UPPER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. – Steven Thompson has been pitching in or helping out most of his life.
“It makes me happy,” he said. “It puts a smile on your face when you do something to help someone.”
- The Good Neighbor Awards are presented by Lehigh Valley Public Media
- They honor the legacy of Fred Rogers and recognize community leaders
- Tuesday night's gala was the largest fundraising event LVPM has ever hosted, a spokesperson said
Thompson, who served on the board of Lehigh Valley Public Media for 22 years and led it from 2020 to 2022, was honored Tuesday night during the organization’s Good Neighbor Awards.
Nearly 500 people filled the conference room of the Delta Hotel by Marriott in Breinigsville to pay tribute to Thompson and two others — Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of Revenue Pat Browne and the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley.
The three became the newest members of the Good Neighbor Award club, which recognizes community leaders and celebrates the neighborly legacy of late PBS icon Fred Rogers.
“If you aren’t doing things for others … then to some degree, what’s the point?”Steven Thompson, 2023 Good Neighbor Award recipient
This was the seventh year for the awards gala, which benefits Lehigh Valley Public Media’s Good Neighbor Fund, established to support LVPM’s education outreach programs.
A new fund
To honor Browne, a state legislator for 28 years, LVPM announced it was expanding the fund to create the new Senator Pat Browne Early Childhood Education Innovation Fund — to support pre-kindergarten providers and programs.
Browne championed early childhood education in his 10 years in the state House and 18 years in the Senate until the end of last year.
He was a leader of the Legislature’s Early Childhood Education Caucus, chaired its Special Education Funding Commission and was founding chairman of the Pennsylvania Arts and Culture Caucus.
Through the years, he said, children have proven time and time again that access to early education pays dividends down the road. An emotional Browne said all they need is a chance.
“Twenty-five years ago, what was zero dollars is now 400 million recurring dollars serving the needs of children, allowing them to realize their dreams,” he said.
Money raised Tuesday night stays local and goes entirely to support education providers and programs. While a figure was not disclosed, a spokesperson said this year’s Good Neighbor Awards was the largest fundraising event Lehigh Valley Public Media ever hosted.
Giving back
Thompson, of Bethlehem, said he was humbled by the recognition. He was greeted with a rousing standing ovation after a touching video described his longstanding community involvement and volunteer work with his church, East Hills Moravian Church.
A project manager and career problem-solver, Thompson led a technology project at his church that enabled parishioners to stream services on YouTube throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Never let a good crisis go unutilized,” he quipped.
He got involved with PBS39 in the late 1990s while he worked at Lucent Technologies Inc. He was approached about establishing budding distance learning technology for local high schools and colleges.
“If you aren’t doing things for others … then to some degree, what’s the point?” he said.
The Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley received recognition for the hundreds of projects a year it coordinates by pairing volunteer individuals and corporations with nonprofit agencies in need of help.
Winners of the Good Neighbor Awards receive a red cardigan sweater, symbolic of the sweaters Mister Rogers wore.
Kindness Day
The Good Neighbor Awards are timed to coincide with Kindness Day, which was inspired by Rogers and his long-running PBS show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Rogers used 1-4-3 as another way of saying “I love you,” with the numbers representing the numbers of the letters in each word. May 23 is the 143rd day of the year.
Lehigh Valley Public Media is comprised of PBS39, 91.3 WLVR and LehighValleyNews.com — all nonprofit media based on the SteelStacks campus in Bethlehem, Pa.