Caring Hands News

Our GVCO Caring Hands community service group and the GV community participated in this wonderful day-of-service opportunity around the MLK holiday in January. Our partner, Cradles to Crayons Philadelphia runs this campaign each January where they ask students to make hand made, well wish cards for their August back-to-school backpack campaign. Their goal was to collect 60,000 "Ready for Learning" cards. For additional info go to Cradles to Crayons Philadelphia.

"Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier"

– Colin Powell

GVCO Caring Hands partnered with the General Wayne and KD Markley PTO's who hosted coat drives at the elementary schools to benefit families in need at several local Devereux Advanced Behavioral locations. Our generous Great Valley community donated over 150 new and gently used coats, helping numerous families keep warm during this cold winter season.

In early December, GVCO Caring Hands student volunteers wrapped 400+ gifts to hand out to local senior citizens during the holidays. The Desmond Hotel was kid enough to lend us some space where the students spent a Saturday afternoon wrapping the gift and hand making holiday cards.

The beneficiary of nearly half of those gifts was the Phoenixville Senior Center as GVCO Caring Hands held its annual "Good Neighbors" campaign. The group provided the gifts to the PASC for their holiday luncheon the week prior to Christmas. Santa Claus arrived just in time to assist with giving out the gifts to many very appreciated seniors at the luncheon.

Nearly half the other donated gifts were delivered to the Surrey Devon location for their holiday luncheon in mid-December. Surrey also delivered a number of gifts to some of the homebound seniors who were not able to get to the luncheon. In some cases this may have been the only gift some of them may have received this holiday season. 

“Thank you so much! It brings so much joy to everyone here to have a gift to open and shaking it to guess what’s inside.” Kat Naessens, Marketing & Communications, Surrey Services.

Through numerous tent sales and events, GVCO Caring Hands raises thousands of dollars each year. The goal of the organization is to give nearly all of this money back to the local community and to those who need it the most.

GVCO also partners with many local non profit organizations. Recently GVCO Caring Hands gifted $1000 worth of Target gift cards to Malvern based Home of the Sparrow to help with their mission of helping women who are facing homelessness.

GVCO will be collecting new or gently used shoes, sneakers and boots. Search your closets for unused or outgrown footwear that GVCO will deliver to In Ian's Boots. GVCO had connected and partnered with this wonderful local non-profit several years ago and we have created this annual shoe drive event.

In Ian's Boots is a Pottstown charity dedicated to providing footwear to those in need locally - Chester, Montgomery and Berks Co. - as well as helping causes around the world. There are many people facing serious economic trials in their lives and can not afford to buy footwear for themselves or their families.                 

We will once again be partnering with a fabulous local community partner, The French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust. The Trust will be hosting its 21st Annual Iron Tour bicycle rally. We will be looking for GVCO Caring Hands volunteers to dedicate some time as the Iron Tour is looking for numerous volunteers. To learn more go to French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust Iron Tour

Later in the spring, GVCO Caring Hands will once again be planting flowers in pots to provide a happiness to someone around the Easter holidays.

For the past several years, GVCO Caring Hands has supported the many individuals staying at the Green Meadows Rehabilitation and Nursing Center located next to the Paoli Hospital. It is a wonderful cause that brings lots of smiles when the flowers are delivered.

Look for more information in the coming weeks about our May 2023 Food Drive to benefit Malvern's food bank, the People's Pantry at Church Road. Volunteers will be needed to collect and organize donations.

Caring Hands is a student-led volunteer group that supports the community through various activities. Students in grades 7-12 and their parents can sign up for the Constant Contact Caring Hands News distribution list for the 2022-23 school year. More upcoming event information can be found on Caring Hands News & Updates.

Spring Crew

Registration is open for Spring Crew for students in grades 8-12.

Great Valley Crew will be rowing out of the John S. Trinsey Jr. Memorial Boathouse in Bridgeport. Students must provide their own transportation. Practices are Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 3:45-6:15PM and on Saturdays at Trinsey from 10AM-1PM.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a competitive rowing team and we need your full commitment to all practices and regattas. We need the whole team at every practice to ensure we can get on the water ever day the weather conditions allow. One rower missing practice means an entire boat must stay on-land.

Crew Blue Jean Ball - January 28th

For event information and to purchase tickets: https://one.bidpal.net/gvcrew2022/welcome

Cradles to Crayons

GVCO was designated as a giving spot for Cradles to Crayons, and has been collecting lightly used children clothing and other items for the past couple of months. They collected a massive amount of donations given by the community. Caring Hands volunteers helped to facilitate the event making it a major success!

Business Sponsor

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.

Call us at 610-644-1693 or visit us online at www.CharlestownPaving.com

More Ways to Support GVCO