Best Buddies to host 2nd Annual TasteBuds event
Everyone deserves a seat at the table. That simple premise sums up the core of Best Buddies’ mission of inclusion. Our programs in over 60 schools across eastern PA are ensuring that students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) can know the joy of friendship and be a part of their school community. But with hundreds of schools in the area and thousands of children and adults with IDD facing isolation and bullying, there is still much work to be done.
With that in mind, Best Buddies invites community members to join us for an evening of food, friendship and fun at our 2nd Annual TasteBuds Nov. 12 at the DoubleTree Valley Forge. This signature Best Buddies event brings people together around something we all have in common — our love for delicious food. Talented local chefs are joining forces with our buddies with disabilities and our dedicated volunteers to form teams that will serve a delicious dish at TasteBuds and compete to raise the most funds for our mission. The team that brings in the most support will be named Best Buddies Champion of the Year.
Guests will enjoy live music, an open bar, a silent auction and get a taste of cuisine from the following restaurants and businesses: Amis Trattoria, Kriebel’s Custom Bakery, Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse, Choolaah Indian BBQ, Anthony’s Ristorante, Mistral, Cantina Laredo, Maggiano’s Little Italy, Outback Steakhouse, Simply Good Jars, Nourish’d and the DoubleTree’s very own chef will participate as well!
As we approach the 30th anniversary since our establishment by founder, Anthony Kennedy Shriver, Best Buddies hopes to create a world where people with IDD are so successfully integrated into schools, workplaces and communities that our current efforts and services will be unnecessary. Until that vision becomes a reality, we hope members of the community will help us continue to make an impact by joining us at TasteBuds and witnessing the power of inclusion first hand.
For more information, or to purchase tickets for TasteBuds, please visit: www.bestbuddies. org/tastebudsphl
Darby Free Library plans celebration to welcome back librarian
The community is invited to come celebrate the return of Darby Free Library’s children’s librarian, Joyce Taylor 3 p.m. Monday, November 5 at Darby Free Library, 1001 Main St., Darby. Taylor was attacked in July by a homeless man who entered the Darby Free Library and snatched a donation jar, police said. Taylor, 60, had just arrived at the library with her 6-year-old great grandson. The attacker allegedly grabbed Taylor, threw her down several steps and trampled her, fracturing her back and lower body in five places. The librarian was hospitalized following the violent, undergoing back surgery, followed by a long recuperation. For more information about the celebration of Taylor’s return, call 610-586-7310.
Transition Town Media to hold annual Green Sunday Craft Fair
Transition Town Media (TTM) will hold its 7th annual Green Sunday Craft Fair at the Media Providence Friends School , 1-5 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 18 , almost a week before Black Friday, so that local residents can get a jump on their holiday shopping, support local artists and craftspeople, have a relaxed and fun shopping experience, and save on all the driving. TTM is offering the opportunity to purchase goods from local vendors and encourages ecological alternatives for your holiday gift giving.
The school has plenty of room to wander around, view all the unique, handmade gift selections from over 40 juried vendors. Handmade and upcycled gifts will include clothing, purses, jewelry, soaps, home accessories and more. Attendees can also win a raffle gift basket, eat some wholesome chow, and find something for free at the FreeStore table. The free parking and entrance are on 4th Street between Olive and Orange Sts. The event will include a craft station for children, where they can make their own holiday gifts or decorations while they shop.
For more details about the holiday event, visit the Transition Town Media website: www.transitiontownmedia.org or contact us at info@transitiontownmedia.org.
Program on Chester’s history to be held at Delco Historical Museum next week
Chester: Whose History Is It, Anyway? Pulitzer Prize-winning author Steven Hahn and an expert panel will address the question, “How do we tell a Chester history that includes and respects what is true for every group in the city?” 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7, at the Delaware County Historical Society, 408 Avenue of the States, Chester.
Across many places and times, people have battled to advance narratives that give them ownership over reality and resources. This is no different in Chester where people from different backgrounds overtly and covertly fight for legitimacy and power through storytelling. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Steven Hahn will present on the importance of telling stories of “glory” parallel to stories of “gory.” Then he will be joined by WURD 900AM show host, Eric “Brother Shomari” Grimes, social research activist Julie Rainbow, and Widener historian Jordan Smith, for a panel discussion on how Chester can accept, reconcile, and synthesize these types of contradictions.
The event is presented by Chester Made, Pennsylvania Humanities Council, and Delaware County Historical Society. The program is part of the Democracy and the Informed Citizen initiative, administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils in partnership with the Pulitzer Prizes and funded with generous support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
For tickets to the free event, visit https://www.eventbrite.
com/e/chester-whose-history-isit-anyway-tickets-51756807003/. For more information on Chester Made, go to: facebook.com/ChesterMadePA/.
Special Mass celebrated for veterans
St. John Chrysostom Catholic Church, 615 Providence Rd., Wallingford, will celebrate a special Mass to honor Veterans: 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 11. The Delaware County church is reaching out to veterans and service members of all faiths, all military branches, all active and retired, and in reserves, for a special Mass on Veterans Day to honor all veterans, living and deceased. Everyone in the community is invited to this special Mass and hospitality afterward. Loved ones are invited to bring photos (up to 8”x 10”) of veterans, living or deceased, to display on the altar during the liturgy. For more information, contact Mary at mchollet@ sjcparish.org or 610- 874-3418 x 106.
Enjoy a holiday celebration in the Berkshires
Middletown Township Department of Recreation is hosting a “Yuletide Holiday in the Berkshires” Saturday, Dec. 1 to Monday, Dec. 3. The trip includes deluxe coach from Middletown Township, two nights in Pittsfield, MA, two breakfasts and two dinners, all sightseeing to include festive caroling and holiday, musical entertainment, and time to enjoy Norman Rockwell Day at his Museum and celebrate America’s best loved illustrator. There will be time to stroll Stockbridge Main Street in one of the most charming and historic New England Villages, which is transformed to Main Street at Christmas. Visitors can also see the festival of trees and experience the many sights and sounds of the holiday season. Cost is $550dbl. To sign up for the New England adventure, call 610-565-2700 X242.
$250,000 in new school safety and security grants
HARRISBURG — Ten area school districts were awarded state grants this week to help improve student safety through a new program supported by Senator Tom McGarrigle (R-26). The School Safety and Security Grant Program was created by lawmakers earlier this year to provide grants to schools for a wide variety of projects to improve school safety. Eligible uses for the grants include hiring school security officers, purchasing security-related technology, completing safety and security assessments, implementing violence prevention curricula, offering counseling services for students, and creating other programs to protect students.
Each local school district that applied through the program was awarded a grant of $25,000. Delaware County grant recipients include: Interboro School District, Marple Newtown School District, Rose Tree Media School District , Ridley School District, Springfield School District, Upper Darby School District, Wallingford-Swarthmore School District and William Penn School District.
The new program was created as part of a comprehensive school safety bill that was signed into law in June. More than $60 million in new funding was dedicated in the current year’s budget to improve school safety. More information on the General Assembly’s efforts to improve school safety measures is available online at https://w w w.pasenategop.com/ school-safety/.