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March Foundation Impact Report

March Foundation Impact Report
Two of the Wildcat Foundation's main purposes are to give grant funding to MASD teachers and programs and distribute scholarship funds to MASD senior students. Right now, during the final stretch of the 2023-24 school year, we are getting ready to do both, and we couldn't be more excited about these opportunities to support and honor our MASD family.
Event Information

Save the Date: 15th Annual Foundation Golf Outing

When?

Friday, Aug 16, 2024, 01:00 PM

Where?

Carlisle Barracks Golf Course, Jim Thorpe Road, Carlisle, PA, USA

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Foundation Funds: The science of learning to read

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Any career requires the ability to adapt over the years. Teaching is no different, as how kids learn can change as much as what they learn.


Cara Pehanich knows that as a Reading Specialist at Shepherdstown Elementary School – her 19th year with the Mechanicsburg Area School District.


Change means adapting.


“Over the last 5+ years, the reading specialists and classroom teachers in Mechanicsburg began to learn about ‘The Science of Reading,’” Pehanich said. “This refers to the way that the brain learns to read as discovered through peer-reviewed scientific research studies. It involves complex processes from different parts of the brain and requires explicit and systematic instruction in both language and word recognition.”


Pehanich applied for and received a $1,200 grant from The Wildcat Foundation for the 2023-24 school year to use for Fundational Aligned Decodable Books. She used the grant money to purchase licenses for printable decodable texts, then printed out the materials for teachers to use within her building.


CLICK HERE to read more about the program.


Watch the Foundation Facts video below 👇👇👇

Foundation Facts: Reading Specialist Cara Pehanich

Scholarship applications due April 3, 2024

The Wildcat Foundation has opened the application process for its scholarships for the Class of 2024 at Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School.


Applications are being accepted online for the four scholarships the Foundation administers. The deadline for applications is April 3, 2024. Scholarships will be awarded at the MASH Senior Awards ceremony on May 23 at the high school.

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The Charles H. Jr. and Jane Eagle Diller Business Scholarship

The foundation is honored to again work with Charles H. Diller Jr. and Jane Eagle Diller to deliver their $20,000 scholarship to a graduating senior student who desires to pursue business and entrepreneurial goals and obtain a college education.


  • The scholarship: This is a $20,000 award; $5,000 paid annually directly to the student's college or university. The student must meet eligibility criteria to maintain their scholarship for the subsequent three years.


APPLY HERE: https://forms.gle/KGSCMckbVxbSse4YA

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The Mechanicsburg Club/Wildcat Foundation Scholarship

The Mechanicsburg Club endowed the Mechanicsburg Club/Wildcat Foundation Scholarship in 2012.


Since then, the foundation has awarded four $4,000 scholarships annually to students performing any field of study at a 2-year college, 4-year college, community college, or trade school.


  • The scholarship: Any MASH senior pursuing higher education (2-year, 4-year, community college or trade school), in any form of study, is eligible to apply for this scholarship. Four $4,000 scholarships will be awarded as a one-time payout directly to the recipient's school, college, or university.


APPLY HERE: https://forms.gle/zvEPWomuc8SxfAKu6

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The Stock & Leader Scholarship

Stock & Leader worked with the foundation to hand out its first $500 scholarship in 2022 to a senior student planning to pursue a degree in law or education.


For 2023 and now 2024, foundation board member Gareth Pahowka, an attorney with Stock and Leader’s School Law group, matched the scholarship funds to produce a $1,000 scholarship offer.


  • The scholarship: This is a one-time $1,000 award to a student planning to pursue a degree in law or education.



APPLY HERE: https://forms.gle/UWieWTs9gFE59CjYA

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The Larry F. Carey Memorial Military Award

The foundation’s newest scholarship comes from the estate of former Upper Allen Township resident Larry F. Carey.


The Larry F. Carey Memorial Military Award will be awarded to one male and one female student each year for the next 10 years who is enlisting in the armed forces. Preference will be given to individuals entering the Navy.


  • The scholarship: This is a $500 award to 1 male and 1 female student each year who enlist in the armed forces.


APPLY HERE: https://forms.gle/Yh3v22Mt2JZSwe696

Thank you EITC donors

Administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program (EITC) provides the opportunity for qualified businesses to make charitable contributions to educational organizations (like the Wildcat Foundation), in lieu of state tax payments.


The EITC program provides registered Pennsylvania companies with a 75% tax credit for donations to nonprofit educational improvement organizations like The Wildcat Foundation. If a business commits to making the same donation for two consecutive years, the tax credit increases to 90%.


These EITC donations play a big role in our grant funding process. We are distributing more than $50,000 in EITC grants for the current school year.


Thank you to our corporate EITC donors so far for the 2023-24 school year:

Wildcat Foundation
www.wildcatfoundation.org

The Wildcat Foundation is registered as a 501(c)(3), k-12 public education foundation for purely charitable purposes. The volunteer board of directors convened its first meeting in early 1999 with the guiding principle, “to strengthen the educational, cultural, wellness, and athletic programs of the Mechanicsburg Area School District."