Nonprofit News

A generous donation from a Lehigh Valley native and others funds free swim lessons for children and adults in the River Crossing YMCA's Safety Around Water, or SAW, swim education program.

Heritage Day in Easton is set for July 12. But in order to pull it off, the Greater Easton Development Partnership will need a little help from volunteers.

Next year marks 250 years since the colonists produced a bold declaration of freedom and self-governance that still echoes today. It will be an occasion celebrated and recognized across the land — and we at Lehigh Valley Public Media are no exception.

National Public Radio's CEO and representatives for several Eastern Pennsylvania public media organizations joined a forum in Bethlehem on Thursday hosted by Lehigh Valley Public Media. The officials said a looming clawback of federal funding could force meaningful cuts.

"A Community Conversation: Broadcast in the Balance" examines funding cuts under consideration in Congress to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The cuts would result in the defunding of more than $1 billion over two years to public media outlets across the country.

Easton City Council approved $1 million in grant applications for community organizations and city programs, though the potential for the CDBG program to disappear remains an ever-present threat.

The city of Allentown is set to get $1.9 million, while dozens of nonprofits — including food banks — and other groups will split $3.8 million from the trust's annual disbursement.

If Congress adopts a measure clawing back $1.1 billion allocated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Bethlehem community radio station WDIY would need to come up with $200,000 dollars in new funding. "It's money I don't have," the nonprofit's executive director said Tuesday.

The Keystone Media Awards recognize excellence in journalism and the news media. Lehigh Valley Public Media captured awards in digital news, radio broadcast and television production.

Alumni celebrated the PBS39 quiz show's 50-year run at the Iacocca Conference Center at Lehigh University on Friday. The celebration continued Saturday with a screening of a documentary at the Univest Public Media Center on the SteelStacks campus in Bethlehem.

September is recognized as a time to pay homage to service dogs and the guidance they provide. Lehigh County commissioners approved a resolution in support of guide dogs and their handlers.

The Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley will hold its first Nonprofit Impact Conference on Oct. 23 at Wind Creek Bethlehem. The event will give nonprofit staff the chance to connect, network, and discover new resources.

Lehigh County Executive Phil Armstrong came out on the short end of a fundraiser challenge to benefit the Cedarbrook Senior Care and Rehab Center's auxiliary. So he had to kiss a pig.

Artist Vaughn Randall's cast iron and bronze Locus sculpture was chosen as winner of the third annual Sculpture at SteelStacks national contest. An official ceremony was held outside the Bethlehem Visitor Center on Thursday evening where the sculpture will be displayed for one year.

Volunteers from Crayola spent the day at the Children's Home of Easton sprucing up the grounds as part of the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley's 31st annual Day of Caring.

How to assist the homeless and food insecure in Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley was the central message the New Bethany Souper Day Fundraiser luncheon at ArtsQuest Center on Friday.

Allentown officials this year moved $1.2 million of federal pandemic-relief money into a fund for grants to local nonprofits. The largest grant will support an eviction-protection program deemed "highly successful" in the past.

In appreciation for the early intervention services he received at Colonial Intermediate Unit 20, Nazareth Area High School junior Brody Muthard, 16, has chosen to build a playground there for autistic children for his Boy Scout Eagle Scout project.

In the first round of Neighborhood Assistance Program funding from the state, Lehigh Valley-based programs received more than $2 million.

This year's Lehigh Valley Pride was the largest yet, expanding to fill a parking lot near First Street in Bethlehem for the first time. The threat of severe weather shut down the festival later in the afternoon.

The Museum of Indian Culture this weekend hosted its 44th annual Roasting Ears of Corn Festival, which celebrates the corn harvest.

Allentown Rescue Mission began its art therapy program during the pandemic. It has since become one of the favorite classes among the men who temporarily reside at the shelter.