January 2023 GVCO Newsletter

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.

It’s Happening! This is the tag line that we used in our 2022 Annual Report. Not only does it pertain to the long, and much anticipated new GVCO Community center complex, but GVCO’s continued evolution as an organization. GVCO is happening.

We are continuing to create stronger partnerships with local like-minded organizations e.g. Home of the Sparrow, BVSPCA, Cradles to Crayons, and the Frazer Food Pantry. GVCO is supporting local families through financial assistance via the GVCO Siddhant Suresh Scholarship Fund, our GVCO Challenger Gym program with programming for students with extra physical and/or mental challenges or GVCO’s coordinated effort with winter coat drives held at a couple of the district elementary schools recently. And GVCO continues to grow programming for local high school students through our robust HS Internship program. All the while, still offering families a host of outstanding, volunteer oriented, youth sports programming.

With the onboarding of new facilities over at Bacton Hill Rd., the GVCO vision is for greater programming, assistance and partnership. Further evolution and a continuation of things “Happening”.

Keith Walsh

GVCO Executive Director

GVCO Project Update

The very wet weather the past several weeks has slowed some of the earthwork progress at the new GVCO Community Center complex. Though quite wet and muddy, however Devon Construction has erected the site fence around the construction site in anticipation of the footers/foundation going in. The other major milestone, the additional purpose of the fence, is the anticipated arrival of the pre-engineered metal building to be delivered in February. The hope is that we will see a little bit better weather so the footers and foundation can go in allowing the 1st phase of the building to begin to go up.

Follow the ongoing progress of the sitework and complex on www.GVCO.org or on GVCO's Project Updates page.

1st Phase - GVCO

GVCO Community Programming

Caring Hands

GVCO Caring Hands student volunteers will host a February shoe drive for In Ian's Boots in February. In Ian's Boots is a Pottstown charity dedicated to providing footwear to those in need within the United States and around the world.

In April, volunteers will create decorated flower pots for patients at Green Meadows.

A food drive will be held in May for the Frazer Food Pantry. Volunteers will be needed to collect and organize donations.

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.

For more information about applying for a scholarship or to make a donation to the fund, please visit the Suresh Scholarship Fund page.

GVCO employs several high school - juniors or seniors - interns to assist with programming and administrative responsibilities. Internship will last throughout the ‘school year'. Hours would be after school, 3pm and 5pm Mondays through Fridays; 2 to 5 hours per week. GVCO will work with you to create flexible scheduling around academic responsibilities, sports seasons, theater and arts commitments, etc. Compensation will be $10.00 per hour

Registration for the High School Internship program will open towards the end of the school year.

For more information, contact Keith Walsh at Internships@gvco.org

GVCO Youth Sports

Winter Programming Recap

GVBL youth basketball is fast approaching playoffs, end of season and its annual March Madness event. This year, over 850 children from age 4 to high school seniors are playing, learning, making friends and having fun on the court.

This season boasts 10 girls and boys GVBL tournament basketball teams from 4th grade through 8th grade. Our tournament team program provides these players the opportunity to play at a highly competitive level. They play in a couple of local leagues on top of their participation in our GVBL winter rec league. Many of the teams are at the top of their division standings.

The GV Cheer program had 59 girls participating this season on several teams ranging from kindergarten through 6^th grade. Throughout the fall, the teams cheered on sidelines at many of our youth flag and tackle football games. In November, the fall season culminated with a cheer competition up at Perk Valley where the teams placed extremely well. The cheerleaders will be back out on the court come December urging on our girls and boys tournament basketball teams.

Our GV Crew program competes in several regattas during the year. This fall, there were 20+ girls and boys in 8^th through 12^th grades participating on the water. They rowed in singles, doubles, and quads at regattas on the Schuylkill, Christina and Cooper Rivers. The fall season is the precursor to the spring scholastic season which begins in late February. Many of the Crew athletes will continue to train in gyms and on ergs preparing for the spring season.

Crew girls training at "At the Thousand" in Bryn Mawr.

Upcoming Events

You may think it going to be a cold February, a nice time to sit by the fire. Not if you are a rower! The GV Crew team thinks February is the time you get back out on the water to begin training for all those spring regattas. This is about the time of year the crew boats head down to the water and get ready for the spring season.

Community Partnership

We have over 23 years of experience as a trusted community partner and we have helped more than 2500 women since 1994. Home of the Sparrow is an advocate for low-income single women and mothers and we provide a long-term safety net to prevent homelessness in Chester County.

Pictured below are several members GVCO Caring Hands leadership team in December awarding Home of the Sparrow a contribution of $1000 worth of Target gift cards.

GVCO Sponsor Spotlight

Malvern Lawn Care

www.MalvernLawnCare.com

Ethan Seeley was 12 years old when he started mowing his neighbor's yard. He loved the flexibility working for himself offered while managing sports and school. Malvern Lawn Care began as a high schooler's side job in 2016 when he started mowing yards out of the back of his Nissan Maxima and a friend's Jeep.

Three years later, Malvern Lawn Care has grown from a mowing side business into a complete property maintenance and hardscaping company. Nearly all current and past employees are Great Valley Graduates, which helps keep a small company feel as the company grows larger.

Malvern Lawn Care offers complete property maintenance, installations & large projects, hardscaping and masonry, and snow removal.

Ethan, a former high school and college wrestler, believes that the sport taught him more about life than anything else. His core values of hard work, dedication, and setting a good example set him up perfectly to be a business owner. He enjoys working, lifting, talking with other entrepreneurs, and finding more efficient ways to run and grow the business. Ethan likes to share one piece of advice you cannot be afraid to talk to people more successful than you. Ask them questions – find something from every encounter and apply it to what you are doing.

GVCO Business Spotlight

We Provide Resources that are Vital to a Well-Functioning Society

www.ARGROUPLLC.com

ARG is the parent organization to a host of niche technical companies in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Indiana, and Ohio. Our subsidiaries provide engineering, technical recruiting, healthcare, industrial inspection, and construction management support services to clients in critical infrastructure sectors throughout the U.S.