Nonprofit News

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.

The Neighborhood Center and Andre Reed Foundation are partnering to kick off the season with an event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at 344 N. 7th St.

The Lehigh Valley Transportation Study is revising its regional transportation plan for Lehigh and Northampton counties and is seeking public input.

Rep. Susan Wild will host a webinar Friday, March 10 with groups across District 7 about how to apply for grants under the Community Project Funding program.

Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced $52.5 million in grants intended to prevent suicide. Named for Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox, the suicide prevention grant program is now in its second year. Its goal is to fund community-based organizations that work with veterans and their families. Last year, the VA gave awards to three groups in Pennsylvania, including more than $530,000 to St. Luke’s Penn Foundation in Carbon County. Eighty recipients won awards nationwide in the program’s first year. Grant applications are due by May 19 with awards expected to be announced in September. Selected organizations will receive funding for 2024. More information on how to apply is available at mentalhealth.va.gov.

The current president and CEO of the Greater Valley YMCA is retiring after 36 years of service to the YMCA but will continue in a consulting role to ensure the completion of major projects.

Volunteers read to elementary school students across the Lehigh Valley for Read Across America Day on Thursday. The United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley and Lehigh Valley Reads coordinated the effort.

Professional organizers will host a free drive-thru shredding event at Freedom High School on March 25.

Bradbury-Sullivan Center presented findings from the Pennsylvania LGBTQ Health Needs Assessment, focusing on responses from Lehigh Valley residents.

Emmaus native Ashley Coleman was named executive director of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in January 2023.

A developing community center in Emmaus, JuxtaHub is beginning to offer workshops and digital experiences using what organizers believe to be the mass media of the near future.

About 900 people dipped into the Delaware River to raise money for the Lehigh Valley's chapter of the Special Olympics.

The extra payments that participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, have been getting during the COVID-19 pandemic are ending this month in Pennsylvania, leaving food banks bracing for a surge in demand.

Liz Bradbury has been an LGBTQ activist in the Lehigh Valley for more than 30 years.