Charles Werner Endowment Fund
Established 2008
Mr. Charles Werner, a Pine Grove resident, passed away on September 12, 1932 leaving a Last Will and Testament in which he bequeathed the residue of his estate, in trust, for the benefit of his wife, Elizabeth Werner. Upon her death on March 8, 1955, the Schuylkill Trust Company (trustee) was directed to hold the balance in perpetuity and pay the annual income to the United Evangelical Home, Children’s Department, at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to be used for maintaining and educating children from Pine Grove Borough, Pine Grove Township and Washington Township in Schuylkill County.
Mr. Werner’s generosity and compassion for our youth is still evident today, 77 years after his death the youth within the community he cared about so much. The Schuylkill Area Community Foundation has been working with the law firm of Stevens & Lee in Reading, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office, the Court of Common Pleas of Schuylkill County and Wachovia Bank, N.A. (successor by a series of mergers to the Schuylkill Trust Company), since December 2008 to terminate the trusts and transfer the assets to the community foundation
“We are proud to manage the Charles Werner Endowment Fund and to continue the legacy of Mr. Werner,” stated Eileen Kuperavage, Schuylkill Area Community Foundation’s Executive Director. The court adjudication reads, “annual income will be distributed to (a) organizations which qualify for exemption under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; (b) to churches; or (c) to public agencies’ programs benefiting and educating children residing in Pine Grove Borough, Pine Grove Township and Washington Township, Schuylkill County”.
The principal amount received by the Community Foundation was $100,166.60 which will be invested and annual earnings will be distributed throughout the Pine Grove area through the grant application process.
Distributions from this fund are made to organizations, churches, or public agencies' programs benefitting and educating children residing in Pine Grove Borough, Pine Grove Township, and Washington Township.
