county.

All of this, and so much more, happened because of the many donors who thought ahead, and those who are doing the same now for future generations. The Somerset County Endowment campaign is on track to reach the first $1 million dollars for the Somerset County Community Fund, a testament to the work and continued efforts of the Somerset County Advisory Committee and the Endowment Committee.

That fund has awarded $308,867 in Somerset County since its inception—and thanks to each one of the thousands of donors from the past right up through the present, that fund and its grantmaking will continue to grow forever and support the children, individuals, and families who call the county home. To find out more about the Somerset County Endowments or the #SomersetCountyGives campaign, contact CFA’s Somerset County Director Lladel Lichty at llichty@cfalleghenies.org or (814) 525-9020.