Thank you to all the volunteers who gave their time during July, August, and September. The Volunteers provided 1,026 hours to Cranaleith.

July 8: Merion Mercy Academy

On July 8, eight high school students and two faculty from Merion Mercy Academy spent one of the hottest days of the summer at Cranaleith. Led by Mandy Carrier, RSM, the team was beginning a week of volunteering at multiple sites that would culminate in Washington DC with lobbying for climate change at NETWORK headquarters. While at Cranaleith, the MMA volunteers weeded the terrace gardens and patio area near the chicken coop and spread mulch. They also spent time with Bernadette discussing Cranaleith’s work on sustainability. The blessing of icy popsicles enabled the group to have a lively conversation about eco-spirituality and individual and communal responsibility to Care for Creation.

Many thanks to the girls and staff of Merion Mercy for helping us out! Also thanks to Cranaleith’s staff members and volunteers, Bernadette, Jess, Fred and Kathie for working right along with them.

August 7: Cranaleith Volunteer Group

On August 7, our volunteers met again in the basement of the house

to price the items that have been donated for our Holiday Sale on November 23rd. As you can see from the smiling faces of Arlene, Holly, Connie, Denise, Marie, Ruth, Toni, and Kathie "many hands make light work” and everyone had a good time!

September 7: Villanova Service Day

What a day! Last Saturday, the bus arrived and 35 young men from Phi Sigma Kappa at Villanova stepped off, excited to start their day of Service. Fred welcomed them, gave an orientation about Cranaleith, and then explained the game plan for the day. They divided into groups and off they went with their volunteer leaders to transform the grounds at Cranaleith.

In the order of the pictures:

Joe was with his crew pulled out the weeds in the bioswale.

Elaine, Fran, and Clare and crew cleaned up the upper driveway

Judy and crew worked around the house and Stations of the Cross

Jess was organizing the guys up at the Garden, pulling weeds and then spreading wood chips along the pathways

Fred had crew pulling all the weeds in the parking lot and wall areas

Mark and crew were finishing the path in the woods and lining it with wood chips

Ruben was busy getting wood chips to the appropriate areas

Kathie was the amateur photographer

At the end of the day, we could say "mission accomplished"! The grounds at Cranaleith WERE transformed! These young men from Villanova University were "special" and an inspiration to us. They were full of energy, hardworking and so polite! Many, many thanks to Villanova for including Cranaleith as one of your partners for many years in your Serice Day Program. The day was a HUGE success and our loyal volunteers played a large part in that. They made the work FUN - lots of laughter heard from the groups all day!

Just saying "Thank You" seems inadequate to express our appreciation, but know that our hearts are filled with gratitude for you.

September 21: Harvest Honey

On September 21st, we harvested honey from our “new” hives. On the day before, our volunteer beekeepers, Andrea and Helene selected which boxes could be harvested, blew the bees off them and brought them up to the Honey Hut, so that we could begin the first thing in the morning. We are so grateful to our veteran bee enthusiast, Rev. Julie for demonstrating to our new volunteers, Rachel, Rachel V. and staff member Jess , how the uncapping of the wax off the honey cells is performed.

During the morning, a local family joined us to watch the whole process – maybe a future beekeeper in the family? The honey was put into jars and all the used containers were put outside for the bees to enjoy a feast! They licked them clean!

September 23: Cranaleith Volunteer Group

On September 23rd, we arrived at the final piece before the honey jars were ready to sell. Eileen, Holly, Helene , Fran, and Kathie first wiped the jars clean, put on the label and attached the twine and bee charm. During this time, Helene entertained the group with many fun bee facts!



You can now find our Sweet Mercy honey on sale in the Gift Shop.

September 24: Holy Family University

On September 24th, Stephanie McCarthy, Director of Campus Ministry at Holy Family University, returned to Cranaleith with a group for a twilight retreat. Included in their schedule was time for service and along with our staff member, Jess, they cut out 35lbs. of fountain grass (an invasive species) from the bioswale.

Massive thanks to the six wonderful people who came out to volunteer. We love seeing the youth engage in environmental conservation.

In Memoriam: Gene Gourley

Eugene "Gene" Gourley



Gene Gourley who served as the beekeeper for Cranaleith passed away recently at the age of 65 after a devastating diagnosis of cancer. Gene cared deeply for the honey bees, gardens and grounds of Cranaleith. Before joining the staff at Cranaleith, Gene was a VOLUNTEER. He often described the grounds as being his "cathedral." He felt at home at Cranaleith and worked tirelessly as its master gardener. Because of his efforts, Cranaleith was recognized by the National Wildlife Federation as a Certified Wildlife Habitat and certified as a Pennsylvania Pollinator Friendly Garden.

His inspirational work with pollinator plants led to Cranaleith's being named by Monarch Watch as a "Monarch Way Station." Gene's vision inspired us all as he curated Cranaleith's native plants, the soft beauty of the grounds, the health of its honeybee hives, and the clarity of the pond's water. To celebrate his life and contributions, Cranaleith will be placing a memorial marker in his honor near the bench dedicated to his deceased mother and near the tree dedicated to his father. Rest in peace, Gene. We are grateful for all of your tender care of Cranaleith's grounds, plants and bees.

Future Volunteer Opportunities

October 23 – Price items for Holiday Sale

October 29 -- Native Tree Give-Away

Once again, Cranaleith is one of the host locations for the tree (sapling) give-away. The trees will be arriving on October 29th, and we need help to tag each tree with their identification label.

November 2 -- Tree Pick-Up Day

This is the tree pick-up day for anyone who signed up for the free give-away. We need help, assisting each person to find their order of trees.

If you are interested in helping on either day or both, please contact: Jess Wszolek, Coordinator: jwszolek@cranaleith.org and she will answer any questions, you might have.

November 22 – Set-up for Holiday Sale, 9 - 12 noon



November 23 – Volunteer to work at the Holiday Sale

Upcoming Events

December 15 - Volunteer Appreciation Open House

Public Service Announcements!

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There are many opportunities to Volunteer at Cranaleith!

· Bees – Assist with bees year round

· Boy Scouts – Eagle Scout Projects available

· The Vegetable Garden

· Adopt-a-Garden – care for one of the small gardens on the property

· Adopt-a-Tree/s – weeding around the tree

· The Labyrinth – maintain, tidy and weed

· Greeter – offer hospitality when groups visit, or spiritual programs occur

· Holiday Decorations – seasonal: Harvest and Christmas. Help with putting up and taking down.

· Honey Bottling – after the honey is harvested, assist with filling the bottles, wiping them clean and labeling.

· Lawn Maintenance – assist with mowing, trimming, edging and, in the fall, raking leaves; 18 yrs. or older.

· Office Projects – assist with small projects that might occur throughout the year.

· Service Hours – we have projects for elementary and high school students, who need to complete required service hours

· Special Events – e.g. Harvest Festival, Christmas Pop-In Sale. Assist w/ prep &/or the event itself.

If know of anyone that might be interested, please have them email Ruth Picozzi at rpicozzi@cranaleith.org or Kathie Ulinski at kulinski@cranaleith.org

Thank You!

Cranaleith Spiritual Center | 13475 Proctor Road | 215-934-6206 | cranaleith.org