Powder Mill Foundation Support

By Mary Dolheimer

Outside view of the Center for Community Engagement

The exterior of the Center for Community Engagement in downtown York.

York College’s Center for Community Engagement (CCE) received support from the Powder Mill Foundation, established by Louis and Jody Appell, to renovate the unfinished second floor of the facility for community/college collaborations and to establish a fund to support the ongoing work of the Center.

“The CCE is a building that was very important to Mr. Appell,” said Michael Hady III, Executive Director of the Foundation. “By linking students and faculty to downtown York, it exposes them to great things happening there. After the initial gift to create the Center, the College came back to us for the second-floor vision, and we thought it was important to support the good work being done there.”

This significant three-year gift from the Powder Mill Foundation will provide to the CCE in two ways. First, funds will be provided for renovation of the unfinished second floor space, providing the technology, furnishings, and accommodations necessary to make the space accessible to students, faculty, and community leaders alike. Second, the gift will establish a development fund for new programs launched by the CCE to support its ongoing work.

The development fund will create a regular funding source to support curricular and co-curricular programs that engage faculty and students in community projects and initiatives. Applications for funding will be adjudicated by collaborative groups that include both college and community stakeholders. These projects would focus on project-based learning and problem-solving, partnerships and initiatives, service projects, and education seminars to aid in workforce development.

“The Center for Community Engagement has made significant strides in strengthening the connection between the College, its students, faculty and staff, and the larger York community,” said York College President Pamela Gunter-Smith, Ph.D.

“I see this gift as a major opportunity to demonstrate York College’s commitment to engaging faculty and students in the work of building a better community,” said Dominic DelliCarpini, Ph.D., Dean of the CCE. He expressed his appreciation for the support of

Mr. and Mrs. Appell and their legacy foundation. “This gift will be used to honor that legacy by making York College an anchor in building the York community that the Appells envisioned and worked so hard to create.”