A nonprofit environmental group that supports the establishment of a new walking trail will be among the charities third-grade students at Pottsville Area’s John S. Clarke Elementary Center will have an opportunity to donate to when the Karen’s Heroes program returns for its 17th year.
That’s the Schuylkill County Conservancy, and Patrick M. “Porcupine Pat” McKinney, education coordinator for the Schuylkill Conservation District, will give the students an introduction to the conservancy at 9:30 a.m. April 27, event chairwoman Anita Dwyer, Barnesville, said Monday.
“We’ll have 201 students participating this year,” Dwyer said.
Last year, the conservation district decided to do a study in an effort to make a historical railroad bed near its Pottsville headquarters into an educational trail. The proposed “Blackwood Trail” is a former railroad bed, a 7-mile stretch that runs west of the conservation district’s offices at 1206 Ag Centre Drive, just off state Route 901, McKinney said Friday.
Recently, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources provided the conservation district with a $25,000 grant for a feasibility study. The conservation district needed a $25,000 matching grant, and that was provided by organizations including the conservancy, Drew Kline, county parks and recreation supervisor, said Monday.
The Schuylkill County Conservancy, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization which “is about 18 years old,” is one of the groups that is raising funds to pay for the study, McKinney said.
“Our goal is to open people’s eyes to the beauty of nature that’s around us through education programs. We’re working to make trails to help people connect with nature. With the Blackwood Trail, we’re still raising money to help fund the study. And we’ll be asking the students to support the conservancy in its efforts to preserve habitat for wildlife,” McKinney said.
“As a permanent part of the third-grade social studies curriculum, ‘Karen’s Heroes’ is a positive learning program. It is designed to involve children in their community,” Dwyer said.
Karen’s Heroes is a traditional tribute to elementary school teacher Karen Chattin-Ney, who died in 1998 at age 46.
Chattin-Ney’s friends and family, including widower, Thomas Ney, and parents, Joseph and Joan Chattin, came up with the Karen’s Heroes Program in 1999 as a way to remember her.
“Everyone involved is committed to teach the children how local charities need volunteer and financial support from people in the community who can afford to give a little time or money,” Dwyer said.
Dwyer said every year, the third-grade students at John S. Clarke Elementary vote to distribute $1,500 from the Karen Chattin-Ney Education Fund to five local charities. Representatives of the charities selected are given the opportunity to make presentations to the students during Karen’s Heroes week. And at the end of that week, each student will vote to contribute to one of the five. Each student vote is a $5 donation, and the remainder of the money is split evenly among the charities.
The committee that oversees the fund — which includes friends of Karen, teachers and administrators — decides which local organizations will be recognized, Dwyer said.
Organizations selected for program
The five organizations selected to be part of the program this year and the dates they will give their presentations to the students are as follows:
• April 25, Hillside SPCA, Pottsville.
• April 26, Servants To All, a resource center for the homeless based in downtown Pottsville.
• April 27, Schuylkill Conservancy.
• April 28, Make-A-Wish Foundation.
• April 29, Pottsville Free Public Library.
Each presentation will be held at 9:30 a.m. in the school’s cafeteria.
The organizations which participated in the program last year and the amounts they received were:
• Hillside SPCA: $582
• American Cancer Society: $337
• Servants to All: $227
• Majestic Theater: $187
• Avenues: $167