NEWS 2022

October 13, 2022

MILFORD, PA – What happens when a local couple has lived in Milford for 40 years, been married for 50 years and has seemingly already “done it all” but apparently still has a desire and enthusiasm to do even more? Well, they look around in their community and think, “how can we now make good of all that this community has given us and that we have accomplished?”

That is what happened when Chuck and Celeste O’Neil of Milford recently opened a Fund with the Greater Pike Community Foundation that will soon begin assisting such community needs as autism support services, food insecurity, domestic violence, and historic preservation. Greater Pike assists individuals who want to support their communities with a strategic and managed approach.

As residents of Milford for 40 years, the O’Neil’s were seeking a way to “bring back to the community” all that they feel they have gained by being active participants in many community activities.

“We’re grateful to have lived in Milford for the past 40 years, where we raised our four children, because of the sense of community we have always felt — it’s energy and goodwill,” they explained. “We want to donate to causes that we feel passionately about in a way that’s targeted, substantial and sustainable over time.”

Celeste O’Neil remains active as a talent recruiter for Bon Secours, combining her years of experience with an investment company and volunteer Board activities with the Black Bear Film Festival, United Way, and the Pike County Chamber of Commerce to successfully match RNs with individuals needing home health care. She also founded a book club, practices yoga and spends time with family.

Chuck O’Neil, retired after 42 years from his architectural woodworking business, has found a way to combine his experience, a love of historic preservation, and talent as a published author and poet to contribute to the community. A former member of the Architectural Review Board and past president of the Historic Preservation Trust of Pike County, he recently was named Milford’s first Poet Laureate.  He will be featured in a public reading on Oct. 21 at the Artery in Milford.

His most recent publication, “Holding Things Together,” includes the poem “Looking Out,” which is dedicated to the memories of Milford residents Richard L. Snyder and Tom Hoff, both influential community activists who founded such initiatives as Greater Pike Community Foundation and the Milford Enhancement Committee. Proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to Greater Pike.

One could say that the O’Neil’s altruistic journey in the community has come full circle: the focus of their targeted philanthropy through their activities, and now their new Greater Pike fund, will support needs and interests that are personal for them and that they have, at one time over the past four decades, played some role in supporting.

“We respect the Greater Pike’s mission, and The O’Neil Family Fund is our way of participating in the good local work that it does and will continue to do for years to come,” they added.

Online donations to the O’Neil Fund can be made at here.

Greater Pike helps individuals, families, and local businesses to provide a permanent and personal way to give back to the community. For more information contact Jenni Hamill, Executive Director, at (570) 832-4686, jennihamill@greaterpike.org, or visit www.greaterpike.org and Facebook.com/GreaterPike