The Swarthmore Lions Club thanks all the families and friends in the Swarthmore community who helped make our annual holiday basket drive a welcome blessing to many needy families in Chester and elsewhere in our neighborhood.
All in To The Community
It’s time to step up
The Swarthmore Fire & Protective Association is currently in the midst of its annual fundraising drive. I urge you to be as generous as you can, but no donation is too small.
Help the Lions Club provide holiday baskets
Could you please consider making a small donation to support this year’s Holiday Basket Drive? Any contribution would be appreciated.
As a service project, we are collecting new books and new winter clothing (socks, hats, gloves, etc.) for foster kids. You can make your donation through December 23. Look for the drop bin just outside the Swarthmore-Rutledge School building.
Luminaria cancelled too
It is with great regret that we report that this year’s annual luminaria fundraiser has been cancelled. For so many past Decembers, community members have bought thousands of these candles, nestled in little bags of white sand, and lined the sidewalks with them, lighting them up at 5 p.m. on New Year’s Day. But it’s 2020; what more do we need to say?
Chester Children’s Chorus will lift your spirits
I am delighted to invite you to experience the chorus from the comfort of your home at 7 PM on Saturday, December 12. This is an opportunity for friends of CCC to be reminded why they support the chorus and attend its concerts. For those unacquainted with the chorus, it will be a joyful introduction. All will experience one hour, in these stressful times, that will lift their spirits.
Fight climate change by supporting regional initiative
I believe each of us should improve the community we live in. I trust this letter will encourage neighbors in Swarthmore and neighboring communities to support the ongoing effort to have Pennsylvania join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI): a cooperative multi-state program designed to improve air quality and address climate change, which many other Northeastern states have long participated in.
Wesley AME Church thanks volunteers
On behalf of our pastor, the Rev. Catherine Thornton-Brownlee, and officers and members of Wesley AME Church, Swarthmore, we would like to acknowledge the service of love and kindness that has been shown to us by the members of the Swarthmore Horticultural Society and the community.
Faith leaders call for love and solidarity
Grace and peace to each of you in this ongoing post-election season. We find ourselves at a crossroads, especially as we reside in an important swing state for our national elections. While votes were coming in, being counted and recounted, and as we all waited, and then waited some more, we found ourselves needing to speak together as faith leaders in our communities.
Swarthmore Public Library seeks dust-gathering treasures
As you know, the pandemic has affected library operations. It has also negatively impacted our revenue. For example, the Friends of the Swarthmore Public Library, a nonprofit group which fundraises on our behalf, and which annually supplies 20-25% of our budget, has had to cancel their popular book and bake sales. As a result, we are again asking for your help and support.
Putting mail-in voting concerns to rest
The League of Women Voters of Delaware County wants every registered voter to have an opportunity to vote, but also to assure voters that no one will be able to vote twice. There has never been massive, organized voter fraud involving mail-in ballots in any state, even though some states have had vote-by-mail for decades.
Changed plans for SPC’s ‘A Taste of Fall Fair’
We write this week to advise that “A Taste of Fall Fair” has in the last few days been further right-sized for this pandemic year.
Follow the science!
Readers of the Swarthmorean may have noticed the signs with a timely public health message that have been popping up in yards all over Swarthmore. The signs read: “COVID-19* Follow the Science* Save Lives.” I am part of a team of concerned citizens from neighboring Media Borough who purchased the lawn signs with our own money and have been distributing them to neighbors throughout Delaware County. We are delivering the signs right to the front doors of folks who order one.
The Swarthmore Senior Citizens Association is compiling a list of African American-owned businesses in our area, so that we can support them and help a solid community become even stronger. Please help us add to the list.
Join the fight for criminal justice reform
Want to work with an organization seeking criminal justice reform? Consider joining the local chapter of the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration (CADBI-DELCO).
Protect your trees!
Now is the time for homeowners to protect their trees from the invasive spotted lanternfly (SLF). From egg cases that were dormant over the winter, distinctive nymphs are emerging — small, black, with a random pattern of white spots covering their bodies. In a later stage, the nymphs become mostly red and black. Nymphs cannot fly, they crawl (and they can jump!), and will travel up and down the trunks of the trees. They feed by sucking out the sap of the tree, weakening it, and over time potentially killing it.
For the past bunch of weeks, I have been doing shifts at the Co-op, assembling people’s emailed orders. It’s been fun. There’s a great sense of camaraderie between volunteers and the amazing Co-op staff, and it’s been good to feel useful. I’ve also learned a lot about the amazing variety the Co-op offers in its small space — things I never knew were there! For those of you who use the service, though, there are a few things you could do that would make all of our lives better.
Hold your treasures — for now
We want you to know how much we miss you. For now, please hold onto your donations (housewares, clothing, linens, treasures, etc.). We will be gratefully accepting them again as soon as we are able.
Food donations appreciated
It’s not easy being a restaurateur these days of pandemic lockdowns and stay-at-home mandates. But one Swarthmore restaurant has been using the occasion to send meals to those in need in Chester. Occasionally Yours is making regular deliveries to the food pantry at Chester Eastside, Inc.
The ethics of mask-wearing
At age 75 I do feel more vulnerable than I did twenty years ago. Therefore, when I go out for a walk or to the Co-op I feel reassured that many now wear masks. The mask protects others and is a sign of caring and respect for all in our community. It is an ethical statement. It is heartening that the Co-op now requires everyone to wear a mask in the store. There are a number of situations however that I would like Swarthmoreans to consider…