The Great Valley Community Organization helps build a strong, vibrant and connected community by providing facilities, activities and programs enriching the lives of all local residents. |
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August 2023 GVCO Newsletter |
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It's a very exciting time for GVCO and our Great Valley community. A long sought after community center, for the entire community to utilize, will be opening in late September - see more in the Project Updates section below.
With the new facilities coming onboard, we can again refocus our efforts towards the much needed programming outside of youth sports. The new GVCO Community Center paves the way for adult, older adult and community programming.
I encourage everyone to reach out to us at community@gvco.org and give us your thoughts on what type of programming that you would like to see at the facility and hopefully we can get it implemented in the coming months.
Keith Walsh
GVCO Executive Director
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GVCO Community Programming |
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Over the past 20+ years, GVCO has engaged the community in many different ways. We have had yard sales, weekly bingo for seniors, clothing drives, hosted 5k runs, adult Yoga & Tai Chi, a young mothers club, recycling events, wine & beer tastings, booster club functions, prevention classes, community gatherings/celebrations or fundraising events, teen dances, local band concerts and a many other amazing activities.
What new programs or events do you think would benefit the community? Could you help us get started? Please email community@gvco.org with your idea(s).
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The Siddhant Suresh Scholarship Fund
The Suresh fund was created to honor the memory of Siddhant Suresh, a wonderful son and brother and an outstanding student who loved basketball and chess.
Over two years, this fund has awarded over two thousand dollars in scholarships to help many Great Valley children and families participate in GVCO programming.
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GVCO employs several high school juniors or seniors to assist with programming and administrative responsibilities. Interns generally work 2-5 hours on weekday afternoons during the school year with flexible scheduling for extra-curricular activities.
Our college interns assist with facilities management, marketing, sponsorships, financial and program management.
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Devon Construction made some great progress on the new GVCO Community Center complex. The entrance pad in front of the building went in and forms/stone for the sidewalks were put in place. Inside the building, the final bit of framing and drywall are being completed.
As Fall arrives, we anticipate opening the doors for the community's new center.
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One of our favorite programs is our GVBL Summer League. It's a somewhat casual way for GV families to spend some summer weeknights playing some "playground basketball". Many of the games are played outdoors and it's old school basketball where friends and neighbors get together and watch the kids play some ball.
What's equally important is that we give a ton of older students, who grew up playing GVBL basketball, an opportunity to "give back" and referee throughout the summer. Lastly, you may have had 3 or 4 different people stepping up to "coach" your child's team this summer. It's great to see parents jump over to the bench and help out when needed! What a fantastic community basketball league. It was a great summer of basketball thanks to a slew of people.
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Our GV cheerleaders were at it all summer long! Condition. Condition. Condition. That's what summer cheer is about as they get ready for their upcoming seasons.
Look for our cheer program participants on the sidelines at many football and basketball games this fall and winter. Later in the school year, GV Cheer will participate in a number of cheer competitions. This group is outstanding at community service; they help out at numerous events throughout the year.
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Our Flag Football started back in 2010. With brand new facilities, we have redesigned and expanded the flag football program to kindergarten through 2nd grade.
All GVFL Flag Football activities will be held at the new GVCO Community Center complex this fall. And the more exciting news is that the teams will be split up by Great Valley school - allowing boys and girls to play with their classmates.
There will be 3 separate divisions: Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades each culminating with its own Great Valley Super Bowl. We hope to have at least one team per school per division.
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GVFL Tackle Football
The boys of fall are back! GVFL youth tackle football began practicing this past week. There will be 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th grade teams this season and the program is back to where it was pre-covid. Now that the pads are on, it's only a matter of weeks before the 1st league game. For full schedule information, please follow the GVFL tackle program on social media and the football section of GVCO.org
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GV Crew
It seems like our GV Crew program spring season just ended but the program is gearing up for its fall season. Registration is open and our rowers will be out on the water by the end of the month practicing. See the fall schedule of regattas on the Crew News & Updates page of GVCO.org
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Chester County Seeing Eye Puppy Club |
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The Seeing Eye is a philanthropic organization whose mission is to enhance the independence, dignity, and self-confidence of blind people through the use of Seeing Eye® dogs.
The Seeing Eye's vision is to be recognized for sustained excellence and continuous improvement as the best guide dog school to attend and to support, as a donor, volunteer, puppy raiser, or employee.
GVCO is proud to have partnered with this wonderful organization. We look forward to having them back as we open the new GVCO Community Center complex after a hiatus due to the closure of our old GVBL Center in 2020.
To learn more about the Chester County Seeing Eye Puppy Club along with their mission visit The Seeing Eye.
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With the opening of the new GVCO Community Center complex, we will be outlining a number of sponsorship opportunities. Please follow our Business Sponsorship tab on the GVCO.org website. over the course of the next several week we will be offering the local community and region various opportunities to support the organization. For additional information now, please contact sponsorship@gvco.org
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Sponsorship Partners Job Listing |
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We have added something new to our GVCO Newsletter.
Through our numerous programs, GVCO encounters many fantastic students and adults in our GV community. To better connect these GVCO participants, supporters and sponsors, we will begin posting some of the local job opportunities available. The hope is to provide better communication between the needs of our local small businesses and job seekers.
Big Blue Swim School, Paoli
Team Member/ Swim Instructor - Full Time/Part Time
No Previous Swim Experience Needed
Paid training including Lifeguarding and CPR is offered
GVBL Corporate League Referees
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Charlestown Paving is one of GVCO’s longstanding sponsors over the past two decades. Drew Alleva, the company and his family have been instrumental in GVCO’s success through the years. We are thankful for all they have done and proud of the long time partnership.
Charlestown Paving & Excavating offers a variety of services including township/municipality work, industrial/commercial work and residential paving. They provide dependable solutions to your paving problems, and ensure that your project stays within your budget while minimizing any disruption to your operations.
Expect top-notch workmanship and service from Charlestown Paving because they have loyal, experienced employees, and they own and maintain a full fleet of trucks and heavy equipment. They have built our reputation on the referrals of satisfied clients and earned the trust of property managers, business owners, and homeowners throughout the region.
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The Muck Family
During the Muck family vacation, one of the kids had the wild idea of hiking Mt. Marcy, the tallest mountain in NY. The hike is 15 miles, 7.5 hours, and 3,574 feet in elevation. What? This is certainly a wild idea! “Yes, count us all in!” During the climb, we passed many other hikers, who offered bits of what to expect ahead and words of encouragement. This picture is at the end of the day, dirty and tired, but the smiles show we were so glad we did it!
The folks at GVCO are embarking on another wild idea with building the community center. It has taken and will continue to require a lot of hard work and determination, and help from others along the way is essential. When GVCO asked us to help with the Capital Campaign, of course, we said “Yes, count us all in!” All six of us have graduated from GVHS and we love Malvern. We see the GVCO Community Center as being a pinnacle in the lives of those of us lucky enough to call Great Valley home and we are sure it will bring smiles to all the faces from young to old in the community at the end of the day.
Keep climbing GVCO!
Wiley, Brian, Jill, Ellie, AJ, and Danny Muck
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We need your help to finish what we've started! We will not get the necessary financing to complete the project without raising additional funds.
DONATE NOW to finalize the building of our brand new GVCO Community Center!
The time is NOW.... Together we can make it happen!
Check out the program pages:
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For further details on the project, how you can make a significant financial impact or information with regard to Naming Rights for the complex and areas throughout the project, please reach out to Keith Walsh at execdirector@gvco.org
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