V.I.A. Donates $11K to Three Bucks Non-Profits

In a few short weeks, more than 170,000 daffodils will push up through the wet spring soil along the new Route 202 Parkway.

The effort to beautify the new roadway that links Doylestown and Montgomeryville got a boost recently from the Doylestown-based Village Improvement Association.

The women's group awarded three grants totalling $11,000 to three local non-profit groups.

• Special Equestrians received $6,000 for a Round Riding Pen. The sixty-foot-diameter pen will provide a safe, controlled environment for therapeutic riding programs.

• The United Veterans of Doylestown received $2,500 to help with two years of expenses associated with the Doylestown Memorial Day Parade, one of the biggest events on the borough's calendar.

• Bucks Beautiful was awarded $2,500 to assist with the planting of 170,000 daffodil bulbs along the new Route 202 Parkway linking Doylestown and Montgomeryville.

Kathy Meyer, Chairman of the V.I.A.'s Community Response Committee, presented the grants at a recent meeting.

Founded in 1982, Special Equestrians brings together people with disabilities and horses at its 40 acre farm in Warrington Township.

The United Veterans of Doylestown is composed of the senior officers of all four of the town's veterans groups: American Legion Post 210, Central Bucks Detachment – Marine Corps League, Doylestown Post 175 Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 210.

The groups work together to coordinate Doylestown's Memorial Day Parade, one of the most popular events in town that draws tens of thousands of people to the borough each year.

Bulbs for Bucks began in 2010 with 30,000 daffodil bulbs planted along the Rt. 611 Bypass around Doylestown. In fall 2011, volunteers planted 11,000 more bulbs.

The program spread to the Delaware Canal in November 2011, and moves to the Route 202 Parkway this fall.

Ultimately, the program hopes to plant 1 million bulbs across Bucks County.

Bucks Beautiful was founded in 1990 by local business and community leaders Bob and Joyce Byers, of Chalfont, and Jack and Carol McCaughan, of Doylestown. The program's mission is to enhance the beauty of Bucks County with flowers and gardens visible from the roadside.

The Village Improvement Association is Doylestown's leading women's community group. Formed in 1895, it was the guiding force behind the founding of Doylestown Hospital in 1923, and still owns and oversees the operation of the hospital today.

Headquarted at the James-Lorah Memorial Home, the V.I.A. supports programs that improve the quality of life in Doylestown and the Central Bucks Community.

Related Stories:

• Bucks Beautiful Begins Planting Bulbs
• Bucks Beautiful Makes Community Bloom
• Bucks Beautiful Awards Garden Grants
• Special Equestrians Therapeutic Riding Program Volunteers