Founders

In 2006, John and Chara Haas established Stoneleigh Center as the latest chapter in their lifelong commitment to philanthropic activity.

While their humanitarian interests have been far reaching, John and Chara Haas have always maintained a particular interest in helping the most vulnerable children and youth become successful, productive adults. In establishing Stoneleigh Center, John and Chara have made a continuing commitment to one of their strongest interests: improving the life chances of some of our most vulnerable citizens.

John Haas credits his parents as the source of his strong commitment to the "family values of integrity and respect for the individual, as well as a sense of fairness, which include[s] the opposition to inequity and discrimination against the less fortunate." Chara, he says, has had a tremendous influence on his lifetime development and first introduced the idea of devoting their personal estate to help children and families.

Stoneleigh Center is named for the Haas home in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The foundation may choose in the future to use the Stoneleigh property as a center of activity for the foundation.

John and Chara Haas

John C. Haas was born in Haverford, Pennsylvania in 1918. After graduating from Episcopal Academy, John attended Amherst College where he received his A.B. degree in 1940. He went on to Massachusetts Institute of Technology to earn a M.S. degree in chemical engineering in 1942.

John Haas spent his professional career with the Rohm and Haas Company, serving in the Navy Reserve during WW II. He began his career at the company in 1942, and retired from the board in 1988. He maintains his interest in chemistry and chemical engineering through his memberships in the American Chemical Society and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

In 1952, John married Chara A. Cooper and over the next several years they had five children. They have continued to live in the Philadelphia area and together have generously supported many charitable causes.

Mr. Haas is a member of the Board of Governors of Temple University Health System (TUHS) and chairs the TUHS Board of Overseers. His is also a trustee emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is active nationally with United Way of America and is also a former director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Philadelphia and the Chemical Heritage Foundation.