Chamber Foundation


Supporting the greater Franklin County business community by promoting leadership, citizenship and workforce development.
The Greater Chambersburg Chamber Foundation, founded in 1990, was organized as a 501(c)(3) corporation exclusively for charitable, educational and cultural purposes. The Foundation provides a mechanism to establish, administer and finance programs to meet the community’s crucial and changing needs in line with the goals of the Chamber of Commerce.
If you have any questions about the Foundation or would like to discuss ways in which you can become involved in its work, please call Ginny Harriger at 717-264-7101 ext. 205 or email gharriger@chambersburg.org.

Chamber Foundation Initiatives
July 2022
Presented by ACNB Bank, Scoop-a-Palooza is a ticketed all-you-can-eat ice cream festival that benefits the Greater Chambersburg Chamber Foundation. Scoop 2022 will be held on Saturday, July 9, 2022, from 10:30 am-2 pm at Chambersburg Area Senior High School in the CASHS Cafeteria. Participants can sample all the ice cream/ices they like from a variety of area vendors and vote for their favorites! Families can enjoy the enhanced Kids' Activity area that also will have resources for children, youth, and families.
But there is more! During the pandemic, Scoop adjusted its format to a regional Scoop Ice Cream Trail Map. It provided safe family fun, supported local ice cream vendors, and brought community engagement. In addition to the one-day Scoop event, our popular Scoop Ice Cream Trail Map will return for the month of July 2022 bringing two ways to have ice cream fun.
THANK YOU to businesses and community members that supported Scoop in 2020-2021. All proceeds benefit educational programs throughout Franklin County funded by the Greater Chambersburg Chamber Foundation.
JOIN US as a Scoop Sponsor Scoop-a-Palooza 2022 Sponsorship Form
Visit our Scoop website or our Scoop Facebook page to learn about our 2021 event.
Thank you to our current 2022 sponsors:
Presenting Sponsor - ACNB Bank
Triple Scoop Sponsors - Starr Insurance, Tommy's Express Car Wash, Ventura Foods, Volvo Construction Equipment, WellSpan Health
Double Scoop Sponsors - Chick-fil-A Chambersburg
Single Scoop Sponsors - Chambersburg Noontime Lions Club, Corpus Christi Catholic School, DiLoreto, Cosentino & Bolinger P.C., SEK CPAs & Advisors
Baby Scoop Sponsors - Barra Orthodontics, Franklin County Library System, Negley's Water & Well Drilling, Shook Home
Since 1985 over 700 area residents have graduated from the LFC Community program. In 2009 LFC expanded with the addition of our LFC Youth program providing more opportunities for leadership skill development to a broader audience.
Designed and delivered by a dedicated base of community volunteer business leaders, our LFC programs provide a unique venue for personal and professional development. LFC steering committees (most members are LFC alumni) deliver these quality programs year after year. Graduates continue to volunteer all over our county and participate in our active LFC Alumni group.
For more information on the program and application information, visit our website Chambersburg.org/Leadership or contact Ginny Harriger at gharriger@chambersburg.org
Follow Leadership Franklin County on Facebook or Leadership Franklin County on LinkedIn
LFC COMMUNITY
LFC Community is the flagship leadership program with this mission -- “Developing an inclusive continuum of civic leaders engaged in the advancement of the quality of life in Franklin County” Participants are taken through a nine month course where they learn about leadership and their community.
For more information and to apply for the Leadership Franklin County Community program, click here.
LFC Community is sponsored by F&M Trust.
LFC YOUTH
LFC Youth began in 2009 with the mission "To create a community of young people who are actively engaged in responsible, ethical and effective leadership".
Key curriculum components of LFCY include: The Five Practices of Exemplary Student Leadership: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, Encourage the Heart PLUS learning in public speaking, diversity & inclusion, and service learning in our community.
For more information and to apply for the Leadership Franklin County Youth program, click here.
LFC Youth is sponsored by Wilson College.
LFC ALUMNI
LFC Alumni are graduates of our LFC Community program who stay involved in the community long after their class has graduated. LFC Alumni can connect via their LFC Alumni Facebook Group or can learn about other alumni activities by contacting Alumni Committee Chair Angi Quigley at aquigley@sek.com
LFC Alumni want to increase the participation of local professionals in community organizations which will advance the community's quality and growth. Check out this directory for non-profit, non-paid leadership organization boards and committees in Franklin County.
LFC Alumni also work with the IceFestPa committee hosting the Run Your Ice Off 5k
Annually, an LFC Alumni of the Year award is given to acknowledge one alumna's accomplishments within the community.
The Community Education Coalition (CEC) Employability was created in 2015 as a workforce development initiative for Franklin County. The coalition defined a vision "To develop a strong community where all individuals have the opportunity to grow and prosper"
Led by Angela Austin of WellSpan and Dr. Michael Doncheski of Penn State Mont Alto, the employability group addresses workforce development needs in our community and brings our business partners and educators together to discuss the development and sustaining ways to improve the overall workforce.
WellSpan Health is the GCCF Workforce Development Sponsor, powering the CVBA Job Board
The Franklin County High School Business Challenge
The Purpose
The Franklin County High School Business Challenge encourages area high school students to create their own fictional, yet profitable and sustainable business plans. This task allows students to use both creative thinking and critical analysis skills in establishing plans for a sustainable enterprise that is socially and environmentally responsible and financially effective.
Plans were evaluated by area business leaders, and finalists are invited to pitch their plans at the Franklin County High School Business Challenge event at the Franklin County Career and Technology Center. Scholarship dollars are awarded to the top three highest-scoring teams. The Franklin County High School Business Challenge allows students and business people to be actively engaged in each other’s worlds.
The Scenario
In today’s world, there is a new market for businesses that are socially responsible, environmentally conscious, and economically viable. The Franklin County High School Business Challenge invites teams of student entrepreneurs to develop and pitch business plans for a sustainable enterprise they believe would meet the criteria, best serve the region and its residents, and be financially successful in Franklin County, Pa.
Each business proposal must address and embrace the principles of triple-bottom-line sustainability: people, planet, and profit. All proposed plans will be evaluated to determine which company could generate the largest and quickest return on investment, create the newest jobs in the region, and operate in a socially impactful and environmentally conscious way.
Judging
Written business plans were evaluated by members of the Chambersburg Chamber Foundation’s Community Education Coalition. Judging criteria will be based on:
Ingenuity shown in the selection of a business and target market
Thoroughness and completeness of the plan
Integration of triple-bottom-line sustainability
Accuracy of the research provided.
Final judging and selection of the Challenge winner will be via oral presentations (pitching of proposals like on the TV show Shark Tank), judged by a panel of local business leaders. Judges will consider teams’ business plans, their overall proposal pitches, and the way students respond to judges’ extemporaneous questions during presentations.
Scholarship prizes were awarded to the top three highest-scoring teams. First place wins $750, second place wins $500 and third place wins $250
Franklin County High School Business Challenge is presented by the CADC and these sponsors:
Franklin County High School Business Challenge Winners:
2018: Greencastle-Antrim High School: AssemBuild - Collin Griffin, Matthew Lynerd, Clare Hudak
2017: Greencastle-Antrim High School: Grean Bag - Collin Griffin, Matthew Lynerd, Nick Starkey, Austin Straley, Dylan Starkey
The Chamber Foundation, in partnership with the Cumberland Valley Business Alliance, launched a regional job board in January 2022. Click here for CVBA Job Board
The new job board allows CVBA members to post job listings for free through the Member Portal. Members have complete control over the listing's content and can adjust how long it will be available to view. The user-friendly interface delivers more value to the CVBA membership and is actively promoted to local job applicants through social media, organic web searches, local news outlets, and more. Instructions on how CVBA members can post are found here
WellSpan Health is the GCCF Workforce Development Sponsor, powering the CVBA Job Board
Technology Innovation Challenge Grants for Educators
Technology grants for teachers in Franklin County public schools are awarded annually to encourage the innovative use of technology in grades K-12. The Foundation offers the Technology Innovation Challenge Grants to educators in all public school districts thanks to contributions from area businesses.
2022 Technology Innovation Challenge Grant Application - deadline for submission is Monday, April 11, 2022
Contributing businesses are eligible for Educational Improvement Tax Credits (EITC) through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). As an approved Educational Improvement Organization (EIO), the Greater Chambersburg Chamber Foundation partners with area businesses to provide these grant dollars. Since 1999 the Chamber Foundation has funded over $428,000 in technology grants from this program.
In 2022 the Foundation grant program is supported through generous EITC funds from Orrstown Bank and Truist (formerly BB&T)
2021 Technology Innovation Challenge Grant Awards
Fairview Elementary Coding Experience
Waynesboro Area School District; Keith McCray Jr.
Fairview Elementary School - grades 3-5
SUMMARY: The goal of the Coding Experience Project is to increase student engagement/achievement in STEM activities by introducing 21st Century technology into the classroom. The project will use Sphero BOLT, a programmable robot ball that student can drive and code, providing endless opportunities for students to be creative and have fun while developing fundamental STEM skills. Learning programming empowers kids. Coding puts children in control of the computer and through experimentation builds mastery in sequencing skills, counting, problem solving, logical thinking, cause and effect, and critical thinking. The project also includes professional development and coaching for teachers. Led by a certified Sphero Lead Educator who is the Director, the project will measure the increase in engagement and academic achievement through school attendance records, pre/post surveys of students, and test scores.
Story Corps: Greencastle Edition
Greencastle Area School District; Meagan Brockway and James Thomas
Greencastle Antrim High School - Rho Kappa students
SUMMARY: Blue Devil Scholars, the Greencastle chapter of the Rho Kappa Social Studies National Honor Society, will work independently and cooperatively to record, edit, and create an online base for the residents of Greencastle to share their oral histories, memories, and stories. The project is based on the StoryCorps model developed by NPR and will utilize the basic concepts to “create a sustainable community program around storytelling”. Students will work in conjunction with Greencastle Chamber of Commerce to set up an area in the town square during Old Home Week and potentially within the Chamber building. The area will be designed based on the StoryCorps DIY best practices guidelines to allow for residents of the town to share their memories, stories of relatives who have passed or special memories of our town. They will be recording of oral histories and the stories from Greencastle veterans or family members who are features on the Hometown Hero banners. These stories will further the Google map virtual tour of the banners. Technology will be an integral part of this project as student will learn to record, edit, and publish the stories from residents.
Bring Coding to Life
Chambersburg Area School District; Elementary School Librarians in cooperation with lead Susan Berrier
Chambersburg Area School District - grades 2— 5
SUMMARY: Chambersburg Area School District’s elementary school librarians will use grant dollars to provide Dash robots for students to apply the basic principles that they have learned about coding and challenge them to apply coding to real objects. The coding lessons are offered to students as enrichment during library classes, but all subject areas can benefit, as coding and programming these robots will challenge students’ problem-solving, logic, persistence, and collaboration skills. The “big picture” is to expose students at every Chambersburg elementary school to computer coding, then enrich their experience by giving them Dash robots for opportunities to apply their coding skills. All seven of CASD elementary school librarians are already experienced with Code.org and what is provided for K-12 students to learn the fundamentals of coding. Librarians will integrate the Dash robots into lessons during that unit and on certain ‘flex days’ collaborate with classroom teachers in many ways: co-teaching research projects in the curricular areas: teaching the technology skills needed for classroom projects; offering enrichment activities.
Sunday, January 30, 2022
LFC Alumni Committee hosted the 2022 IceFestPa Run Your Ice Off 5K on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022.
Over 300 participants ran or walked this beautiful route on the last day of IceFest. The race is one of the final events of IceFest, the largest ice festival in Pennsylvania. Run Your Ice Off 5k race route starts right through the middle of the festival down Main Street, and goes through beautiful downtown Chambersburg. Proceeds from the 5k benefit IceFest, Leadership Franklin County Alumni Scholarships, and Relay for Life of Chambersburg.
For 2022 results click here!
Thank you to our 2022 Run Your Ice Off 5K sponsors:
Race Sponsor - Rotary Club of Chambersburg
Mile Marker Sponsor & Medal Sponsor - Rodney B. Smith Plumbing, Heating & Cooling Inc.
Mile Marker Sponsors - ACNB Bank, Brad Etchberger, CPA, Keystone Health, Kristian Frank Merrill Lynch, Orrstown Bank,
Medal Sponsor - Sunnyhill Properties
Supporting Sponsors - Abe's Auto Service, Artistic Laser Engraving, Organic Remedies, Patriot Federal Credit Union, Pivot Physical Therapy, Volvo Construction Equipment
Sponsors - Alpha Fitness, The Butcher Shoppe, Occupational Services Inc (OSI), Power Train of Chambersburg, SEK, CPA's & Advisors
Wednesday April 6 - Monday April 11, 2022
About the event: Welcome to the 2nd Annual Log On Leash Up Virtual 5K! This event originated during the pandemic as a Leadership Franklin County Community project to offer an opportunity for all pet lovers to enjoy the pawfect run/walk with their furry friends and to raise money for two worthy causes! The event coincides with National Walking Day on April 6th and National Pet Day on April 11th.
We are asking for your support with this event that encourages our community’s physical, mental and emotional health by getting them out to run/walk with their pets. Net proceeds of the event will benefit Leadership Franklin County Community and the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter.
For more information on sponsoring this event or participating with your pet, please contact Ginny Harriger at gharriger@chambersburg.org.
Thank you to our 2022 Sponsors
Gold Leash Sponsor - M&T Bank
Silver Leash Sponsors - ACNB Bank, Kristian Frank Merrill Lynch, Orrstown Bank
Bronze Leash Sponsors - Franklin Veterinary Associates, Patriot Federal Credit Union, Volvo Construction Equipment
Water Bowl Sponsors - Occupational Services Inc. (OSI), SEK, CPA's & Advisors
Foundation Board of Directors 2022
Crystal Lautenslager, President - Chambersburg Area School District
Dan Baer, Vice-President - ACNB Bank
Kevin Stouffer, Treasurer - SEK CPAs & Advisors
Taylor Hyatt, Secretary - WellSpan Health
Robin Russell, Immediate Past President - Central PA Manpower
Teresa Beckner - Franklin County Government
David Grant, GCCC Board Chair - Keystone Health
Rebecca Holder, Orrstown Bank
Karen Johnston - Healthy Communities Partnership of Greater Franklin County
Helen McGarry - Penn State Mont Alto
Michelle Shaw - Procter and Gamble NEFC
Colin Swain - M&T Bank
Derek Taylor - Starr Insurance
Virginia Harriger, Executive Director - Chamber Foundation