L.L. Bean Grant Coming to Phoenixville for Elementary, Middle School Students

From the Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area:

The Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation, the Phoenixville Community Health Foundation and the Schuylkill River Heritage Area are pleased to announce a new partnership with L.L. Bean, Inc. that will provide funds to area public schools to support outdoor experiences for elementary and middle school students. 

L.L. Bean has pledged $10,000 to be divided between the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation and the Phoenixville Community Health Foundation, both of which will create an L.L. Bean Outdoor Experience Fund mini-grant program.

Those organizations will then administer the grants to local public schools that apply for the funds. 

The Schuylkill River Heritage Area will aid schools who receive the grants, arranging staffing support, coordination with parks, and any other assistance educators might need in planning or undertaking a trip or activity with the mini-grant funds. 

The grants will pay for field trips and programs that are specifically related to physical activity and outdoor education. This could include a wide range of activities, such as a hike through one of the area’s local, state or national parks, biking along the Schuylkill River Trail or visiting an arboretum. 

“We are pleased to participate in this partnership, which clearly supports our goal of creating regional recreational opportunities that connect people to the environment so they value and protect it,” said Kurt D. Zwikl, Schuylkill River Heritage Area executive director. 

L.L. Bean is contributing $10,000 for the mini-grant program in concert with opening its newest store at the King of Prussia Mall on Sept. 30. 

“When we open a store in a new community we like to engage with local conservation, recreation and education interests to support their promotion of  active, healthy lifestyles,” said Janet Wyper, community relations manager for L.L. Bean Inc. “We are committed to engaging kids in outdoor recreation, both to inspire them to lead healthy lifestyles and to encourage them to become stewards of the outdoors.”

Ten school districts in the Phoenixville and Pottstown areas will be eligible for the grants, all of whom already work with the Pottstown Health and Wellness Foundation or the Phoenixville Community Health Foundation. 

“We have a long-standing relationship with all of our public schools and have grant funding existing with most of them,” said Anna Brendle, Pottstown Health and Wellness Foundation program officer. “This new fund is a great opportunity for us to finance more activities that encourage the younger generation to develop an appreciation for the outdoors, particularly now when school districts have very little money for field trips in their budgets.”