At the start of the current academic year the Leopold & Jane Schreiber Culinary Arts Fund provided a $600 grant to help support the Culinary Program of the Susquehanna County Career & Technology Center.  This permanent endowment was established by friends  and employees of Leopold Schreiber and his late wife, Jane.  Many will recognize Leopold as the proprietor of Chocolates by Leopold in downtown Montrose, formerly of Binghamton.  His confections have proven to be a favorite not only among locals, but also by a growing number of mail-order and online customers.  Leopold has been practicing his craft since he was 12 years old and it seemed a natural fit that this endowment should help local students seeking similar training.

Pictured (l-r) are: Jill Wiedmaier, Culinary Faculty; Tom Follert, Production Manager Chocolates By Leopold; Leopold Schreiber; David Dunster, Culinary Faculty; Peter Quigg, Community Foundation; Alice Davis, Director SCCTC.

The Schreiber Fund is a component of The Elk Lake School District Foundation, which is an Affiliate of The Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains and is intended to provide annual support to the SCCTC’s Culinary Program which runs the Touch of Class Restaurant in the Serfass Solarium at The Technology Center and which is open to the public.  This endowment is similar to The Bondurant Family Fund at The Community Foundation that provides support to the Automotive Departments of the SCCTC.  Students from seven school districts in Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties attend the award winning Career & Technology Center.  Those interested in honoring Jane and Leopold while also assisting future generations of local culinary students may send their tax deductible donations to The Community Foundation at 270 Lake Avenue in Montrose, PA 18801.  Alumni of the Culinary Program have gone on to many illustrious careers around the world and surely more will follow.

The warm weather of fall has certainly lingered well into November this year and it is hard to imagine that we will soon be listening to Christmas songs, decorating our homes and trees with lights, and scrambling to think of that perfect gift to buy for our favorite family member, friend, or co-worker.  It’s a decision we must make every year and we make countless lists of ideas focusing in on our gift recipients’ hobbies and activities as we consider what they like to read, watch, wear, eat, and drink. The lists go on and on and more often than naught, we have a tendency to lose those lists or end up having several lying around that add confusion to our life!  A daunting and time consuming task it becomes to find that perfect gift that will express how important they are to us and our hope is they won’t want to re-gift it or exchange it for something else.

As we enter this season of benevolence, remembering those that we love and care for, we at the Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains encourage you to think outside your normal realm of gift giving.  This year why not consider making a donation to the Community Foundation in honor of that special person that you want to acknowledge?  There are over 150 funds managed by the Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains and each endowment is very unique in and of itself.  You can find a fund to coordinate with just about any interest of your gift recipient including scholarships for students attending college for nursing, music, history, education and the arts. Likewise, there are scholarships for the culinary arts and for automotive trade schools.  The Community Foundation currently has assets above 7.5 million dollars and nearly 2.5 million dollars in our funds were designated to schools last year.  What a difference your gift will make in the life of a student who is faced with the rising cost of tuition and increased expenses for his education.

The Community Foundation also manages funds that benefit human resource agencies, animal shelters, parks, food pantries, farming, healthcare, hospice, libraries and fire departments.  The Foundation will work with any charity or organization.   One particular fund, the Women Helping Women Fund, prioritizes women’s concerns including safety, economic justice, education and leadership. There is even a flexible new fund called “Undesignated Fund” that provides funding for unpredictable needs or urgent crisis in our community. There is a fund for just about any charitable purpose one would consider and we currently have donors and recipients from northeastern PA to as far away as England and Japan. 

As we enter this season of gift giving, may you consider making a donation to the Community Foundation in lieu of purchasing that typical Christmas sweater or box of candy. Recently, a family made a very generous gift of $1,000 to the Foundation to benefit a school district in our county.  Whether your gift is small or large, when combined with others, it will may an even greater impact on our community.  Give the gift that keeps on giving for years to come and benefits many in our Communities.  Collectively, we can make a difference this Christmas Season.  For more information regarding our funds and how you can make a donation to the Community Foundation, please visit our website: www.community-foundation.org or contact us at (570)-278-3800.