Focus and Grants - Kathleen and Gerald Sheetz Foundation

BLAIR COUNTY

The Sheetz Family’s home is Blair County, Pennsylvania. With the resources at the Foundation’s disposal, we are dedicated to strengthening our community and improving the quality of life in Blair County.

In 2025, the Foundation made a donation to the new Hollidaysburg Healthy Food Hub, dedicated to increasing healthy food distribution in Blair and surrounding counties. Over the next three years, the Hub plans to distribute enough food to provide 28 million meals to the hungry in the Allegheny Mountain Region.

Focus Areas & Grant Recipients

FAMILIES

Family units are a key component of communities, and we believe that by helping families, we can help the entire community.

In 2022, the Foundation made a grant to FAMILY SERVICES in support of their new homeless shelter in Altoona.

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Youth are the future of our community, and the Kathleen and Gerald Sheetz Foundation is dedicated to setting them up for success.

In 2021, the Foundation made a grant to PROJECT SOAR (Study, Overcome, Achieve, Reward), a program that pairs students with mentors and organizes after-school sessions to make these students more aware of post-secondary education opportunities.

HOUSING

To improve quality of life in Blair County and help residents thrive, the Kathleen and Gerald Sheetz Foundation is committed to assisting efforts to improve housing stock in our community.

While we study the landscape for opportunities to make a difference, the Foundation has purchased Kathleen and Gerald Sheetz’s family homestead for use as a museum, to preserve family history and to demonstrate our commitment to individual neighborhoods across Blair County.

MENTAL HEALTH

Improved mental health can lead to improved quality of life, and the Kathleen and Gerald Sheetz Foundation is committed to doing its part to support those struggling with mental illness in our community.

In 2025, the Foundation made a grant to the NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS' BLAIR COUNTY CHAPTER in support of programming to assist children and families struggling with mental illness in their midst. The Foundation also made a grant to the HEALING PATCH, a peer support program designed for children and their families who have suffered the death of a significant person in their lives.

PARKS AND RECREATION

Quality recreational and other outdoor spaces go hand in hand with the high quality of life that we seek for our community.

In 2024-2025, the Kathleen and Gerald Sheetz Foundation will donate the funds necessary to allow the CENTRAL BLAIR RECREATION COMMISSION to renovate the dugouts at Veterans Memorial Field, to replace the playground at Second Ward Park, and to redo the basketball courts at Geesey Park.