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.

Albert Granger, the late former owner of the Glasbern Inn in Fogelsville, funded the expansion project with a $500,000 donation before his death last year.

The ninth annual Good Neighbor Awards recipients were Darian Colbert and Yolanda Colbert, Ilene Hochberg Wood and Judith A. Harris. The ceremony was held at the Univest Public Media Center, home to Lehigh Valley Public Media, which consists of PBS39, 91.3 WLVR Radio and LehighValleyNews.com.

Derek Wallen, who owns nearby Country Club Brewing, as well as Roasted and Lehigh Valley Printing, said witnessing residential and commercial neighbors in need after the May 2 blaze required swift action.

A couple dozen riders assembled at Bethlehem City Hall on Thursday ahead of a six-mile group ride for the occasion — one with a goal of changing public outlook toward choosing a bike to commute.

Nazareth High junior Brody Muthard will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a playground he created for autistic children at the Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 in Bethlehem. Muthard received intervention and therapies for autism at the I.U. as a child.

A mural reflecting the dreams of young Allentown teenagers was unveiled at the Boys and Girls Club of Allentown on Wednesday.

Local healthcare providers and legislators appeared a press conference at Valley Youth House in Bethlehem to shed light on children’s mental health issues and to advocate for continued state and federal funding.

Leaders of Parkland Cares cut the ribbon Thursday on the nonprofit's new food pantry in North Whitehall Township.

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency awarded seven projects in the state with grants from its Community Revitalization Fund Program. Only one project in the Lehigh Valley received money — a remediation project for the Fourth Street Building in Bethlehem.

To arrive at emergency scenes faster and well-staffed, Upper Macungie Fire & Rescue in Lehigh County has launched a staffing incentive program that will pay "qualified and trained" volunteers to cover 12-hour shifts.

Dr. Rachel Levine, who as the first transgender person approved by the U.S. Senate served as U.S. assistant health secretary, will be keynote speaker for Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center's annual health summit.

In 1989, Yusef Salaam and four other teenagers were imprisoned after being wrongly accused and convicted of raping a woman in Central Park in New York. At Northampton Community College on Tuesday night, he shared his story and the need to address inequities in the criminal justice system.