March 2025 GVCO Newsletter | | |
Director's Message
INTERNSHIPS
There are two areas where GVCO has had tremendous success while trying to deliver superior programming to the community: internships and volunteers. Without these two very dedicated groups, GVCO would not be able to maintain its mission, as they are the cornerstone of the organization.
In this issue of our newsletter, we would like to focus on the opportunities that GVCO provides the students in our community. Our internship program has grown from 1 college intern annually in 2009, to 15+ high school and college interns annually, for the past couple of years. All of our paid internships and the program itself are a quintessential "win-win". The students get a great opportunity to experience a real work environment, assisting our GVCO non-profit corporate entity, while GVCO gets the opportunity to utilize the tremendous resource that some of these very talented and energetic students have to offer. Many of our college interns are working towards degrees in marketing, communications or sports management - areas that GVCO devotes an immense amount of time on daily. At the same time, we offer a wonderful opportunity to overachieving seniors via Great Valley High School's Cooperative Education program. These rising seniors have earned nearly enough credits to graduate and can have an internship at GVCO for a couple of hours each weekday afternoon. Lastly, we offer high school juniors and seniors an opportunity to be part of our afterschool internship program.
To learn more about all of these wonderful programs, and how students may get involved, please go to the internship tab on our GVCO.org website.
-Keith Walsh, GVCO Executive Director
ExecDirector@gvco.org
| | GVCO Internships/Positions | | |
High School Interns
Fall 2024 - Spring 2025
Several high school juniors and seniors assist GVCO with programming and administrative responsibilities during the school year. Interns work anywhere from 2-5 hours per week between 3pm-5pm Monday through Friday.
GVCO internships have flexible scheduling around academic and extracurricular responsibilities.
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Application Process
- 2025-26 registration will open on April 1st, 2025.
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Applicants must send a resume and a cover letter to Internships@gvco.org.
- Applicants will be sent a brief questionnaire. It must be completed and returned by May 31st.
- Acceptance letters will be sent out June 15th.
- Hired interns will be contacted in August with onboarding information.
- Interns will start in mid-September.
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GVHS Cooperative Education Internship
The GVHS Cooperative Education Internship is an option for seniors with enough credits to attend school for only part of the day. Internships and students are subject to the rules of Great Valley High School and governmental agencies.
Additional information and how to apply can be found in the Great Valley High School Course Guide and Counseling Office.
This year our interns are Gia Patel and Natalie Dill. The internship builds skills in management, marketing, and collaboration - experiences that are beneficial for their resumes and future roles.
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The Chester County Intermediate Unit's Discover Program is a comprehensive work-based learning approach designed for high school students with disabilities. Discover students perform a variety of tasks and roles at GVCO.
| | | | March: The Month of Making an Impact Together | | | | |
This March, GVCO is continuing to plan events and collection drives to give back. Your support helps our community thrive and every contribution makes a difference! Join us in giving back and growing together!
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Caring Hands
Caring Hands Volunteers will make kong dog treats for the Brandywine SPCA.
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In further support of the SPCA, Caring Hands volunteers will make and sell baked goods for the April Walk for Paws Event. All proceeds will go back to the dogs at the SPCA.
The PAWsome day kicks off with a 5K color run, a 1K walk led by Dawn Timmeney, Anchor/Reporter, FOX 29 News on WTXF-FOX 29, and yoga with puppies. Well keep the good times rolling with a day filled with fun activities for the whole family.
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Best Buddies Movie Night!
Date: March 21st
Time: 5:00-7:30
Provided: Popcorn, snacks, pizza, drinks
Possible movies: Moana 2, Inside Out, Coco
Open to family and friends
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This Spring, we will ask for non-perishable food items for the People's Pantry at Church Road.
The People's Pantry is a Malvern based non-profit supporting those with food insecurity in the local community.
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Adult English Language Learner Classes at GVCO
GVCO & Back to Basics Learning Dynamics will restart Adult ELL classes March 18th. The classes are free and the materials are complementary for all participants. Learn more!
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Challenger Gym is a recreational community gym program for school aged kids who have extra challenges. Volunteer buddies accompany our participants on every step, hop, roll, run and slide all while playing, encouraging, and generally having fun.
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Learn about Medicare and the changes to it by attending one of the Medicare 101 seminars hosted by Dana Matkovic.
They will be held at GVCO on the 3rd Thursdays in May, September and November at 9:30am.
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Program Director
GVCO will soon be looking for a Program Director. Further details will be posted soon.
Questions can be directed to ExecDirector@GVCO.org
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In February, Caring Hands volunteers assembled homeless care packages, made possible by the generosity of our community!
Thanks to the donations from our community, we filled these kits with essential supplies to provide comfort and support to those in need.
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The local non-profit Better Days Ahead will distribute the care packages to those who need them in Phoenixville, Pottstown and Norristown.
Better Days Ahead is a non-profit group that distributes food, clothing, and survival gear directly to area houseless and at-risk individuals in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
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March Blood Drive
The GVCO Community again rolled up their sleeves again to donate blood.
Given the blood supply shortage, it was wonderful to see the many people literally help save lives.
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Sow Good Now is collecting new or like new sweatshirts for youth and young adults. Donate sweatshirts from your favorite school, college or team!
Sow Good Now aims to build community by bringing student athletes together with youth from underserved areas. They inspire athletic communities to seek out ways to meaningfully serve the underserved and increase their impact.
| | | GVCO collected adults' and children's gently used shoes, winter boots, or cleats you or your child has. The shoes will be going to In Ian’s Boots, an organization dedicated to donating footwear to those in need. | | |
Challenger Hoopsters
Participants practiced dribbling, shooting and passing in a relaxed, fun environment. As they moved from station to station, the format is modified as needed for the participant.
Challenger volunteers, an integral part of this program, helped each participant at the stations.
| | | Thank you to all who attended and supported Family Fun Day 2025 | | GVCO partnered with East Whiteland Township to host an exciting community event at the GVCO Community Center. The center was filled with friends and community members who gathered not only to have fun and try their luck, but also to raise money for East Whiteland Township Parks & Rec. | |
Use code GVCOPB in TeamReach
Open Play on Tuesdays and Thursdays:
- Time: 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
- Drop-in Fee: $10 in cash
- Please add yourself to Team Reach for open play so other players can see who will be attending.
Weekday Hours:
- All available times can be viewed in the Team Reach app
- $32 for 1.5 hours of court time per group - i.e. if there are 4 people in the group, it'd be $8 each
- Reservations require a minimum of 4 consecutive weeks and payment by 1 person from the group
- Payment for 4 weeks is $128 = 4 x $32
- Week to week reservations will not be accepted
- Ideally, payment is by check sent to or dropped off at GVCO.
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Contact pickleball@gvco.org to reserve court time
Reserving a Court:
Any questions, please reach out to pickleball@gvco.org
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Financing the New
GVCO Community Center
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It's time for everyone in our Great Valley community to GIVE BACK. The community's support over the past six years has been tremendous [Donor List (2/28/25)].
Let's finish what we started, paying off the debt and moving forward with the next phase of the project. To do this, the support must continue and be more broad based.
| | We are asking for help from the entire Great Valley private, public and business community. | | | | 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 | | Read and see more about the GVCO buildup and plans | |
Rendering of the 1st Phase of the
GVCO Community Center.
See the vision of our new Great Valley Community Center when all phases are finished. Find out some of what we plan to offer at a fully completed complex.
| | More Ways to Support GVCO | | | | |
Do You Match?
Did you know your employer might have a Matching Gifts program?
It's a great way to contribute and help GVCO complete the entire new GVCO Community Center project.
Use code #47309 for GVCO!
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