NOVA Awarded $5K Grant From Doylestown Rotary Club

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — NOVA has received a $5,000 grant from the Rotary Club of Doylestown that will be used to fund additional sessions of NOVA’s Smart Healthy Appropriate Relationship Education (SHARE) program.

Since 2006, the program has worked with young people with autism spectrum disorders and other intellectual or developmental differences to give them the skills they need to form and maintain meaningful, safe connections and relationships.

“In 2008, the Rotary Club of Doylestown implemented a Request for Proposal (RFP) grant application approach that was focused, competitive and transparent,” said Bill Shoffler, Chair, Community Grants & Scholarships Committee, Rotary Club of Doylestown. “The procedures we put in place allow our Club to fund projects that align with the mission of Rotary and support Rotary International’s focus areas. We are pleased to support NOVA’s SHARE program, as it fits both of those criteria. Since 2008, Rotary Club of Doylestown has funded 126 programs at 60 nonprofit organizations throughout Bucks County, including several programs for NOVA.”

The young people involved in the SHARE program want the opportunity to live full lives with safe, loving relationships. The SHARE program addresses that need by teaching participants the skills they need in a way that both empowers them and incorporates their families and trusted educators, so that they can be ready for a lifetime of healthy relationships. NOVA works directly with the school districts in Bucks County to provide this intensive program in a comfortable and trusted setting.

"We are immensely grateful to Rotary Club of Doylestown for choosing NOVA as a recipient of a community grant in support of our SHARE program,” said Mary Worthington, Director of Prevention and Training, NOVA. “We recognize that healthy relationships are critical for a full life and SHARE offers young people with autism or other developmental differences a safe learning environment for developing positive social connections.”