Pamela A. and Gregory W. Heid’s Fund for the Animals
This fund awards grants to animal welfare organizations for the direct support of animal care, food and medicine.
Embracing Aging Fund
This fund provides grants to address the needs of Berks County’s older residents by removing barriers to aging well.
Home Health Care Foundation Permanent Fund
The purpose of the Fund is to administer programs and educational activities that promote general health, wellness and preventative healthcare for the residents of Berks County. As well as support organizations and programs that help residents recover from illness or disability at home or provide health-related charity care for the residents of Berks County.
History
On January 1, 2019, Tower Health assumed the operations of Home Health Care Management, Berks Visiting Nurse Association, the Visiting Nurse Association of Pottstown and Vicinity, and Advantage Home Care.
For years, each of these organizations provided compassionate and much-needed care to the communities they served. In that spirit, the Home Health Care Foundation was created as part of the merger to support charity care and other programs for the good of the community.
The Home Health Care Foundation became an affiliate of Berks County Community Foundation in 2020.
Home Health Care Foundation Board
Kim R. Berry
Jim Gierlich
Robert R. Kreitz, Esq.
Rabbi Brian I. Michelson, Chair of the Home Health Care Foundation Board of Directors
Kevin K. Murphy, President, ex officio, of Home Health Care Foundation, and President, Berks County Community Foundation
Mike Paolini
Karen S. Thacker Ph.D., RN, CNE
Frances A. Aitken, CPA, Treasurer, ex officio, of Home Health Care Foundation, and COO and Treasurer, Berks County Community Foundation*
*Serves as an officer, not a board member.
In 2025, Home Health Care Foundation merged with the Community Foundation and now operates as a fund of the Community Foundation. The fund will support:
Programs and activities that support preventative healthcare and community health.
Programs and educational activities that promote the general health and wellness of Berks County residents or its contiguous counties
Organizations and programs that help the residents of Berks County or its contiguous counties recover from illness or disability at home
Organizations that provide health-related charity care for the residents of Berks County or its contiguous counties
Fund for Science Research Institutes
This fund supports Science Research Institutes serving students in Berks County schools.
St. John’s UCC Reading Fund
The St. John’s UCC Reading Fund supports organizations and causes that were important to the mission of the church. Grants support programs and initiatives that reduce hunger, offer shelter or improve housing, meet a pressing need for youth, or create or maintain open space.
Distributions are made in the following order of preference:
• Religious organizations or causes within a one-mile radius of 149 S. 9th Street, Reading, PA.
• Organizations or causes within a one-mile radius of 149 S. 9th Street, Reading, PA.
• Religious organizations or causes in the City of Reading.
• Organizations or causes in the City of Reading.
• Religious organizations or causes in Berks County.
• Organizations or causes in Berks County.
St. John’s was located at 149 S. Ninth St. in Reading. It was formed in 1871 as St. John’s Reformed Church of Reading.
In 2017, a majority of its remaining members voted to dissolve St. John’s United Church of Christ as a legal entity.
In 2019, the church filed with Berks County Court to transfer much of its assets to the Community Foundation and to give its building and some assets to Open Door Mennonite Church, Lancaster County, to establish the South 9th Street Mennonite Church in the building.
In 2020, the St. John’s UCC Reading Fund of Berks County Community Foundation was created to continue the church’s mission.
Albany Township Tomorrow Fund
The Albany Township Tomorrow Fund was created in honor of Pauline Levan Hamm and Gloria Longenberger Hamm and their lifelong efforts to support and improve the Albany Township community. The Fund provides grants to support community-minded organizations and initiatives that benefit the general population of Albany Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Marlene L. Driscoll Fund
The Marlene L. Driscoll Fund was established to support programs that benefit residents of the Boyertown Area School District.
Military Assistance Fund
This fund supports charitable and educational programs and organizations that help those who served in any of the branches of the United States of America’s Armed Forces, National Guard, or Military Reserves. Questions? Email our Health and Human Services Program Officer, Cindy Milian, for details at cindym@bccf.org
Mount Penn Preserve Partnership Fund
Distributions from the Mount Penn Preserve Partnership Fund are for capital improvements that protect, promote and enhance the natural beauty, heritage and attractions of the Mount Penn Preserve.
The Mount Penn Preserve is a partnership of the governments of Berks County, the City of Reading, and the Borough of Mount Penn, and the townships of Alsace and Lower Alsace.
Explore the Mount Penn Preserve through an interactive map of points of interest and eateries. The map will be enhanced periodically, so check back! Once the page loads, use the arrow at the bottom of the screen to navigate through the points of interest.
Friends of the Berks County Emergency Response Team Fund
The Friends of the Berks County Emergency Response Team Fund was established in 2022 to support the mission of the team through the purchasing of specialized equipment and the funding of additional training for team members.
The Berks County Emergency Response Team (BCERT) was formed in 2007 and is comprised of highly-trained and skilled officers from throughout Berks County. BCERT has a tactical unit and a crisis negotiation unit. The team serves as a resource for local, state, and federal agencies in the management and resolution of special threats and high-risk incidents, including hostage situations, barricaded subjects, sniper situations, high-risk warrant service and apprehensions, special assignments, and active shooters.
