Gawthrop Greenwood/Lamb McErlane

West Chester law firms Gawthrop Greenwood and Lamb McErlane opened lemonade stands last Friday to help raise money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, which helps fight childhood cancer.

The Chester County Bar Foundation helps support ALSF with lemonade stands throughout Chester County. Both firms were proud to join the community in supporting a worthy cause.

Joel L. Frank, the managing partner at Lamb McErlane, is Chairman of the Board of Directors for ALSF.

Good Samaritan Shelter/Bridge of Hope

Two established nonprofits that serve the homeless populations of Chester and Lancaster counties announced a merger that uniquely positions the organizations to provide emergency shelter, rapid re-housing, and permanent housing for homeless men, women, and children.

Good Samaritan Shelter, based in Phoenixville and Ephrata, and Bridge of Hope Lancaster & Chester Counties, based in Coatesville and Lancaster, will combine to offer a range of progressive services that will make an even greater impact on ending homelessness.

“This partnership makes sense,” said Nate Hoffer, Executive Director of Good Samaritan Shelter. “For many years, our organizations have worked together. Our missions are similar, our Christian foundations are similar, and the geography is similar. What has set us apart is the range of services we provide, so by combining forces, we can become stronger in our efforts to eradicate homelessness.”

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Chester County Commissioners/Chester County Food Bank

The Chester County Commissioners recently presented a check for $25,000 to representatives of the Chester County Food Bank. The funds are part of the county’s annual appropriations to organizations and nonprofits.

The check was presented, at Pete’s Produce Farm in Westtown Township, to Larry Welsch, Executive Director of the Food Bank, and Norm Horn, its Director of Development.

The Food Bank grows on approximately four acres of Pete’s Produce farmland that owner Pete Flynn, who is also a Food Bank Board member, allocates to the Chester County Food Bank Agricultural Program. With the help of a thousand volunteers each season, more than 200,000 pounds of produce is anticipated to be harvested from farm partners Pete’s Produce and Springton Manor Farm.

Minquas Fire Company/Good Fellowship Ambulance of West Chester

Downingtown’s Minquas Fire Company and the Good Fellowship Ambulance of West Chester have announced that the two organizations have been awarded a regional grant under the 2016 FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG).

The grant awarded is in the amount of $238,974.00 and will be used to purchase self-loading power lift stretchers, outfitting both organizations’ fleet of ambulances.

The AFG program helps fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical service organizations obtain the equipment they need to do their jobs effectively, including protective gear, emergency vehicles, training, and other resources that help protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and other related hazards.

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Chester County Local Farm Products Guide

The Chester County Board of Commissioners and the Agricultural Development Council have announced the availability of the 2017 Chester County Local Farm Products Guide.

The guide includes a list of more than 120 farm producers, a map showing where to find a wide variety of farm-fresh products, and profiles of a local Olympic equestrian, the county’s Farmer of the Year award winners, an artisanal cheesemaker, and more.

In an effort to reach an even greater audience, the Ag Council now offers an interactive Farm Finder map and a Spanish language edition of the guide. The Farm Finder map allows users to search by farm product, address, and even their municipality. It provides information on what products farms carry and directions from their location.

Vanguard

Twenty years after Vanguard launched its offices in Charlotte, N.C., in 1997, CEO Bill McNabb suggested that the mutual fund giant could add several hundred more people to the 1,700 it already employs there, according to a report in the Charlotte Observer.

“When markets are up and new business is coming in, we’re always growing. Today, the company has been growing at a pretty good clip from a people standpoint,” McNabb said during a visit to Charlotte to commemorate the 20th anniversary.

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences

Brenda Brown Williams was one of three individuals to receive the 2017 Dr. William Henson Diversity Achievement Award from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, an honor that recognizes distinctive and outstanding teaching, research, extension, or creative work that advances diversity in the college.

Brown Williams, a Penn State Extension Associate in Chester County, was lauded for her efforts to teach diversity in the workplace and implement workforce development programs in southeastern Pennsylvania.

“Miss Brenda, as her students call her, is an outstanding individual,” said nominator John Wodehouse, agricultural business educator with Penn State Extension in Chester County. “Her dedication toward fostering an open environment for learning — regardless of the students’ age, ethnicity, family background, or education — coupled with her ability to connect with at-risk students is, in my opinion, the most impressive of the gifts Brenda gives.”

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Automated Red Light Enforcement

Gov. Tom Wolf announced that the following three municipalities in Chester County will receive funding for Automated Red Light Enforcement (ARLE) projects:

• East Bradford Township: $78,700 to upgrade pedestrian facilities at the intersection of Hannum Avenue and Bradford Plaza Shopping Center.
• Easttown Township: $553,329 to upgrade and install adaptive traffic signal system along four intersections in the Lancaster Avenue Corridor.
• Penn Township: $48,862 to replace the LEDs along Old Baltimore Pike and Jennersville Road Corridors.

Chester County Fund for Women and Girls/Family Promise of Southern Chester County

FPSCC was recognized and rewarded for its efforts to alleviate family homelessness by the CCFWG. Family Promise was one of 20 nonprofits awarded funding at CCFWG’s Annual Grants Celebration on Wednesday.

“Community partnerships and collaboration are crucial to our success,” said Family Promise executive director Susan Minarchi. “I am humbled by the generous investment Chester County Fund for Women and Girls made in Family Promise’s mission and leadership team.”

“CCFWG is focused on funding programs and organizations that will transform communities through the investment of women and their families,” said CCFWG executive director Michelle Legaspi Sanchez. “We believe that Family Promise of Southern Chester County is positioned to do just that.”

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