WEST END NEWS FOR JAN. 25, 2018
Amazing statistics
Through the generosity of area churches and through the generosity of the community, Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Network was able to accomplish the following in 2017, according to PVEN Director Hope Smith.
Volunteers (average 35 a month) were able to give out 199,950 pounds of food to 2,530 families (7,998 individuals) in need in 2017. PVEN received 99,403.725 pounds of food in donations through various food drives and individual donations, as well as food received from the programs mentioned. PVEN was able to give more than 3,000 holiday items, including toys, puzzles, games and stocking stuffers to families it serves. The relief on the faces of parents is a sight that can never be forgotten, Smith said.
PVEN will continue to grow its programs in 2018 to assist more individuals in need in the community. The network is excited to move into its new facility in the spring and looks forward to adding services for residents of the West End.
Anyone knowing someone who can benefit from services of PVEN is asked to give them the service’s phone number, 570-992-3136.
Info correction
Due to incorrect information supplied to this correspondent, it was incorrectly stated in this column that the AARP Tax Assistance Group from Lehighton would be at Salem UCC in Gilbert both Monday and Thursday mornings.
The group will only be at Salem UCC on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon and in Palmerton on Mondays, as per clarification.
If Pleasant Valley Schools have a two-hour delay, the hours of operation will be 10 a.m. to noon.
TOPS meets
A group of Take Off Pounds Sensibly meets at the Western Pocono Community Library from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays.
For more information, contact lindabarankovich@com or call TOPS at 800-932-8677.
Two meals
Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, Gilbert, is the site for two free meals yet this week.
On Thursday the West End Mission meal will be served from 4:40 to 5:45 p.m., and on Sunday, there will be a community Sunday supper from 3 to 4 p.m.
CJERP
A Chestnuthill-Jackson-Eldred-Ross-Polk Regional Comprehensive meeting is at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Chestnuthill Township municipal building in Brodheadsville.
PVI PTO
The Pleasant Valley Intermediate School’s PTO will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Open rehearsal
The Western Pocono Community Library in Brodheadsville is celebrating its own rising stars.
At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, the library will hold an open rehearsal for the upcoming adaptation play “Treasure Island.”
For more information, call 570-992-7934.
School board
The Pleasant Valley School District Board of Education is slated to meet in public session at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Administration Office in Brodheadsville.
Chestnuthill seniors
The menu choices for the Monroe Seniors, who are part of the Chestnuthill group meeting at Zion Lutheran in Brodheadsville in the Fellowship Hall, are chicken salad sandwich for Friday and chicken Marsala for Wednesday.
Those wishing to order are asked to call by 11 a.m. the day before at 579-242-6770.
There is a suggested meal donation.
Blood drive
The Eldred Township Community Center on Kunkletown Road will be the site of an American Red Cross blood drive from 1 to 6 p.m. Friday.
Walk-ins are welcome.
Volunteer day
American Legion Post 927 is holding a Post Volunteer Day this Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.
Members are reminded to sign up at the Post and lend a hand.
For more information, call the Post at 610-681-5838.
Pantry open
The Effort UMC food pantry will be open from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.
It serves families in need who can provide a driver’s license or state ID with address proving residency in the West End.
For more information, call the pantry at the church at 570-629-1890, ext. 109.
Busy park
The Chestnuthill Park will have back-to-back activities, weather permitting, Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, the West End Park and Open Space Commission will a host Bingo Night at 6:30 p.m. at the Chestnuthill Township Park, 221 Route 715, Brodheadsville.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
There will be specials, pull tabs, door prizes and refreshments.
On Saturday, from 10 a.m. to noon, the West End Park and Open Space Commission is offering Introduction to snowshoeing at the Chestnuthill Park. Learn the basics of snowshoes and enjoy a winter stump around the park. No experience necessary. Limited equipment is available. Registration is required.
For both activities, contact 570-992-9733 or bkozen@weposc.org.
Hunger meeting
The United Way of Monroe County and the Hunger Coalition will be offering a free information session for any individual, agency, organization or church entity that is interested in learning more about what is required to host a summer meal site for 2018 through the Summer Food Service Program.
The meeting will take place at the NCC campus in Tannersville from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday.
Jennifer Strauch, vice president of Community Impact, United Way of Monroe County Hunger Coalition of Monroe County, and former director of the PVEN, shares that 55 percent of school-aged children living in Monroe County are receiving free or reduced-priced meals due to household incomes falling below 130 percent of the federal poverty line. The event will take place at 9 a.m. Friday at NCC Monroe Campus in Keystone Hall Room 202.
To register, call 570-629-5657 or contact Jennifer@unitedwaymonroe.org.
Monroe’s CWU
Church Women United of Monroe will hold a business meeting at 1:30 p.m. Friday at the Hughes Library, second floor Eisenmann Room, in Stroudsburg.
For more information, call 570-629-0649.
Chili cook-off
Salem UCC, Gilbert, has planned a chili cook-off for Saturday. It will be held from noon to 3 p.m. The judges will be from Polk Township Volunteer Fire Company. There will also be a bake sale. Donations of baked goods are appreciated. Scouts will be selling hot dogs.
In case of inclement weather, the event will be held Sunday from noon to 3 p.m.
Standard at-church activities include Scouts meeting every Tuesday evening, NA meeting every Wednesday evening and choir rehearsal on Thursday morning at 10 a.m.
Focus on neighbors
Salem-St. Paul’s Sunday school in Kresgeville is using the theme of Who is my Neighbor for this year’s classes.
As such, each month the focus is a different group of neighbors and the Sunday school collection money will go to the focus group.
The congregation will be asked to help by collecting items that can help those neighbors, whether near or far.
For January church members are asked to help with adult socks and underwear, which will be given to The Welcoming Place.
The Sunday school will now also meet twice a month during the worship service, and once each month there will be a fun after-church activity.
Coming on Sunday is a New Year’s party.
Guest pastor
The Rev. Gene Hamilton will again preach at Salem UCC in Gilbert Sunday and also on Feb. 4. The service is at 10 a.m.
Souper Bowl
Many area churches, including Zion Lutheran in Brodheadsville, will be involved in the Souper Bowl of Caring on Feb. 4. Some will allow congregation members and visitors to throw offerings in a big soup pot to reflect their choice of game winners as well as support the local hunger ministry, including PVEN.
Others will be serving hot soup for a donation to the symbolic pot, and still others, like Effort UMC, may be collecting cans of soup to give to the local food pantry.
Effort will have soup pots in the narthex for donations of canned goods such as fruit, pasta, vegetables, sauces, etc. and nonperishables. Like other years, there will also be a little competition involving the teams who will be playing in this year’s Super Bowl. Each soup pot will have a team name to vote for one’s favorite.
The heritage of this special day began in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1990 and since then, “ordinary young people have generated an extraordinary more that $90 million for soup kitchens, food banks and other charities in communities across the country.”
Contact Adele Argot at 717-933-4028 or arargot3@verizon.net. Contact the Times News at 800-443-0377 or tneditor@tnonline.com.
