Giving back: Newport Coat delivery parade; $1 million commitment to St. Mark’s; WSFS, Comcast donations

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The Delaware KIDS Fund, Harvey, Hanna & Associates, and non-profit coat manufacturer Operation Warm will host a coat delivery parade on Wednesday, December 21st at 10 a.m. at Richey Elementary School. Each student at Richey will receive a brand-new coat as a result of the recent Operation Warm: Newport Delaware KIDS Fund Camping out for Coats fundraising campaign.

A fleet of 35 vehicles, including fire trucks from Minquas Fire Company and various sponsor vehicles will travel one block on E. Highland Ave into the parking lot of Richey Elementary school led by the 76ers “Stixers” drum line band.

Each vehicle will unload boxes of coats and present the coats to school administrators and students outside of the school.

The community is invited to join the parade of coats to help celebrate the community and help present the coats to every student at Richey Elementary.

The Delaware KIDS Fund Camping out for Coats program is an annual challenge-based fundraising campaign that provides brand new Operation Warm coats for every student at select Delaware schools ahead of the winter season. Since 2017, the annual campout has helped raise over $292,000 to purchase over 12,500 coats for children at 25different elementary schools. In 2022, The Delaware KIDS Fund raised enough money to purchase 3,000 coats which was a record year in the six-year history of the campaign. Additional coats will be shipped directly to schools over the next few weeks.

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McConnells make $1 million donation to St. Mark’s

Saint Mark’s High School, near Newark, announced that Paul McConnell and his wife Linda Rowe McConnell have committed $1 million to the school’s Renewing the Vision Capital Campaign. Linda. McConnell is an alumna from the Class of 1977.

The McConnell’s gift will fully fund a new robotics lab/makerspace, as well as a multipurpose media and broadcast studio. Construction for both areas is slated to begin in the coming months and will be completed for the 2023-24 school year. Their donation will also support a tuition assistance program for local students.

“Linda and I recognize and appreciate the lengths to which Saint Mark’s has embraced change and innovation, which has clearly resulted in increased enrollment and higher visibility within the community,” said Mr. McConnell. “We are pleased to invest in their plan of action to continue to serve young people in both traditional and in new and dynamic ways.”

The McConnell donation is the latest in a long list of generous contributions to the Saint Mark’s Capital Campaign. Alumni giving has more than doubled in the past three years. The school received a $2 million donation earlier this year from Steve Hyde and his wife Lisa McManus Hyde. Lisa Hyde is also a member of the Class of 1977. Hyde is the Chairman of the Board at Saint Mark’s.

WSFS CARES makes donation to Food Bank of Delaware

The WSFS CARES Foundation, the charitable giving arm of WSFS Bank (Nasdaq: WSFS), announced a $50,000 grant to Food Bank of Delaware. Food Bank distributes millions of pounds of food each year through food pantries, mobile food pantries and a network of hunger-relief partners throughout the state. It also operates job training programs and other long-term solutions to hunger.

“We are so grateful for WSFS’ commitment to our new facility in Milford,” said Cathy Kanefsky, CEO of Food Bank of Delaware. “WSFS’ support is enabling us to build hope in Milford. This new 67,000-square-foot facility will help us positively impact so many more lives in the state of Delaware. Thousands of Delawareans are counting on us to provide needed services, and our work is not possible without generous community members. This new building allows us to become a better Food Bank of Delaware.”

Comcast, Latin American Community Center celebrate Adult Digital Literacy Program

Earlier this month, Comcast and the Latin American Community Center (LACC) , Wilmington, recognized recent graduates and current enrollees of LACC’s Adult Digital Literacy program. The program teaches adults how to use computer hardware, programs like Microsoft Word, and how to safely navigate the Internet.

LACC students learn to develop a resume for job applications, create an email account, navigate social media and other virtual meeting applications. Comcast has supported the Adult Digital Literacy program with more than $100,000 in grants from the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation over the last five years. At the end of the event, Comcast surprised each participant with a free laptop computer

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