Nonprofit News

The United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley and the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation have launched a $500,000 fundraising campaign to strengthen food access and deliver rapid relief to families in need.

In the Lehigh Valley, 105,000 people rely on SNAP benefits for food assistance. One in four of them is a child. When federal safety nets falter, the charitable food network becomes the community’s last line of defense. It requires collaboration, leadership and shared purpose.

PA Bacon Fest is back this weekend, showcasing over 150 vendors offering up bacon in just about every cuisine you can imagine.

About 400 Allentown families came to The Salvation Army for The Give Back resource event Wednesday, where they received shelf-stable food, daily necessities, and more, just as federal assistance benefits are about to be cut off.

The five-story, 78,500-square-foot facility will replace the Banana Factory as a hub for creativity and learning. The construction is expected to be completed in late 2026.

Wilson Area LINCS Coalition for Families and Youth have secured a $10,000 grant from Thrivent, beating out 155 competitors and taking about half the votes for the finalists.

The Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley held groundbreaking ceremonies for its facility expansion on Wednesday in South Whitehall Township.

Now in its fourth year, the awards ceremony recognized excellence across 17 categories, honoring everyone from seasoned entrepreneurs, actors, models, and filmmakers to emerging young talent. It was held at Archer Music Hall in Allentown.

The Nazareth branch of the River Crossing YMCA announced a $9 million renovation project that will begin in April 2026. The project is $1.5 million short of its goal.

Gov. Josh Shapiro's office says without the federal payments for SNAP — the food stamp program — more than $366 million in monthly benefits could be put on hold starting Nov. 1. The federal government shutdown is in its third week.

Birdsong, the managing director of the Allentown-based Adept Group and a former vice president of advertising at The Express-Times, will lead the Bethlehem nonprofit and its media outlets PBS39, 91.3 FM WLVR and LehighValleyNews.com.

Jillian Mercado, a model and advocate who has spastic muscular dystrophy, urged those with challenges to continue fighting for equality at an event at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation on Wednesday night.

Planned for completion in Fall 2026, Lehigh Valley Health Network, now part of Jefferson Health, says the new facility will just about double the size of the existing emergency room at its 2545 Schoenersville Road hospital campus.

The Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce's 2025 awards ceremony, held Tuesday, honored individuals and organizations that have changed the city for the better.

A $25,000 donation from the Garrigan Foundation will allow Lehigh Valley Public Media to contribute to a summer enrichment program and similar events at local libraries. It restores a federal grant the Trump administration froze earlier this month in a strike against PBS and NPR.

Sixty-two acres of donated land along Santee Mill Road in Bethlehem will become the future home of the Industrial Archives & Library.

Nonprofit officials and supporters paid tribute to local firefighters and staff members and celebrated hitting the halfway mark in the “Rising from the Ashes” capital campaign to raise $100,000 to refurnish its space after a July 2024 fire.

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.