News & Events

The Millennium Circle Fund of The Luzerne Foundation will present a $20,000 grant to Commission on Economic Opportunity for the “Dinner for Kids” program. The organization was chosen from seventeen initial grant nominations which were narrowed down to six finalists at the Millennium Circle’s 2011 Annual Luncheon.

The Luzerne Foundation has presented grants totaling $310,000 to area nonprofits to provide financial assistance for their flood recovery efforts. Because of the generosity of caring friends and donors, the organizations receiving funds are: The American Red Cross Wyoming Valley Chapter $175,000, The American Red Cross Greater Hazleton Chapter $25,000, the Salvation Army of Wyoming Valley $20,000, Catholic Social Services $10,000, Volunteers of America $10,000 and the Luzerne County Flood Recovery Fund for Business $70,000.

Join us on Monday August 1, 2011 at Huntsville Golf Club in Lehman, PA for our annual golf tournament. A light lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m. followed by a shotgun start at 12:30 p.m.

The Luzerne Foundation announced the awarding of eight grants to community organizations as a result of their Spring Grant Cycle. Over 40 grant applications were received by the public charity requesting over $112,000 in funding for programs supporting the handicapped, the arts, social services, camps, women and children, food pantries and clinics.

The Luzerne Foundation will hold its Annual Meeting and Community Celebration on Wednesday May 18, 2011 at the River Common Landing area. The event, which runs from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., is free and open to the public. Activities include performances by Kriki and Mike Miz, jugglers, children’s games and a community picnic. The Luzerne Foundation Annual Meeting presentation begins at 6:00 p.m. with the unveiling of the first piece of public art, a sculpture, at the Millennium Circle Portal. At 6:30 Dr. David W. Kistler will be presented the Mary Bevevino Community Service Award and the 2011 Spring Grants to area nonprofits will be announced. Guests are asked to enter via the Millennium Circle Portal between Market Street and The Luzerne County Courthouse.

The Luzerne Foundation recently received notification that it has met the nation’s highest philanthropic standards for operational quality, integrity and accountability. The notice comes from the Community Foundations National Standards Board, a supporting organization of the Council on Foundations, a national professional association based in Arlington, VA.

Family Service Association of Wyoming Valley’s Help Line Program, is the recipient to The Luzerne Foundation’s Millennium Circle Fund annual grant.

The Wilkes-Barre General Hospital Auxiliary Fund of The Luzerne Foundation presented grants totaling $50,000 to three healthcare nonprofits.

Learn more about The Luzerne Foundation's Annual Meeting & Community Celebration that was held May 19, 2010 on the River Common in Wilkes-Barre.

The Luzerne Foundation recently presented a grant to the Hazleton Rotary Foundation to support the KidzCoatz program which annually distributes coats to needy children in the Hazleton Area School District.

The Luzerne Foundation recently presented a grant to Step By Step to support the HOPE (Helping Others Prepare for Employment) Program, a program of the Vocational Division of the agency. The grant will enable Step By Step to provide their consumers with skills training in application completion, interviewing and workplace behavior. The HOPE program currently serves 93 individuals with disabilities.

The Luzerne Foundation recently announced the awarding of eighteen grants to community organizations as a result of their Fall Grant Cycle. Over 100 grant applications were received by the public charity requesting over $475,000 in funding for programs and services valued at over $7.5 million.

Generation to Generation is one of eight nonprofit organizations being featured in this year’s Times Leader Giving Guide. These organizations rely on grants & donations and face reduced funds and possible cuts in services due to trying economic times.

The Concerned Parents of Hazleton Fund was established in 2008, but their impact in the community is already strong and growing. They are an advocacy group dedicated to providing pathways for success through educational access for students and families in the Hazleton area for whom language is a barrier.

Ruth’s Place: House of Hope, an emergency women’s homeless shelter in Wilkes-Barre, is the recipient to The Luzerne Foundation’s Millennium Circle Fund annual grant. Millennium Circle members selected the shelter from five finalists for the award at the annual luncheon held on October 27th at Genetti’s Best Western Hotel and Convention Center in Wilkes-Barre.

In 1977 the Kistler Elementary School in Wilkes-Barre was dedicated in honor of Dr. David W. Kistler. Humbled by the honor, Dr. Kistler began to look for a way to thank the community and at the same time, create a means to encourage education excellence for middle-school students at the school. It took almost two years, but it has become one of the true fund success stories of The Luzerne Foundation.

The Luzerne Foundation will receive the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Northeastern Pennsylvania Chapter’s Outstanding Foundation Award at its annual Philanthropy Day luncheon on Friday, November 20th at the Season’s Ballroom at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.

This is a busy time of the year for Millennium Circle Members. Find out more information here!

An aunt’s legacy. A family’s desire to use accumulated wealth to support and better the community. The involvement of future generations in a tradition of charitable giving and community involvement. These are the reasons a niece decided to establish the Miner-Shoemaker Fund at The Luzerne Foundation.

The Millennium Circle Fund of The Luzerne Foundation recently presented a $30,000 grant to The Care & Concern Ministries, a program of St. John the Evangelist Church in Pittston. The organization was chosen from twenty-four submissions which were narrowed down to five finalists at the Millennium Circle’s annual meeting.

Businesses will receive tax credits while providing scholarships for our area’s youth

Since January 2008 The Luzerne Foundation Donors Provide $1.4 Million to Charities

Rabbi Larry Kaplan and his wife, Gerri, were honored Tuesday as recipients of this year’s Mary Bevevino Community Service Award. They have cared for 50 foster children while raising their own five children.

[03-07-08] Solid Cactus ® will make the first donations to worthy area organizations from its 'Solid Cactus Cares' fund administered by the Luzerne Foundation. 13 different organizations will receive checks or will be the recipients of website construction or newsletters from Solid Cactus.

[02-21-08] 8-year-old Richie Kraus came up with the idea two years ago for the 2U Fund, which provides money to buy birthday presents for needy children in Luzerne County.

[01/10/08] - The Luzerne Foundation recently awarded 14 grants totaling $23,750 to local non-profit organizations.