CASA Youth Advocates of Delaware and Chester Counties received a $30,000 grant from Project W. Pictured left to right: Katie Topolewski and Leigh Anne McKelvey from CASA; Susan McCann and Karen Rogers, co-chairs of the Project W Family Grant Committee; Kiera Hargrove and Shannon Bruno from CASA.
At its seventh annual meeting Wednesday night, Project W awarded $69,000 in grants to four Delaware County-based nonprofits that support women and children.
Project W is a Delco-based women's giving circle whose mission is to enhance and improve the quality of life for women in Delaware County through collective giving. The four grant recipients’ missions align with theirs.
The four finalists were chosen from a pool of 46 applicant organizations, which were then separated into four categories: Health, Education, Family and Small Grants. Project W members conducted site visits with all applicants and then collectively chose a finalist in each focus area.
The 2025 finalists chosen from that pool were Senior Community Services in Health, Boys & Girls Club of Chester in Education, CASA Youth Advocates in Family, and Open Door Abuse Awareness & Prevention in Small Grants.
Project W recognized the finalists and awarded the grants at its annual meeting Wednesday night at Unitarian Universalist Church of Delaware County in Media. Representatives from each organization gave presentations, and then members voted on the top grant winner.
CASA Youth Advocates took home the top prize of the evening, receiving the $30,000 grant.
CASA builds upon, supports and enhances the roles of CASAs (Court Appointed Special Advocates) in Delaware County. They train community members to assist and form relationships with children involved in Dependency Court. Project W’s grant will support CASA’s Core Advocacy Program, which centralizes volunteer advocates in the hands of experienced case managers. Those case managers work to ensure that every abused and neglected child in Delaware and Chester counties has access to a dedicated volunteer advocate. CASA’s DOJ federal funding at the national level was recently terminated, making this grant even more important.
The Boys & Girls Club of Chester and Senior Community Services came in second and third place. Both received $15,500 grants.
The Boys & Girls Club of Chester’s mission is to nurture the development of young people and guide them to future success by providing an environment that supports excellence in education, good character and citizenship, and a healthy lifestyle. BGCC has provided these programs in Chester for more than 90 years, and it will use the funding to increase female participation through an impactful program specifically aimed at creating more engagement with girls and teenage girls.
Senior Community Services aims to provide independent and meaningful living for older adults through direct services and programs, both in the home and in the community. SCS helps older adults maintain dignity as they age. SCS will use their Project W grant funding to support its Aging at Home program, which addresses the unique challenges faced by senior women, many of whom lack resources to safely age in place.
Open Door Abuse Awareness & Prevention, the Small Grants awardee, received $8,000. ODAAP runs the Intentionally Caring and United (ICU) program, which empowers middle and high school girls to recognize their value, build resilience and develop healthy boundaries. The Project W grant will support weekly sessions and monthly workshops for the ICU Girls Group, focusing on topics such as healthy relationships, self-care, emotional intelligence and conflict resolution.
Since its founding in 2019 with 64 members, Project W’s membership has doubled to 124 members in 2025. They have collectively donated more than $494,000 in grants and donations to organizations supporting women and their families in the Delaware County region.
The women’s giving circle focuses on pooling resources, exploring the community’s needs, and deciding together how to distribute their resources for maximum impact.
