The Robert H. Spitz Foundation recently awarded a $10,000 grant to the Ruth Matthews Bourger Women with Children Program Emergency Fund at Misericordia University. The award, administered through the Scranton Area Community Foundation, is designated for the Bourger program\u2019s emergency fund.<\/p>\n
Established in 2000, the Bourger Women with Children Program at Misericordia University is a two-generational initiative providing free housing, financial assistance, access to quality child care, and an array of social, academic, and family enrichment programing to student mothers with up to three children. One of only eight such programs in the United States, the Bourger families live on campus while the student mothers earn a baccalaureate degree.<\/p>\n
The Women with Children Emergency Fund, designated by the Spitz Foundation, helps alleviate emergency setbacks, and addresses urgent needs such as food, gas, coats, bedding, car repairs, medicine, and school supplies for the student mothers and their families.<\/p>\n
The funding helps relieve financial stress so student mothers can focus on their education and build brighter futures for their families. Ultimately, they matriculate from Misericordia University as college graduates, ready to make an impact in their communities and the world. The current capacity of the program is 18 families, who are housed in four university homes on the campus in Dallas.<\/p>\n
Formed in 2015 through the estate of Robert H. Spitz, the Robert H. Spitz Foundation supports an array of nonprofit projects that improve the Northeastern Pennsylvania region. The Foundation provides support for programs that aim to break the cycle of poverty, remove economic barriers, and encourage independence in adults and children through access to safe, affordable housing, transportation, and education. Priority areas for funding also include veterans\u2019 affairs and veteran-oriented programs, animal welfare, and support for Jewish culture, heritage, community, and cemetery support. To date, the Robert H. Spitz Foundation has provided over $6 million in funding to the\u00a0regional\u00a0community.<\/p>\n
Spitz was born in Scranton in 1955 and was a graduate of Scranton Central High School and the University of Miami, Florida. Before retirement, he had been employed by the U.S. Department of Labor and was also the owner of several local Arby\u2019s restaurants.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks to the Robert H. Spitz Foundation\u2019s generous funding, we are empowered to provide critical support to our Bourger WWC families in their most vulnerable moments,\u201d said Katherine Pohlidal, director, Ruth Matthews Bourger Women with Children Program. \u201cAs women and their children transition from adversity to opportunity, this emergency funding serves as a vital lifeline, bridging gaps in basic needs and paving the way for a brighter future. We\u2019re deeply grateful for this essential support, which will propel each of our families forward as theyembark on their educational journeys and build a better life for themselves and their children.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Robert H. Spitz Foundation recently awarded a $10,000 grant to the Ruth Matthews Bourger Women with Children…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":87828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[524,182,803,28,178,180,179],"class_list":{"0":"post-87827","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-community","9":"tag-local-news","10":"tag-luzerne-county","11":"tag-pennsylvania","12":"tag-scranton","13":"tag-scranton-headlines","14":"tag-scranton-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}