Children playing in classroom

Kostas and PNC to be Feted

Community Services for Children salutes outstanding individuals and corporations for their contributions to making the lives of children better through The Inez and Edward Donley Award. We’re pleased to announce that the 2007 awardees are PNC Financial Services Group and Kostas Kalogeropoulos, Senior Executive Vice President of Development, Meyer Jabara Hotels.

The 2007 Donley Awards and Children’s Gala, CSC’s major fundraising event, will be held Friday, September 7, 2007, at Blue Grille (formerly Candlelight Inn).

In 2004, PNC kicked off the “PNC Grow Up Great” $100 million investment in early education. PNC created this program to better prepare children from birth to age five for school through grants to non-profit early education organizations, volunteerism, advocacy and awareness during the next 10 years. Joining PNC and its 24,000 employees are experts in the field, including Sesame Workshop, PBS member stations and Family Communications, Inc, the producers of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

CSC’s Head Start of the Lehigh Valley was given a three-year grant to initiate the Arts Integration Program, which brings performing and painterly artists into several classrooms to enhance education. PNC has also generously donated 1100 “Ready to Learn Kits” for every child enrolled. PNC employees have also donated thousands of dollars worth of books, toys, school supplies and clothing for the children.

Kostas is well-known in the Lehigh Valley for his strategic thinking, leadership, philanthropy, and passion especially for children. In 1984, Kostas founded Dream Come True, an organization that grants wishes to seriously, chronically and terminally ill children in the Lehigh Valley area. Since then, additional chapters have opened in Connecticut and Maryland. In 1986 he founded Camelot for Children, the house in Pennsylvania to serve chronically and terminally ill children, providing them with a warm, fun, and safe environment to honor life. For the children’s parents, Camelot provides evening group discussions where they are given spiritual and medical support. Most recently, Kostas joined with Lee Butz, Linny Fowler, and David Jaindl to form Pennsylvania’s only branch of the Miracle League, which provides children with disabilities an opportunity to play baseball. The Meyer Jabar Hotels have also generously supported the CSC Gala through auction donations.

Children and Families in the Lehigh Valley are the happy recipients of the generosity of both.