Merakey Foundation

The Merakey Foundation is a fundraising entity with a mission to align donor generosity with Merakey's commitment to whole person care throughout the united states. Since its founding in 1999, the Merakey Foundation has raised millions of dollars through grants, fundraising events, and private donations for Merakey programs. Highlights this past year include distributing over $250,000 in impact grants across all Merakey service lines and raising funds to support therapeutic programs for adults with mental and behavioral health concerns, stem education resources for autism schools, safe housing for adults in addiction recovery and facing homelessness, and specialized summer programs for children on the autism spectrum.the Merakey Foundation is grounded in Merakey's purpose, vision and core values:our purpose: putting our heart and soul into exceptional care.our vision: to be a nationally recognized provider of the highest quality health and human services.our core values: compassion, diversity, integrity, safety, trust, and qualityhighlights of the Foundation's year include:the Foundation organized a holiday toy drive to help offset the expenses of holiday giving for our foster care families. In 2022, 200 children in Merakey's foster care received gifts for the holidays.because of the generosity of pacifico auto group, children in the kensington area of philadelphia received winter coats from the auto dealers caring for kids Foundation. The Foundation facilitated the distribution of 200 coats to families in Merakey's program.with funding from the child health association of sewickley and united way of southwestern pa, Merakey's education center in mt. Pleasant, pa hosted summer camp for the second year. Children and adolescents with special needs ages 5-21 from westmoreland and surrounding counties, the majority of whom live below the poverty line, were invited to the camp. The summer fun with friends camp expanded from 4-week pilot in 2021 to 8 weeks in 2022.the Merakey autism center in carlisle received support to build a steam (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) classroom for children with autism spectrum disorder (asd) and to become one of the first in the united states to create a specialized autism steam student curriculum. This groundbreaking project was funded by a grant from the Foundation for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, sponsored by the capital region civitan club. Merakey staff worked hard during the summer months to get the room up and running for students at the start of the 2022 school year.in 2022, the Merakey Foundation awarded $50,000 to the veterans fresh start program through a grant from the lockheed martin Foundation. Fresh start offers housing and supportive service programs for those struggling with homelessness, addiction, and/or other behavioral health challenges. With support from the Foundation, fresh start was able to offer financial support to help graduates of the program with moving costs and expenses associated with establishing a home.this year, the Merakey Foundation awarded seven impact grants to projects within Merakey's adult behavioral health division. The Merakey Foundation impact grants focus on projects that invest in transformative ideas and scalable solutions that support Merakey's strategic initiatives. All three divisions will have an opportunity to apply for an impact grant.abh impact grant recipients:" russellton, pa - recreational equipment for residents of the rise long term structured residence in need of mental health support" sharon hill, pa - technology and life skills education for those with mental illness and recovering from addiction" newport, pa - cooking and gardening classes for low-income adults with mental illness" coatesville, pa - farm therapy for homeless veterans:" wilmington, de - welcome bags for patients at the new wellness center at st. francis hospital" philadelphia, pa - winter clothing for adults facing homelessness and seeking addiction treatment" philadelphia, pa - fresh start housing scholarships for consumers with substance use disorders and at risk of homelessnesseach year the Merakey Foundation also funds scholarship beds and transition support for adults in recovery, sensory and therapeutic equipment for adults with idd, and foster care scholarship fund for young adults transitioning from foster care.