SOUTH TAMAQUA - A local farmer distributed two $2,500 checks Friday to the Schuylkill County 4-H and West Penn Fire Company, which he won through the Monsanto Fund.
At the ceremony, which took place at the West Penn Fire Company, 21 Municipal Road, Leah VanRyn, district sales manager from Monsanto, along with farmer David Kistler, New Ringgold, presented the checks to the two local nonprofit organizations.
"We realize we'd be nothing without the farmers and the local communities," VanRyn said.
VanRyn said that in 1,271 eligible counties in 39 states, farmers could sign up for the opportunity to win a $2,500 donation for their favorite community nonprofit and this year, and the Monsanto Fund will invest more than $5 million in rural America through Grow Communities, which includes double donations for counties suffering from the historic drought.
"This year was the biggest drought since 1988," she said.
America's Farmers Grow Communities is sponsored by the Monsanto Fund to highlight the important contributions farmers make every day to our society and to help them positively impact their communities and is part of the Monsanto Fund's overall effort to support rural America.
With the county having been declared a disaster area by the USDA, it gave Kistler the opportunity to give two $2,500 donations, which he selected the Schuylkill County 4-H and West Penn Fire Company.
Kistler, who is a crop farmer with about 850 acres between renting and owning land in West Penn Township, said he grew up on a farm and his family has been farmers their entire lives.
"I think the Schuylkill County 4-H is a great program," he said. "It does a lot for the young children."
Briana Shealer, 4-H educator, said that the funds will help offset the costs for sending children to camp, offset the costs for leadership training and will support some of the underprivileged children in parts of the county.
"Thank you very much for selecting us as the recipient," Shealer said.
There were also representatives from the fire company that received a check from Kistler.
"As a teenager and young adult, I ran with the fire company so I know what the struggling is all about," Kistler said. "That's why I chose the fire company."
For more information about the Grow Communities program, visit growcommunities.com.
