06/15/2026
Hello Everyone!
I wanted to put out an update, as it has been a while! Much has been going on behind the scenes for The MLP Foundation, and I wanted to bring everyone up to date. First of all, we have a new Board of Directors! I am still the President. Jennifer Kaloostian is the Vice President, and Victor Beary is the Secretary. Lauralee Lees stepped down as Secretary after doing a fantastic job, and Marcus Priester, who served as our Vice President, has also stepped down. Marcus was truly amazing as our race coordinator and VP, and without him, we would not have raised nearly as much money as we did! Thank you to both for their service!
HUGE SHOUT OUT TO OUR AMAZING RACE TEAM! Summer, Chris, Jennifer, Ron,, Marcus, Laura,Alisha, Ashley,Lauralee, Scott and Lynda!
We have decided to no longer hold the 5k race and Chinese Auction as our fundraiser. There are many factors that brought us to this decision, but the main one is the lack of support from the community. We tried every year to attract more runners, and this last race in 2025 was the deciding factor. Unfortunately, even with prize money, increased advertising, and extra help from Laura Fette (who made a HUGE effort to help us build our race), the runners just did not sign up.
We are truly thankful to all of the businesses and individuals who sponsored the event for 4 years! We could not have had them without you. Unfortunately, we began to rely on the same sponsors every year, as many businesses in the community did not want their businesses associated with our fundraiser. Matt was a LOVER of people. He loved his community. We really thought that the same community would have been more supportive.
Another factor that led us to this decision was dealing with the many regulations in the state of Pennsylvania. The state made it increasingly difficult to hold our fundraiser, so we have officially moved our foundation from Pennsylvania to Florida, where I reside. As of May 7, 2026, the MLP Foundation Inc is officially operating from Florida. We will continue fundraising online and have some new, fresh ideas that we are excited to pursue!
Thanks to all of YOUR support, we are so proud of the people and organizations we have helped. Here is a list of those:
$5,000 Grant to Strahaven Animal Shelter
$1,000 Donation to The Mercer County Trails Association
$5,000 Education Grant to Will Pope
$15,000 Donation to Guardian Angels Service Dogs (as soon as our name is at the top of the list and a puppy is reserved, we will give the balance of $22,000 owed)
$2,000 Donation to a family in need
We are a small foundation, and as we have said in the past, we support causes that Matt would have supported. We can only do that with YOUR donations. Please continue to support us, even though we will not be holding a fundraiser in Pennsylvania. We will still be making donations to worthy causes, and we cannot do that without your support!
I would also like to thank ALL of the volunteers, attendees, runners, basket donors (especially Patty Wakeford), and businesses who made our 4 years so successful! Special shout-out to the owners of The Erie Canal Bar and Grill! They hosted us for 3 years, and didn't charge us a dime for anything! They provided us with everything we needed, including a lunch buffet for our runners. We are so grateful to them for supporting us. They are AMAZING, and please support their business as often as you can!
As we move forward, please pray for the foundation and its efforts to continue spreading the generosity and love that made Matt the extraordinary man he was! This foundation will ALWAYS be about Matt, and how proud we will always be of him.
Donations may be made online at www.MatthewLPernaFoundation.com
Sincerely,
Geri Perna
The Matthew L. Perna Foundation is dedicated to empowering communities through Educational Aid, Food & Supplies for the Poor, Community & Park Development, and Charitable Donations. Spread love by giving. Learn more about our causes and donate today!
