Nonprofit gets grant through funeral home

Friday, July 29, 2011
Mother to Mother Ministry of Bourbon County Director Wilma Leach, center, accepts a grant check Thursday morning from Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home co-owners Marvin Foster, left, and Michael Cheney, right.(Michael Pommier/Tribune)

With the help of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, a $1,500 grant has been awarded to Mother to Mother Ministry of Bourbon County Inc.

The grant was awarded by The York Children's Foundation of Pittsburgh, Pa., after Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home nominated the local organization in March.

Mother to Mother Ministry of Bourbon County Inc. Director Wilma Leach said the grant will be very helpful this year due to the lack of funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that is normally used to purchase diapers and formula.

Mother to Mother is a not-for-profit organization helping young mothers facing various needs. Community donations are vital to the organization's ability to help fulfill its mission.

In 2009, the organization served 2,559 children with 17,849 diapers, 1,488 packages of baby wipes, 101 car seats, 29 beds, 270 cans of formula, 94 bottles of lotions, powders, shampoo and soap, 64 baby medications and 101 other baby-related items.

The York Children's Foundation started Jan. 1, 1992, as a joint project of The York Group of Pittsburgh, Pa., and the York Distributors Association. Each time a Matthews International Casket Division (previously York) casket is sold, and the funeral director returns a registration card. York and the distributor who sold the casket match donations to the foundation.

Funeral directors across the country nominate an organization that spends at least 50 percent of its time and resources helping children in their communities. Each quarter, a board of trustees made up of funeral directors and distributors selects the most worthy nominees to receive the grants.

Since 1992, the York Children's Foundation has donated more than $2.5 million in grants to over 1,000 organizations throughout the United States. Artco Casket Company Inc. of Lenexa is the York Distributor who co-sponsored this nomination. The sales representatives of Artco Casket Company have assisted their customers and friends in obtaining over $548,000 in donations for organizations in the Midwest over the past 17 years.