Apr 9, 2025 | Community Involvement
Through the PPL Foundation’s Empowering Communities grants, we support local programs focused on education, environmental stewardship, economic development and/or workforce development. We believe that serving our communities means much more than just delivering safe and reliable electricity.
UPMC in North Central Pa. and Susquehanna Health Foundation are recent recipients of an Empowering Communities grant. The health system’s foundation is using this grant to support its nursing co-op program. The co-op graduated 11 local high schoolers on April 4 after 15 weeks of hands-on, real-world experience inside of area UPMC locations. The students come from Loyalsock, Williamsport, South Williamsport and Hughesville high schools.
We believe in supporting education and setting up students for long-term success in their careers. That’s why we have provided grants to Susquehanna Health Foundation since 2023.
“These students are getting the full experience,” said Alison Gower, program director for the co-op at UPMC Williamsport. “They work alongside the nurses and nurse aids, and work with patients on a personal level to help give them the care that they need.”
The student nurses rotate through several departments during the program, including the medical-surgical unit, emergency department, The Birthplace, Intensive Care Unit, rehabilitation, pediatrics, Operating Room and a unit of the students’ choice that they are most interested in learning more about. 
“This is something that most students don’t get to do when they’re in high school. It’s been an incredible experience,” said Abigail Lorson, a senior at South Williamsport High School. “I’ve learned that this job is about devoting yourself to the patients and making them feel as comfortable as they can be. You can’t learn this level of care in a book.”
“It’s really nice to have a program like this because it has given me a chance to try out a role before committing my career to it,” added fellow South Williamsport senior Alizabeth Schuler.”
The co-op is a paid program that gives not only hands-on experience, but a boost to the start of students’ college careers. And for those who do not pursue higher education, there are opportunities to work at UPMC after the program. Of the 44 students who have graduated from the program in the last five co-ops, 14 have been hired into care attendant positions.
“When I first started the co-op, I didn’t know where within the hospital I wanted to go,” said Michael Yoas, another senior at South Williamsport. “This showed me the areas that I liked and enjoyed, and I want to someday become a registered nurse.”
While providing care to the patients is the top priority of this co-op, it is providing clarity to the students and affirming that this career path is right for them.
“It has been everything I imagined and more; this experience clarified for me that this is what I want to do with my life,” Lorson said.
“We really appreciate our partnership with Susquehanna Health Foundation and UPMC,” said Jonah Howe, regional affairs director at PPL Electric Utilities. “This type of opportunity is so crucial to the future of healthcare and taking care of our communities, and this level of program is a perfect fit for an Empowering Communities grant.”
The latest batch of co-op students have now officially moved on from the program, but two more semesters of students will join the team next school year, beginning in the fall.
“Over the years, the students have all been very responsible and hardworking, and it’s so great to see their excitement,” Gower said. “We’re grateful for the support we’ve received from PPL, and we look forward to growing this program and educating these students.”
Jul 31, 2024 | Community Involvement, Diversity/Equity/Inclusion
Delivering safe, reliable electricity is just one of the ways we take part in the communities we serve. Through the PPL Foundation’s Powering Equity grants, we support nonprofit organizations advancing diversity, equity and inclusion, and protecting underrepresented residents.
The Cooperage Project in Honesdale recently received a Powering Equity grant from the PPL Foundation. The Cooperage Project is a not-for-profit that serves its surrounding community through youth, food, and arts and culture programming. The organization is using this funding to support its LGBTQ+ programming offered throughout the month of June and into the fall. The Cooperage Project began hosting Pride events in 2022.
“In Wayne County, there weren’t any visible Pride community events at the time,” said Arrah Fisher, executive director of The Cooperage Project. “The first event we hosted was a smashing success, so when PPL announced its new Powering Equity grant category in 2023, we thought it would be great to apply to fund some of this Pride-related programming.”
Funding from the round of 2024 grants will go toward three different Pride events hosted throughout the month of June, and it will also be used to build off a Cooperage Project event that was funded by 2023’s round of Powering Equity grants, called Community Conversations beyond the LGTBQ+ Culture War.
“We had a panel discussion with community members from several different backgrounds – a school counselor and a local reverend to name a couple,” Fisher said. “We had over 150 people show up to be a part of this conversation and listen. It was incredible.”
Fisher says the hope is not only to educate the broader community, but to provide a safe space.
“When we held our last Pride karaoke event, we had over 100 people show up, and nearly half of them were teenagers,” Fisher said. “They feel safe, affirmed and supported at The Cooperage Project. For us, we like to know that what we’re doing is mattering.”
Fisher also says having an initiative like Powering Equity grants is important to building a deeper sense of understanding.
“As an organization, we don’t see as many opportunities for funding equity-based programming,” she said. “The PPL Foundation supports us in a lot of different ways, and it has made a tremendous impact on our programs and on the people in our community.”
Mar 3, 2024 | Community Involvement
Being part of the communities we serve goes beyond delivering safe, reliable electricity. Through PPL Foundation Empowering Communities Grants, we support local programs focused on environmental stewardship and education, economic development and/or workforce development.
The Wildlife Leadership Academy in Lock Haven recently received a grant from the PPL Foundation. The academy’s using this funding for its programming, allowing students to have more printed materials and hands-on learning opportunities in its field schools.
Now in its 18th year, the academy hosts five different field schools during the summer. It has held 57 field schools and graduated over 1,000 alumni across Pennsylvania and 13 other states.
“We aim to engage and empower high school-aged youth to become conservation ambassadors,” said Sara Mueller, Executive Director of the Wildlife Leadership Academy. “Once they’ve engaged with us for a week, they go back into their communities and do outreach, service projects, creative arts projects, engaging with the media – really having an impact.”
The academy welcomes 100 new students every year, developing conservation and leadership skills through hands-on teaching. The students are broken into teams and led by a peer mentor who took the course the previous summer.
“The a-ha moment is the most rewarding piece for me,” Mueller said. “Students come to us with an idea of what conservation and leadership are, and we really engage them over the course of the week. We don’t just watch the student change, but we then watch how they change their communities.”
The students say that the 40+ hours they spend at the academy is a transformative experience.
“The experience has allowed me opportunities and I have been impacted in many ways,” said Sarah Klecanda, a former student. “It’s important that we teach others to protect our natural world; education will help us toward our goal of conservation.”
As the academy gears up for another wave of students, it’s beginning a new program that will use fly fishing as the hook for interested conservationists. Mueller hopes this program, called the Stepping Stones Program, serves as a stepping stone toward a future of possibilities for the academy.
“We can take that recreational aspect and apply it to several other outlets like bird watching and canoeing,” she said. “We’re also looking to expand the opportunities that we already have for our alumni. So many people learn by doing, so we give them the book knowledge and the opportunity to apply that knowledge in the field. We’re creating conservationists, but we’re also creating leaders.”
