Owen Logue Story: Granting Wishes!

During the summer before his senior year of high school, Logue and his friends were looking for something fun and different to do. One of his friends discovered the Phoenixville Police Athletic League (PAL) boxing
program. Although PAL offers wrestling, golf clinics and babysitting certification classes, it was the youth boxing program that hooked Logue from the very first day. He began preliminary boxing training over the
summer and loved it.

Jim Deoria-the executive director of PAL, the youth boxing program director, and a police officer-noticed Logue and started personally training him. Deoria's first impression of Logue was that he was a hard worker and very determined, so he arranged some sparring matches at the gym and even an amateur fight. Although his boxing never landed him on Pay-Per-View, the experience and the bond left an indelible mark on the young man.

This history with PAL made Logue's choice of a non-profit for his grant proposal a very easy one. By providing free sports and extracurricular programs for children and young adults in the Phoenixville area, PAL's contribution to the community is invaluable. When Logue contacted Deoria asking what their top priority for funding was, the immediate answer was an updated website that accurately reflected the services offered. At the time, PAL depended on an antiquated one-page website that was difficult to
navigate and did not contain information for donations or a comprehensive calendar.

Logue went to work on his grant proposal with help from course professor Timothy Fallis, Ph.D., assistant professor of English/Communication. When the class was completed at the end of the fall semester 2014, Logue was anxious to submit his proposal. 

"I loved the investigative aspect of the work that I did in putting the grant together," stated Logue. "I really had to get to know the organization that we were applying to [the Rotary Club Foundation] inside and out. Also, gathering all of the persuasive information that I provided in the proposal was very hard to get at times, but very rewarding when I started to see all of it coming together."

Upon receiving the news that his grant proposal to the Rotary Club Foundation had been approved, Logue was ecstatic, not only for himself but for the entire PAL community. To see the fruit of Logue's labor, visit the newly designed PAL website at phoenixvillepal.org. 

"Owen is a positive example of the work PAL is doing for kids in our community," stated Deoria. "He is a good role model, and we are proud of him giving back to the organization."