ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Literacy Center is working to build back better after a fire tore through the nonprofit’s headquarters in Allentown last summer.
Organization officials and supporters on Thursday paid tribute to local firefighters who fought a blaze at the building at 1132 Hamilton St. in July 2024, as well as staff members who’ve adapted to much change over the past 10 months.
A three-alarm blaze destroyed “everything in our eight classrooms,” including computers, books, whiteboards and furniture, according to Jane Hudak, The Literacy Center’s board of directors chairwoman.
“Everything is gone,” Hudak said during the event at Muhlenberg College's Moyer Hall.
“While insurance has offset some of our expenses, we require additional funds to replace everything that was lost.”
“No matter what gets thrown in our way, we continue to fight; we continue to move forward."Chief Executive Officer Jen Doyle
Center Chief Executive Officer Jen Doyle credited a “phenomenal team” of teachers and employees for helping the organization get “stronger and better” after each crisis it’s faced in recent years, including the coronavirus pandemic and fire.
“No matter what gets thrown in our way, we continue to fight; we continue to move forward,” Doyle said.
The Literacy Center served as many students over the past year as it did in the year before the fire, Doyle said.
She thanked DeSales University for lending some of its space to support the organization’s mission to teach English to non-native speakers.
The nonprofit, which also offers GED and workforce-development programs, serves about 1,500 people each year.
Awarding advocates
The Literacy Center handed out several awards Thursday night.
State Rep. Peter Schweyer, D-Lehigh, scooped the Champion of Literacy prize for supporting adult literacy as the majority chairman of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ Education Committee.
The Literacy Center gave its Community Partner of the Year award to DeSales University.
Allentown Fire Chief Efrain Agosto accepted the Phoenix Award on behalf of Lehigh Valley firefighters and emergency workers who responded to the fire at The Literacy Center’s headquarters last year.
Gayle Cichocki and her husband, Tom, were given the organization’s inaugural Impact Award for their financial contributions and volunteer work. And the award will bear their names for all future winners.
The event also served as a celebration and public launch of the organization’s “Rising from the Ashes” capital campaign to raise $100,000 to refurnish its space.The Literacy Center
The event also served as a celebration and public launch of the organization’s “Rising from the Ashes” capital campaign to raise $100,000 to refurnish its space.
The Literacy Center collected more than $1,200 during the 30-minute award ceremony, making it a lucrative half-hour for the organization.
A developer also is looking to use the project to rebuild after the fire as an opportunity to upgrade.
Allentown planning officials last week granted conditional approval to Relix Property Group’s proposal to add three stories on top of the existing three-story building at 1132 Hamilton St.
Relix wants to renovate first-floor offices and put 50 apartments across the building’s top five floors.
