ST. MARYS — The Elk County Community Foundation will award a grant from the Elk County Society for Special Services Fund.

The Community Foundation is now accepting grant applications from any non-profit agency which provides services for pre-K education.

The grant application should be for improvements to programs that are already established or development of new programs. The funds will not cover direct operating expenses of an agency; rather, it hopes to enhance already established programs.

The competitive grant application is available on the Foundation’s website, www.elkcountyfoundaiton.com. This grant cycle has a deadline of Jan. 16. Applications will be acted upon and awarded the first week in March. There is approximately available $2,900 to award this year.   

Over the years, many local volunteers of the Elk County Society for Special Services used their time and talent to find available resources to provide for students at a time when other agencies or schools were unable to do so. This perpetual monetary fund will help agencies and groups enhance their programing needs, fund special projects and maximize the impact of giving back to the community.    

One of the 2016 grants helped purchase 320 high-quality books that have been distributed through Elk County’s Rural Reading Project — The Literacy Express — operated by Dickinson Center Inc. The Literacy Express gives books to children ages 0-5 throughout Elk County in kindergartens, preschools, Head Start classrooms and daycare centers. Books are also given out at community events such as Story Time in the Park, YMCA Healthy Kids Day and Dickinson Center’s Children’s Center.

To learn more about applying for the grant, establishing a fund or learning about the 122 funds already administered by the foundation, contact Paula Fritz Eddy at the Elk County Community Foundation office by calling 834-2125 or emailing eccf@windstream.net.