Editor’s Note: On the first Thursday of each month, the eNews feature article highlights the mission focus for the month. In August we’re lifting up Education of Children. You can find the current month’s mission focus in the Joys & Concerns section of the weekly eNews.

The Harrisburg School District Reading Mentor Program was developed during the height of the pandemic last fall, so that relatable and familiar mentors, educators, parents, and members of the local community could collaborate to provide reading and learning opportunities for children in Harrisburg. The goal was to keep students engaged in learning during the 2020-21 school year while they were virtual due to COVID-19. To this end, local community leaders were invited to read books that inspired them and reference their personal growth story while recording a video to support the academic, social, and emotional growth of Harrisburg’s students.

Derry Church provided funding for the pilot program that was conducted at Foose School. Leaders from the community — a State Representative, teacher, librarian, doctor, and several health administrators — submitted videos to YouTube. The videos have received hundreds of views over the last six months and are educational, creative, thoughtful, and heartwarming.

Thanks to the success of the pilot program, the Harrisburg Public Schools Foundation (HPSF) awarded $2,000 to Ben Franklin, Downey, Melrose and Scott Elementary Schools in Harrisburg for the purchase of culturally appropriate books to be shared on YouTube.

Coronavirus highlighted the growing need for creativity in learning, especially in particular communities where access and resource availability is limited. The program provided Harrisburg School District students with the flexibility to read and learn on their own schedule, thereby improving literacy, maximizing potential, and shaping a brighter future.

Click this link to view the YouTube videos:
Harrisburg School District Reading Mentor Program

I have a confession: once upon a time I was terrified of the church’s audio system. And that was back when it was a much smaller console with no cameras. I didn’t want to touch those sliders because I knew I would make something squeal and I wouldn’t know how to make the awful noise stop.

In those days my husband Jim and our son Matt were regulars running the audio system. Matt was in high school, and he sat at the console with his friends as they took turns running the board, heads down, whispering to each other. Even as they whispered and nudged each other, they managed to make everything sound just fine and I was glad they had found their niche on Sunday mornings, sitting with friends and paying enough attention to the service to turn the mics on and off at the right time.

By 2015, Derry’s first camera system had been installed along with other Sanctuary renovations, and it was time for me to learn how things worked back there. I liked running the cameras, yet there were aspects of the audio board that mystified me. But I didn’t worry much about it because Derry had a great AV crew helping to run the sound and video every week. 

Then the pandemic hit and we lost some key members of our AV crew. But one thing I’ve learned at Derry: if you ask, it will be provided. Now I’m looking for some new folks who are intrigued by what goes on in the back and want to learn more. Maybe, like me, the buttons and screens look a little scary. Well, I’m here to tell you that if I can learn how, anyone with a desire to learn can be trained. I invite you to take the first step and contact me. Or maybe your teenage son or daughter would like to learn, and we can kickstart the next generation of young people back at the board. Time commitment is from 9 am to about 11:30 am on Sundays, and training and plenty of practice time is included.

I’ll close with a few fun facts:

• From the beginning of 2021 until now, we’ve averaged 226 unique IP addresses watching the live stream on Sunday mornings. That’s not how many people are viewing, but how many devices are connected. With an average of 226 IP addresses, it’s safe to estimate that 300+ are worshiping online, though those numbers have taken a dip in the summer months and as more people have returned in person. We used to say that Derry had two congregations: one at 8 am and one at 10:30 am, and now, our live streamers make up a third congregation. We’re glad you found us and are worshiping with us, wherever you are.
• It takes three technicians to produce the virtual service: one operates the audio board, one operates the cameras, and one adds the captions and videos at the right time. Our technicians learn how to run all three pieces of equipment so everyone can step into any position when help is needed. If any of our techs are reading this article, pat yourself on the back. You are awesome and appreciated!
• Between 9 and 10 am on Sundays, the tech team runs through the service with the pastors, Grant Wareham and singers or musicians so we can test the microphones, set camera angles, and make sure that the text you see on the screen is correct. Pre-pandemic we never did run-throughs, and now I can’t imagine launching the live stream without it.
• You can choose from three ways to join the Sunday morning live stream: on the church website, on our YouTube channel, or on our chatty Facebook page. If you miss the live stream on Sunday, just go to the church website before the next Sunday and worship at whatever time works for you. 
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel and you’ll join more than 500 people who look forward to seeing our video content each week. If you like, YouTube can notify you when the service is starting and whenever Derry posts new video content (It’s a setting in YouTube notifications. Need help? Join me on Zoom for Tech Time at 1 pm on Mondays.)
• The church staff loves it when our live stream viewers sign the guestbook! We read every name and comment, and respond when questions or concerns are submitted. 

Whether you join in person or by live streaming, I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

Derry family, we have reached the peak of summer, and this summer is already looking drastically different from last year. You could probably notice the changes in demeanor of choir members being able to exercise our lungs properly after so many months of silence! Fortunately, rusty windpipes will no longer be a concern, especially with the installation of our new organ in progress. 

When my musical side can be subdued, my work as a psychotherapist continues throughout the summer, usually with higher demand as people have a bit more free time for appointments. In my career I have learned there are peaks not only of seasons, but also of our human functioning throughout the year. This time of the summer typically brings increases in drug overdoses and relapses, more reports of anxiety and depressive symptoms among my adult clients, and general perceptions of feeling inadequate as we try to stuff our days with activities. Strange, isn’t it? We typically expect to feel more “low” in the deep winter, but somehow even the freedom of a good climate can serve as a trigger for brain chemical challenges. 

While COVID certainly did not help with these trends of mental health difficulties, I was able to observe some truly fascinating developments in my clients with their spirituality and acceptance of their current conditions. More often than ever before, I found myself in discussions of individuals’ faith in their higher power, specifically the ideas that “things had to get better” or “God’s will be done.” As excited as this made me to learn my clients were open to exploring their spiritual beliefs, I also have to support those who are more skeptical of such matters. However, even my most doubtful thinkers began to speak of hope that worldly situations would improve and some sort of normalcy would return. 

Hebrews 11:1 reminds us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Watching skeptical minds embracing the thought of a better tomorrow is the best demonstration of what the Bible teaches about faith. What our eyeballs have seen is hardship, confusion, and hurt, but what God continues to instill in our hearts is trust and comfort. 

Many of you may not know that I relocated to central Pennsylvania entirely alone for graduate school, yet the trust God placed in me led me right to Derry and into your hands of comfort. I had never sung a solo in my LIFE for other people, but the spirit of the congregation quieted my anxieties enough to share my passion with you. God is always present, through the depths of depression and grief and the agitation of panic and anger, so long as our hearts remain open to the prospect of relief. I cannot thank you enough, church family, for bringing me to my own relief, and I wish you all a remaining summer of good health (both mental and physical). 

Editor’s Note: Rebecca joined Derry Church in February 2020 and throughout the pandemic, sang hymns and anthems that were pre-recorded for our Sunday morning live streamed services. Recently Rebecca made another move to the eastern corner of Pennsylvania: she is now in King of Prussia preparing to start at a brand new office as a licensed professional counselor.

This year has been different from others, but in other ways, things have been very much the same: there’s always something happening across the building and grounds as we maintain, repair, and improve your church.

We had just replaced the commercial stove/ovens in the kitchen before the church ended in person services in March 2020. Back then we were also in the process of remodeling and upgrading room 6 on the lower level, as shown in the accompanying photo. That included new flooring, a wall of storage closets, and rearranging the cabinets for better and varied use of the classroom space. In September we began the long process of removal and replacement of the Sanctuary organ that is still under way. Jeff Miller (custodian) and I have worked to remodel and rearrange many spaces to allow for the organ installers to move huge pipes around and rewire everything.

Outside, the parking lots have been sealed and all the lines were repainted. Several of our large trees were pruned hard ( and a couple removed as part of our ongoing tree maintenance program that monitors the health of the beautiful trees that surround us. We will also be removing several trees from inside the cemetery wall because of the poor health of some trees and the damage being caused to headstones and the stone cemetery wall. 

As the need for live streaming church services increased, I helped the installers with issues related to the building plans and wiring options for the completion of this large system upgrade.  

During the time you were not here, we relied on our cleaning crew to deep clean under, behind and above every part of the building. The buildings and grounds committee has been working on and is about half done with planned lighting upgrades. The exterior is mostly done, and interior work should be done by fall. This project will increase the light quality, energy efficiency and safety throughout the property.

I don’t want to end without recognizing Jeff Miller. We have all been blessed with having Jeff  as a very important part of the staff maintenance team and the helping hand on whom everyone relies. Thank you, Jeff. We wish you the very best as you begin your retirement in August.

I’m excited to share with you two summer worship opportunities happening later this month:

On Sunday, July 18 at 7 pm, I invite you to join me as I lead worship at the historic Mt. Gretna Tabernacle with Grant Wareham and some of our musicians. You’ll hear a new and updated version of “Checking Our Blindspots” that I preached at Derry last January.

I was scheduled to preach that sermon at Mt. Gretna last summer, then it was postponed because of the pandemic. I reworked the sermon for this past winter’s “Truth and Love” series and I’m revising it again for Mt. Gretna. We’ll have the fantastic Natalie Taylor sing a solo and our Derry Low Voice Ensemble will reprise their powerful Holy, Holy, Holy anthem. The Derry Brass will be there to play the prelude and postlude. 

The Mt. Gretna Tabernacle is a covered outdoor space, so worship will be held rain or shine. If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to visit Gretna, the 18th is the perfect time. Come early, grab dinner and explore the area. Or plan to stay after worship and enjoy ice cream from the one and only Jigger Shop with friends new and old. 

I’m also happy to announce that Engage worship is back! Our Engage services are creative and participatory worship services that explore different musical genres and artists at each service (and yes the music does all tie into the scripture and worship themes). 

On Saturday, July 31 at 6 pm, we will “engage” with the music of the great Billy Joel while considering the promise of God’s peaceable Kingdom and the power of community to help bring it to life. We’ll hear Grant bring Billy Joel to Hershey through piano renditions of favorites, we’ll have soloists sing some classics, and of course the congregation will get to sing along to some of Billy Joel’s greatest hits. 

I hope you’ll join us for one or both of these extra worship opportunities, where masks are optional for all who are vaccinated. Both services will be a lot of fun, so come out to  Mt. Gretna and join me in Engage worship featuring the music of Billy Joel.

Editor’s Note: On the first Thursday of each month (or close to it), the eNews feature article highlights the mission focus for the month. In July we’re lifting up Elder Care. You can find the current month’s mission focus in the Joys & Concerns section of the weekly eNews.

There is nothing better than seeing someone smile from ear to ear and knowing that you did something special to lift their spirits, brighten their day and help them feel loved. This spring, some of our Derry Church children and their families enjoyed working together to prepare gift bags for many of our senior friends who we knew were feeling the hardship of living in isolation during these covid times. Our hope was to share a gift of love with these friends and help lift their spirits.

These special gift bags were filled with “comfort” items which we hoped would be useful, cherished and enjoyed. One special item in each bag was a small wooden holding cross, a size that fits perfectly into the palm of your hand.  Our wish was that these crosses would be loved and used often. Many of our senior friends wrote and shared that these crosses did just that; they brought a welcome and much needed sense of peace and comfort.

While our families enjoyed stuffing these bags full of fun items and treats, they also felt a deeper connection as they included a handwritten note from their family. What a blessing to receive a letter saying hello and offering a reminder that each and every one of us here at D.P.C. is being thought of and prayed for by their church family.    

Sharing a passion for mission at an early age is a gift that will keep on giving. Finding ways for even our youngest friends to share God’s love with others is such an important part of one’s faith journey. In Proverbs 17:22 we read, “A joyful heart is good medicine.”  The beauty of mission work is that a  joyful heart can be seen in everyone involved…those who give and those who receive. 

I hope you will enjoy reading a few of the many wonderful words of gratitude we received from our friends…

“Your visit, your gift bag and your prayers warmed my heart and I’m still smiling.”

“Thank you for the delicious treats, warm and loving thoughts, and most especially your continued prayers.”

“We placed your artwork, card and holding cross outside our door for our neighbors to enjoy as well. Thank you for thinking of us.”

“When I found the gift bag at my door, it did bring a smile to my face and warmed my heart to know that your thoughts and prayers are with me. It also reminded me of 80 plus years ago when the Easter bunny left a bowl full of goodies for me on Easter morning. What a treat!”

On the bad days of the pandemic, I wasn’t sure when or if we would be coming back in person to sing, to receive communion or even to have committee meetings. Those days I was just trying to survive the upheavals until a vaccine was available. Brad and I kept masking and stayed hunkered down in our home. Vaccinated now, I feel relieved but also cautious and anxious for those who, through no fault of their own, haven’t been able to get vaccinated — not just those around me, but those who live continents away.

Slowly, carefully, I’m venturing out. Like never before, I am now appreciating the chance to sing the doxology with others in worship and to hear the squirming of children behind me in church. I smiled when I watched someone nod off during the sermon (something I hadn’t noticed when preaching to the camera!) I am so glad to be present for a careful hug or pat on the shoulder. When you are ready, we are here for in-person worship.

A few weeks ago we sang “Holy, Holy, Holy,” a familiar hymn that celebrates the Trinity of God’s presence as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I’ve sung it all my life, but this time the hymn’s refrain connected with me in a new way. We sang during the communion prayer: “God in three persons, blessed Trinity.” We gave praise that God comes to us in person as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. 

God is not remote or online or virtually present in our homes, like the checkerboard faces on our countless zoom meetings. God is not stored away and preserved in a cloud or flattened into a file on our desktops. Right now, this very moment, God abides in person with us.  The Hebrew prophets of the Old Testament announced that the Almighty Creator would come and be with us, in person. God’s name would be Emmanuel which means “God is with us.” And that’s how we know Jesus, the presence of God in person, sitting right beside us in the people around us, in the beauty of creation surrounding us and in sounds of life and hope. 

Take a moment wherever you are and look around. How do you see and hear God right now?

This summer, I hope you feel that in-person presence of God who continues to support, heal, guide, and sustain you during this journey.

And when you are ready, I look forward to seeing you in person, too.

As Derry Discovery Days’ 2020-21 school year has come to an end, one word summarizes the experience for myself and all of our teachers: GRATITUDE!       

We are incredibly grateful to Derry Church, Session and the COVID Task Force for giving us the opportunity to open.  We are grateful to our DDD families for trusting us during very uncertain times to keep their children safe and give them as normal a preschool experience as possible. And we are especially grateful for the children of DDD for being so resilient, wearing their face masks each day and never complaining.  

I am forever grateful to the staff of Derry Discovery Days who worked tirelessly this year to maintain a safe environment for our students. Many thanks go out to Jill Felter, Rachel Bullard, Amy Yengo, Priscilla Berk, Amber Allen and Erika Manotti for coming to work every day during a pandemic, all the while juggling their own children’s very different school schedules. Their dedication and love of their jobs was truly evident this year!

This year we had 32 children enrolled at DDD with only two age groups meeting, our 3 Year Old Busy Bees and our 4 Year Old Butterflies in both the morning and afternoon. We did not open our two upstairs classrooms, our Ladybug 1s and Turtles 2s, given all of the unknowns with the pandemic at the beginning of the school year.  

We made several adjustments to the way we operated with an increased focus on hygiene and sanitizing, a more stringent sick policy, a staggered start time, parents dropping off and picking up outside of the building, implementing a new app that includes a daily health screener and a check in/out process for contact tracing purposes. These changes were very successful and we plan to continue doing most of these in the 2021-22 school year.

We are excited to welcome two new Derry Church members to our DDD School Board: Sarah Bartz and Becca Farbaniec. Sarah and Becca both will have two children in our program this fall and both bring a great deal of professional experience to our board with their work at LVC and Penn State MSH Medical Center.   

We plan to have all of our classrooms open for the 2021-22 school year, and we have openings in our Ladybugs 1s, Busy Bee 3s and Afternoon Butterfly 4s classes. Please contact me if you are interested in enrolling your child. Classes begin Tuesday, September 7 and we would love to have your children be a part of our DDD family! 

Editor’s Note: On the first Thursday of each month, the eNews feature article highlights the mission focus for the month. In June we’re lifting up refugees. You can find the current month’s mission focus in the Joys & Concerns section of the weekly eNews.

Church World Service (CWS) is a faith-based organization transforming communities around the globe through just and sustainable responses to hunger, poverty, displacement, and disaster. CWS was formed in 1946, in the aftermath of World War II, as a response to the displacement crisis that had affected millions in Europe. Seventy-five years later, CWS continues its mission of supporting the vulnerable and the displaced, having offered resettlement services to over half a million refugees worldwide. CWS also sponsors the annual CROP WALK to raise funds for hunger relief.

Since 1987, CWS Lancaster has been committed to showing welcome to refugees, immigrants, asylum-seekers, and other uprooted people within the United States, who are seeking safety and the opportunity to rebuild their lives. CWS Lancaster expects to resettle more refugees in the coming 12-18 months than it has in the last three years combined.

To carry out this mission, we partner with caring churches, organizations, and individuals to provide hope and home to refugees and immigrants from all over the world. Our volunteers provide integral support to the families we serve—transporting them to medical appointments, offering English language learning support, and welcoming them into strong and steady community.

Derry Church is blessed by the many people who make up our church family. In addition to their roles and leadership at church, they have often played important roles in the growth and development of the larger Hershey community.  Hershey Community Archives’ oral history collection holds interviews with many Derry Presbyterian Church members. These interviews provide information about their lives and contributions to Derry and the community. Thanks to elder and retired Archives Director Pam Whitenack, who compiled John’s history for this week’s message.

Born into a military family, John Rawley spent much of his youth traveling and living around the United States and in the Philippines and Panama as his father was posted to new assignments. He spent every summer with his father’s parents who lived in Philadelphia and had a home in Avalon, New Jersey. His mother’s father, John Hershey, also lived in Philadelphia. While not related to Milton Hershey, his grandfather was a Hershey and as a boy John Rawley recalled attending two Hershey family reunions in Hershey, PA.

Immediately after graduating high school, John enlisted and served as a pilot during World War II, flying B29s and later B26s during the Korean conflict. In 1950, John married Linda Murray. After his discharge from service in Korea, John went to work for the Scott Paper Company, and held a variety of sales management positions. In 1964 he was serving as the company’s director of marketing.

One day in 1964, John Rawley got a letter from Bill Dearden, then Hershey Chocolate vice-president for sales, inviting him to come meet Bill in Hershey if he ever happened to be in the area. John related the story in his 1991 oral history interview:

So I got a letter from Bill Dearden one day, if I was in Hershey–this was in 1964–if I’d stop in to visit him, that they were considering starting a marketing department. As it happened, I was doing something with a task force that the governor had on business and government, and I had to go to Harrisburg. 

So I called and made an appointment. It was on a Thursday that I was going to come up, because I had to be in Harrisburg on Friday, and I thought, “Well, I’ll stop in and meet Mr. Dearden.” On Thursday morning, it turned out that I had to change my plans, so I called and cancelled that appointment. 

Shortly after lunch that day, a business associate of mine from Scott Paper Company called me and said, “John, I met a really remarkable man today at St. Joseph’s College.” I said, “Is that right?” He said, “Yeah. You’re going to meet him tomorrow. His name is Bill Dearden.” I said, “Vern, I cancelled that appointment.” He said, “John, don’t cancel it. Find a way to meet this man. It’ll be a very special experience for you.” So I called back and I said that I was able to come on Friday, and I then came up and met Bill that day. I met Harold [Mohler] and I met Gil Nurick. Gil was on Hershey’s board of directors. Three weeks later, I sold my home and moved to Hershey.

The Rawley connection to Derry happened quickly after they moved here.

We developed, immediately upon coming to Hershey, a close affiliation with the Derry Presbyterian Church, which is right adjacent to us, as a family, and became very active in the programs for that church. I served as an elder and a trustee in the church for a number of years, and our kids, we found, got great strength from our Christian friends there, as well as from Ira Reed, who was the minister at that time.

John had a daunting assignment at Hershey Chocolate. He was charged with establishing the company’s first marketing department. Hershey Chocolate was widely known for being a wildly successful brand that had achieved its success without the benefit of consumer marketing, but rather on the strength and quality of its products. As John described it, the company’s sales division was operating much as it had during Milton Hershey’s lifetime.

For the first four years, a very significant part of my energies was directed to the sales organization–restructuring it; introducing modern techniques of selling; identifying our customers; developing a reservoir of knowledge to build a sales organization, because you could not possibly invest in advertising and more sophisticated promotion unless you had a sales organization that had the capacity to implement those plans in the field.

To build the department, John recruited some of his colleagues from Scott Paper, a few of whom also became part of the Derry family, including Vern (and Joyce) Tessier. Vern Tessier was the person who had urged him to not cancel his appointment with Bill Dearden. 

John retired from Hershey Foods Corporation in 1991 after having held several positions with the company including Director of Marketing, Director of Strategic Planning and finally Assistant to the CEO, Dick Zimmerman.

I have exciting news for the children and families of the church: Sunday School, fellowship fun times, and our newest special programs will continue through the summer!  In a year that has been full of change, stress, and distance, we want to use the summer months as a time to reconnect and have fun as a church family. 

Sunday School will continue virtually to allow children to join together from anywhere.  As always, we love seeing kids every week, but we also love to see kids when it fits with their family’s schedule, so please log in anytime!  Our studies will take us on a “wild adventure” as we discover and learn about various animals mentioned in the bible.  

Fellowship opportunities will include field trips, art programs, mission projects, story time on the playground, and Kids Week 2021.  Our Christian Education team is busy creating these opportunities for all ages to find something they can enjoy together as a family or for just the kids. Please keep a close eye on the weekly children’s emails to see what’s coming up!

This summer we’ll be offering field trips for families to meet up, spend quality time together, and maybe even find some of the biblical creatures we’ve learned about in Sunday School at our local zoos or out in nature. These field trips will be awesome for every age and are a wonderful opportunity to meet other families at the church.

For our youngest members, we will offer story time on the playground. We’ll introduce you to the newly updated church library and share some of our favorite books with you.  After we finish reading, your family can enjoy playtime together on the playground.  This is a wonderful way to make new church friends.

Families who prefer coming to events together will want to join us for our monthly family worship services, “Art Nights in the Grove,” “Hands on Ministry” mission projects, and our summer field trips.  These offerings are created with all ages in mind and will bring families together to help grow their faith. 

Kids Week 2021 will take the place of our traditional VBS program. Kids Week has been created specifically for the children of Derry Church (members and all who have joined us in the past year). In the week of July 12-14, children entering grades 3 through 7 are invited to gather with us in the evenings. Children age 4 through entering second grade are invited to gather with us in the mornings of July 14-16.  We will be taking over the front lawn and transforming the space into our very own church camp. Our week together will offer the children a fun, comfortable, safe and exciting opportunity to gather with their church friends and grow closer to God and Jesus. This week will be memorable for sure! 

Whether you have come to everything all year long or you took some needed time to focus simply on work and school, I invite you to rejoin your church family this summer.

Editor’s Note: On the first Thursday of each month, the eNews feature article highlights the mission focus for the month. In May we’re lifting up one recipient of the Pentecost Offering: the Boys & Girls Club of Harrisburg.

Along with the rest of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has deeply impacted the Boys & Girls of Harrisburg, but we remain steadfast in our mission to provide a safe place for children to learn and develop into productive citizens. In a time when the future is uncertain and adults find it challenging to remain positive, our children’s safety and their access to quality opportunity continue to be our highest priority. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed the Boys & Girls Club of Harrisburg to expand our mission by intently supporting the “whole family.” Since March 2020, the Boys & Girls Club has partnered with Harrisburg City Police Department, Harrisburg City School District, Camp Curtin YMCA, and Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, distributing grab-and-go dinners at both of our facilities helping to serve over 1,000 families per week. We continue to distribute meals today with our bi-weekly food pantries in collaboration with Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and the Mid-West food Bank serving over 140 families. 

The Boys & Girls Club of Harrisburg (BGCHBG) also collaborates with Representative Patty Kim’s “Community Schools” initiative at the John N Hall clubhouse, and has established multiple programs using a virtual platform model designed to impact our members such as Science Explorers, ABii, an education assistant robot and arts & crafts activities. 

Our 2021 Summer Program begins June 14 and is expected to serve more than 100 children spanning the ages of 6 to 18. We have planned a fun and exciting experience for our members including S.T.E.A.M programs, computer literacy, vocational and gardening classes. The Camp will be stretched out over a full 12 hours where our membership will be divided into three age groups over the course of the day. We are thrilled to offer our children several new opportunities. The Boys & Girls of Harrisburg will receive a High Tunnel Greenhouse from the United States Department of Agriculture. The greenhouse is going to be a phenomenal opportunity to teach our children sustainable life lessons. BGCHBG will be a part of a pilot project across 12 cities that includes 200 Connectivity Zones. Through the Connectivity “LIFT” Zones, we are building a continuum of connectivity to support students and community members who need access to the internet and provide them with a connected experience in as many spaces as possible in this new environment. 

Finally, we will embark on a great health care initiative called the “Scrubs Program” which focuses on health care careers such as Infection Prevention, Medical Lab Technician, Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Paramedic & EMT, Nurses, and  Respiratory Therapist for middle school students. 

Your support continues to enable us to live up to our motto. “THE SAFE POSITIVE PLACE FOR KIDS! GREAT FUTURES START HERE!!”