MHY Family Services will use a $25,000 donation from Rex Energy to pay for a new kitchen and, if MHY can stretch the money, a few other upgrades to its building on South Washington Street.

The upgrades are targeted to benefit MHY's independent living program, which teaches youth ages 16 to 21 skills such as job hunting, food preparation, resume writing, grocery shopping and use of community resources.

Rex made the donation Friday at MHY's office in Butler.

“(Rex) asked us, if we were to have some money, how would we use it?” said Steven Green, director of community based services for MHY, which recently changed its name from Mars Home for Youth.

“They were impressed by the (independent living) program and they embraced it.”

Depending on how much money is left over from the kitchen project, Green said MHY would like to add a handicapped-accessible bathroom to its Butler building and a supervised visitation room to support its recent certification as a Pennsylvania foster care provider.

According to Dave Rogers, director of land for Rex Energy's Appalachia region, the donation came from proceeds of a charity golf tournament hosted by the energy company each year in State College, where it is based.

He said MHY's “tremendous efforts in the community” made the 2012 choice of a donation a simple one.

“We're going to be in the area a long time, so we try to be the best corporate citizen we can be, ” Rogers said.