Pennsylvania non-profit announces mini-grant program winners

(WTAJ) — The Lumber Heritage Region (LHR) announced its recipients for its 2022-23 Mini-Grant Program on Monday, Aug. 15.

The non-profit, focused on the importance of the lumber industry across 15 Pennsylvania counties, is funding more than $66,000 to the following groups and organizations throughout the Commonwealth:

Allegheny Hardwood Utilization Group — Multiple Counties — $5,000 for educational interpretive panels
Cameron County Recreation Center — Cameron County — $2,255 for Dark Skies programming
Centre County Historical Society — Centre County — $5,000 for passport and interpretive programming
Dubois Area Historical Society — Clearfield County — $1,000 for tannery interpretive panel
Lycoming County Visitor Bureau — Lycoming County — $5,000 for marketing and brochures
McKean County Historical Society — McKean County — $5,000 for fire tower restoration
Muncy Historical Society — Lycoming County — $5,000 for nature trail kiosk panels

LHR said funding comes from the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Community Conservation Partnerships Program (C2P2) and the Environmental Stewardship Fund. Seven out of 15 groups that applied received funds.

“We are ecstatic about the number of great projects that were presented in this round of grants,” LHR Executive Director Holly Komonczi said. “It’s unfortunate we couldn’t support all of them.”

LHR says it “accentuates the importance of the lumber industry for the past, present and future” throughout Northwest and North Central Pennsylvania and that “the goal of the heritage region is to market its assets to potential visitors, to serve as a resource to the PA hardwood industry and to keep the economic impact of the region at the forefront.”