The Jefferson Regional Foundation awarded $336,600 in first-time grants from the Mon Valley Clean Air Fund to 11 nonprofit organizations committed to improving community public health and air quality in the Mon Valley.
The fund was created after a U.S. Steel Coke Works fire in 2018, according to a foundation news release. The grant recipients are Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, Greater Valley Community Services Inc., Heritage Community Initiatives, LaRosa Youth Development Foundation, Mon/Yough Trail Council, Nine Mile Run Watershed Association, PA CleanWays of Allegheny County Inc., This Generation Connect, Tube City Renaissance, Valley Clean Air Now, and Watersheds of South Pittsburgh.
In 2024, the Allegheny County Health Department enlisted Jefferson Regional Foundation to distribute $2.25 million in settlement funds from U.S. Steel because of the fire, the release stated. This arrangement will span a period of five years, 2024-29, with $450,000 distributed each year. The settlement resulted from litigation brought by PennEnvironment, Clean Air Council and the Allegheny County Health Department. Jefferson Regional Foundation was not part of the litigation.
In October 2024, the foundation hosted three listening sessions within the impacted communities. “The organizations and programs funded were informed by feedback received from Mon Valley residents. It was important that we honor their requests,” Jefferson Regional Foundation CEO Trisha Gadson said in the release. The grants voted on by the foundation’s board of directors on March 20 reflect those priorities identified by the impacted community residents and stakeholders.
Jefferson Regional Foundation’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of communities served by AHN Jefferson Hospital. Engaging and elevating resident voices is one of its core principles supporting this mission, according to the release.
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