Penn-Northwest Awarded $100K for Homegrown Initiative

HERMITAGE, Pa. – Penn-Northwest Development Corp. on Monday announced additional funding for the Homegrown Initiative, a project of Penn-Northwest’s Future Leaders group.

First funded with a $200,000 grant from Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development in 2021, the commonwealth has granted an additional $100,000 to continue the program.

The Homegrown Initiative is working to reverse the population loss that Mercer County has seen over the past 30 years by encouraging students from area high schools, colleges and universities to consider full-time employment in the county. 

Since the program began, more than 70 young adults have benefited, with approximately three dozen placed in local jobs, a news release states. The initiative has also worked with Hope Center Ministries to place participants in an addiction recovery program in positions that will provide them with a brighter future.

In fall 2022, the Homegrown Initiative worked with area high schools to provide transportation to The Builder’s Trades Fair at the Canfield Fairgrounds. Several hundred Mercer County students participated.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.