Skip to content

Member News- June 23, 2021

Danville to Hold 35th Annual Spring Fling

Normally held the first Saturday in May, Spring Fling is an annual celebration of the foods, sites, and sounds that make Danville a special place. The streets of downtown Danville are closed to traffic for this family-friendly festival.  The event will be held this Saturday, June 26th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Downtown businesses, plus more than 200 vendors from central Pennsylvania and surrounding states converge for this fun outdoor event. The event is also a showcase of our nonprofit organizations, who demonstrate the giving spirit of the community by raising awareness and funds for their causes.

More information here.


Bloomsburg Children’s Museum Installs Pop-Up Exhibit at McBride Library  

Christine Curley (Director, McBride Memorial Library), Holi Sult (Children’s Librarian, McBride Memorial Library), Ginny Weibel (Director, Bloomsburg Children’s Museum) in front of the pop-up exhibit on the brain.

The Bloomsburg Children’s Museum has created a pop-up exhibit for the McBride Library that promotes healthy habits for good mental health and teaches visitors how their brains work. The temporary exhibit reflects a small part of the Museum’s new health and nutrition exhibit titled “The Superpower of You,” slated to open July 23rd.

Ginny Weibel, Director of the Bloomsburg Children’s Museum said the pop-up exhibit pays homage to the museum’s past.  “Thirty-six years ago, the museum actually started as a traveling organization. We moved around to different locations putting up temporary exhibits in schools and community centers for limited engagements,” said Weibel. 

Weibel explained the choice of topic for the pop-up exhibit.  “The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a need in our community to better understand stress, anxiety, and depression, particularly in children and teens. We want people to have the knowledge and tools to take charge of their health and work towards developing healthy habits that strengthen both body and mind,” Weibel said. 

In the exhibit, visitors will learn about how the brain functions, how your senses work, tackle some brain games, and learn what you can do to take charge of your brain’s health.

Christine Curley, Director of the McBride Memorial Library emphasized this point. “Mental health plays a key role in our overall health. A child’s mental well-being is just as important as their physical well-being and deserves the same quality of support. We are very grateful for our partnership with the Children’s Museum in bringing this exhibit to our patrons, which not only gives our patrons a chance to learn more about mental health and how the brain works but also helps to connect them to valuable mental health resources.”  

Some of the resources available within the exhibit were provided by the United Way of Columbia and Montour Counties, United in Recovery. Olivia Oden, Stigma Reduction & Education Coordinator for United in Recovery, emphasized the importance of this message. “Providing evidence-based education for youth and families is a key part of prevention when talking about addiction. Substance use disorder is prevalent in many families within our community; learning about the disease from a scientific and biological approach is a great way to teach that it can happen to anyone, and how we can help our kids make healthy, positive choices,” Oden said.   

The exhibit was sponsored by Berwick Youth In Philanthropy, The Community Giving Foundation, and T-Mobile. You can visit the exhibit at the McBride Memorial Library from now until September 30th.  

For information on programs and operating hours of the McBride Memorial Library, please visit https://mcbridelibrary.org

For more information on the Bloomsburg Children’s Museum, please visit  https://the-childrens-museum.org/


Community Giving Foundation Announces 2021 Scholarships

The Community Giving Foundation is pleased to announce scholarship awards for local students. These opportunities are available thanks to the many individuals, families and organizations who have established 116 scholarship funds with the Foundation. Applications for a variety of interests, accomplishments, and career choices were accepted from students at their school district. These funds awarded over $385,000 in scholarships to more than 276 high school seniors and current undergraduate students. In addition to funds listed below, scholarship awards were also provided through these affiliates:

The following students received scholarship awards from individual funds of the Community Giving Foundation:

  • Alumni and Friends of Mifflinburg Area SD: Dorothy S. John Gutelius Memorial Scholarship Fund: John Darrup ($5,000)
  • Alumni and Friends of Mifflinburg Area SD: Kathy E. Makes Memorial Scholarship Fund: Colby Gessner ($2,000)
  • Buehner DHS Class of 2004 Fund: Owen Smith ($700)
  • Catholic War Veterans Post 1419 Association Scholarship Fund: Blane Cleaver ($500); Ellie Kozak ($500)
  • Coach Michael C. Scala Scholarship Award: Claudia Geiser ($250)
  • Dale A. and Ferne S. Krothe Veterans Scholarship Fund: Angeni Peters ($500)
  • Don Ruggerio Athletic Scholarship Fund: Claudia Geiser ($500)
  • Dr. Mark C. Pyles Scholarship Fund: Caden Reader ($600)
  • Dwayne Tressler Athletic Memorial Scholarship Fund: Hannah Hess ($250)
  • E. Louise Lawton Simington RN Nursing Scholarship Fund: Crystal Jones ($1,150); Kiley Mitchell ($1,150)
  • Fred A. Takacs Scholarship Fund: Karley Hower ($700); Nicholas Perry ($700)
  • George and Barbara Forese Family Scholarship Fund: Chase Morris ($500)
  • George E. Skomsky Athletic Scholarship Fund: Emily Ouimet ($1,200)
  • Holy Family Scholarship Fund: Blane Cleaver ($1,000); Caleb DeSanto ($1,000); Eliza Dunn ($1,000); Maria Olsen ($1,000)
  • Joshua Martz Scholarship Fund: Rylee LeValley ($600)
  • Justin “Pete” Slusser Scholarship Fund: Hagen Carroll ($600)
  • Luis A. Ramos Fund: Samuel Segura-Suarez ($900)
  • Marian Eleanor Weikel Scholarship Fund: Jayla Klase ($22,000)
  • Melba Hyde Scholarship Fund: Coleman Hayman ($1,000)
  • Northumberland High School Alumni Association Scholarship Fund: Olivia Cimino ($900); Colleen Ferster ($1,800)
  • Orlando C. Scopelliti Scholarship Fund: Emma Naugle ($600)
  • Patrick J. Mattucci Memorial Scholarship Fund: Taylor Woodeshick ($500)
  • R. Scott Kohler Memorial Scholarship Fund: Patrick Edmondson ($4,800)
  • Robert Baillie Memorial Scholarship Fund: Jamie Thuy Nguyen ($1,000 for two years); Christina Vo ($1,000 for two years)
  • Robert H. Nash Memorial Scholarship Fund: Genevieve Kinney ($1,400)
  • Robert J. Wise Family Scholarship Fund: Karley Hower ($580); Angeni Peters ($580); Isabela Segura-Suarez ($580); Maria-Gabriel Segura-Suarez ($580); Samuel Segura-Suarez ($580)
  • Robin Buehner Kindness Scholarship Fund: Lyla Lewczyk ($800); Riley Maloney ($800)
  • Ronald L. Garrison Memorial Scholarship Fund: Harley Litwhiler ($300)
  • Sharon “Cheri” Spohrer Memorial Scholarship Fund: Aubrey Steber ($600)
  • Steven Mark Nastelli Scholarship Fund: Emily Ouimet ($200); Samuel Segura-Suarez ($200)
  • The Beyond Cajun Thivierge Fund: Maya Kile ($450); Shannon O’Neil ($450)
  • The Mary Scholarship Fund: Mayanna Betterly ($500); Alexis Comuntzis ($500); Julia Frankford ($500); Olivia Schultz ($500); Jason Whitebread ($500); Ciarra Yoder ($500)
  • Walter and Florence Vorbleski Scholarship Fund: Abigail Calvert ($1,000); Alexis Never ($1,000); Caden Reader ($1,000); Aubrey Steber ($1,000); Kaitlin Isherwood ($500)
  • Walter M. Brasch Scholarship Fund: Madison Coolbaugh ($250)
  • William S. and Virginia L. Hartman Family Scholarship Fund: Coltin Pentycofe ($4,000)

Community Giving Foundation: Bloomsburg

  • BHS Class of ’86 Scholarship Fund: Samuel Raup ($500)

Berwick Area School District Trust Funds

  • 12th Man Football Scholarship Fund: Blane Cleaver ($600); Brian Knorr ($200); Jake Lanning ($300); Shawn Sheptock ($800); Nathan Trough ($200); Isaac Tripp ($200)
  • Bart Rado Senior Memorial Award: Shawn Sheptock ($200)
  • BASD Vorbleski Scholarship Fund: Zechariah Demko ($300); Emily Getty ($250); Hannah Hess ($500); Alexis Nevel ($250); Jacqueline Nevel ($250); Shannon O’Neil ($500); Angeni Peters ($300); Caden Reader ($250); Abigail Seely ($1,000)
  • Berwick Area School District Trust Award: Marina Ferro ($3,300)
  • Class of 1950 Scholarship Fund: Dara Hause ($1,000)
  • David L. Force Business Ed. Fund: Karley Hower ($300)
  • Dr. Ralph J. and R.J. Norce Strive Scholarship Fund: Maya Kile ($500)
  • E. Saracino Football Fund: Brian Knorr ($100)
  • Frank Souchak Award: Isaiah Bomboy ($250); Zechariah Demko ($200); Analiese Eisenhauer ($800); Clara Fish ($1,000); Estafani Guzman ($300); Brennen Kirche ($700); Lucas Knorr ($100); Emily Novicki ($550)
  • Golf Team Memorial Award: Claudia Geiser ($100)
  • Individual Achievement Award: Estafani Guzman ($100); Brennen Kirche ($100); Olivia Kishbaugh ($100); Brian Knorr ($100); Margaret Thomas ($100)
  • Marie Rudy Music Award: Maya Kile ($900)
  • Russell H. Zimmerman Scholarship Fund (given by Doris Keller and Robert Clark Hosler): Kennedy Brown ($500)
  • Ruth Peck Matzko RN & Michael J. Matzko MD Scholarship Fund: Taylor Woodeshick ($600)
  • Susquehanna Arts/Craft Award: Haleigh Fedder ($600)
  • Tuzzi Health/Financial Need Award: McKenzie Waltman ($400)
Scroll To Top