Brandywine Health Foundation raises bar for civic engagement
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Sam Brown (center), the recipient of the 2013 Harry Lewis Jr. Scholarship, celebrates his honor with Chaya Scott (left) and Lula Defersha from the Brandywine Health Foundation.
The 2013 recipient of the Harry Lewis Jr. Scholarship beamed a smile so radiant Wednesday evening it could have reached Hawaii – appropriate given the aloha theme for this year’s Brandywine Health Foundation Garden Party.
More than 400 people attended this year’s fund-raiser – a kick-off to the 2013 Strawberry Festival, presented by PECO and supported by First Niagara. It will run from Thursday to Sunday, June 2, on the grounds of the Brandywine Hospital in Coatesville.
Guests were treated to a tropical paradise at Springbank Farm, the home of Jennifer and Robert McNeil, where the attractions included numerous male dignitaries – even a passel of area police officers – gamely indulging the theme by sporting grass skirts.
Harry Lewis Jr. shows off the Hawaiian-themed evening’s coveted fashion accessory: the grass skirt.
Greg Cary from Peco and Susan Hernandez from First Niagra set the tone for the evening’s festivities with welcoming remarks before jokingly introducing Frances M. Sheehan, president and chief operating officer of the Brandywine Health Foundation, as the evening’s big kahuna.
Sheehan said the past year brought many reasons to celebrate, thanks in large part to the support of many of the people at the event. Among the accomplishments were a $600,000 grant that helped launch a new Public Safety Training Center in the county, the ability to serve 10,000 people who walked through the doors of the health center, and the continued success of the Coatesville Youth Initiative, the foundation’s acclaimed youth development program.
In fact, public interest in the expansion of the Coatesville Youth Initiative has led to an ambitious change, Sheehan said, explaining that “within the next seven months it is spinning off as an independent nonprofit.” She said director Chaya Scott has done an excellent job of overseeing the program and is poised for this “exciting new step.” Sheehan said those who have appreciated the recent inspiring and rewarding developments need to stay tuned. “Wait till you see next year,” she said.
Sheehan then turned the microphone over to Harry Lewis Jr., the foundation board’s president, who read a litany of accomplishments for Samuel Brown, this year’s recipient of the Harry Lewis Jr. scholarship, a $5,000 annual award for up to four years of college. Lewis cited Brown’s academic accomplishments, including four years on the Honor Roll, his basketball prowess, and his participation in ServiceCorps, the Brandywine Trek, and numerous civic groups. “But most importantly, Sam has a heart for our community,” Lewis said. “We are so proud of his selection.”
A fire-eating dancer adds to the Hawaiian atmosphere at the Brandywine Health Foundation’s 2013 Garden Party.
Brown, who routinely elicits laughs when he insists he once was shy, extended thanks to all who had supported him, especially Patricia and Herbert Stewart, the grandparents who have raised him. He said he greatly appreciated the scholarship, which is “more than just money.” He said he felt gratified that his “hard work finally paid off.” He plans to study business at Millersville University.
The formal program was followed by a light supper by John Serock Catering; however, many attendees first took advantage of the opportunity to sample desserts and vote for their favorite in this year’s Battle of the Berries at Brandywine. The enticing contenders came from Amani’s BYOB, Bordley House Grille, Duling-Kurtz House and Country Inn, Firecreek Restaurant and Bar, General Warren Inne, Northbrook MarketPlace, Station Taproom, and The Orangery at Glen Isle. The People’s Choice Winner was the General Warren Inne, and the Culinary Excellence Award, chosen by a tasting panel that included County Commissioner Terence Farrell, went to the Bordley House Grille.
In appreciation of the McNeils’ generosity in hosting the event for the second year in a row, the foundation donated a table full of books to the McNeil Children’s Library, a popular feature of the waiting room of the Brandywine Center. Each visit to the center entitles a child to pick a title to take home from the library. As a result, a continuing need exists for donations of new and gently used books.
Frances Sheehan, also known as the “big kahuna” for the night, discusses an “exciting, inspiring, rewarding” series of accomplishments for the Brandywine Health Foundation.
The evening culminated with a fireworks display sponsored by the McNeils in memory of Kitty Williams, a founding Garden Party committee member and longtime participant in the Brandywine Health Foundation.
For additional information on the Brandywine Health Foundation and its mission to provide health equity, youth development, and a safe and economically viable Coatesville-area community, visit www.brandywinefoundation.org.
More details on the 2013 Strawberry Festival, which will run from Thursday, May 30 to Sunday, June 2, on the grounds of the Brandywine Hospital in Coatesville, are available at www.brandywinestrawberryfestival.com.
