Penny Allison dedicated her life to the well-being of children through her 38-year career as an early childhood teacher.
The Carbon County Community Foundation is pleased to announce grants totaling more than $4,000 to nine area educators and organizations through the Penny Allison Early Childhood Fund. Â Educators from all five school districts in Carbon County will receive grants between $250-$500 to support programs that prepare parents to nurture and support their children through the earliest stages of learning, promote school-readiness, and provide enrichment experiences for young learners.Â
The Penny Allison Early Childhood Fund was established at Carbon County Community Foundation earlier this year by Bill Allison to honor his wife, Penny, who dedicated her life to the well-being of children with a 38-year career as as an early childhood teacher with the Philadelphia School District across a varied spectrum of positions. Â Mr. Allison, a resident of Jim Thorpe, was impressed with the caliber of educators and their classroom projects that were submitted for consideration this year and generously agreed to fund all of them for this first cycle of grants distribution.
“I am excited by the nine educators’ creative and nurturing proposals; activities Penny would have offered in her classrooms. Â I hope to stimulate excellence across Carbon County’s five school districts,” said Mr. Allison.
Erica Chapman, a Kindergarten teacher at LB Morris Elementary in Jim Thorpe, is planning to use the grant funds to expand the flexible seating options for her students.  “This year, I have started to implement different seating other than desks, and I have found the students seem to be more focused and excited to do their work.  The Penny Allison Early Childhood grant is going to help me continue to create an engaging environment for my students, which in return will create successful  and happy learners.  It makes me even more excited and anxious to get back to school!” said Ms. Chapman.
The grants from the Penny Allison Early Childhood Fund are the first from a series of grants being made this spring by various funds at the Carbon County Community Foundation. Â The following educators and organizations were awarded grants from the Penny Allison Early Childhood Fund this cycle:
- Shawn Bierman, Jim Thorpe ASD to support Kindergarten Home Learning Bags
- Erica Chapman, Jim Thorpe ASD to support Kindergarten Flexible Seating
- Autumn Gilbert, Weatherly SD to support an Osmo Kit and Flexible Seating
- Kathryn Harleman, Jim Thorpe ASD to support Literacy Bags
- Lehigh Valley Children’s Center to support Summer Kindergarten Readiness in Palmerton
- Robert Palazzo, Panther Valley SD to support Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum
- Pathstone, Child & Family Development Services to support Creative Arts Enrichment in Lehighton
- Christine Peiser, Weatherly SD to support Little Wrecker Family Reading Club
- Suzanne Rentschler, Palmerton ASD to support Social Skills Programs for Kindergarten
For those interested in supporting future grants to Carbon County early childhood educators, gifts can be made to the Penny Allison Early Childhood Fund here.
To learn more about Carbon County Community Foundation and how it might support your own philanthropic goals, please call to schedule an appointment with our Executive Director: 1-855-545-1311.