LEADERSHIP CHESTER COUNTY TO DEVELOP BUSINESS PLAN FOR LOCAL FOOD PANTRY

Parkesburg, PA - A collaborative effort of United Way of Chester County, West Chester University, and Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry, Leadership Chester County (LCC) has educated community leaders for the past 11 years.  With specialized training on board governance, local social problems, leadership styles and ethics, and customized placement through LCC, the program develops board leadership to strengthen local nonprofit social service organizations. Many corporations and professional firms sponsor key employees in the program; several nonprofit agencies send established board members to enhance their leadership skills.

Diverse participants make for a dynamic learning experience, especially through LCC’s interactive project, where the class applies their new knowledge to a challenge in the local nonprofit sector. A local nonprofit then benefits from the various skills of Leadership participants and their expert instructors.

Each year, LCC classes are presented with a team-building project which incorporates key elements of the curriculum and develops their understanding of how active, engaged boards solve problems while responding to a real nonprofit challenge. From healthcare providers to community centers, local agencies gained guidance from Leadership projects over the years, including a marketing plan, program and facility revitalization plans, a strategic plan, and even a county-wide issue analysis presented to business and civic leaders.  For Leadership students, the project prepares them to act as engaged nonprofit board members who guide organizational development aligned with a mission to better serve the public.

This year Leadership Chester County is tackling a business plan to address food distribution to needy residents of the Parkesburg area.  Chester County Food Bank, which supplies more than 65 food cupboards throughout the county, recognized growing demand in Parkesburg and the need for a permanent site there.  The Food Bank’s visionary Board and Executive Director turned to Leadership Chester County for an analysis of the opportunities and challenges, and strategic planning to fill that need.

Bob McNeil, Board Chair for Chester County Food Bank, noted “the people of Parkesburg and the surrounding area deserve to have their own cupboard. The number of hungry being served has increased over 113% to 294 families in the last two years. Our ‘mobile cupboard’ only delivers 7,500 pounds of food once a month. These people should have a cupboard in their town which can not only meet their dietary needs but offer additional services.”

After extensive research including visiting food cupboards in other communities, surveying stakeholders and volunteering at the mobile food pantry in Parkesburg, LCC Class of 2012 will present a plan to the Chester County Food Bank Board of Directors to address their concern for that community.

Leadership Chester County began its 2011-2012 instructional year with a county-wide bus tour of local nonprofit organizations including Safe Harbor Shelter, West Chester Area Senior Center, Handi-Crafters, Lord’s Pantry, Coatesville Center for Community Health, Habitat for Humanity, and Chester County Food Bank. The Class of 2012 includes 30 individuals from a wide range of professional and volunteer experiences-nonprofit managers, lawyers, financial and operations executives, IT and marketing business leaders and a retired professor and scientist.  Some participants are currently serving nonprofit boards and others are determining where their service interests fit with community needs.

Mary Anne Feeley, Program Director for Leadership Chester County, explains “LCC illustrates the critical role of social service agencies in a vibrant and inclusive community. Showcasing the programs and services, understanding the social problems they address and recognizing the challenges of service delivery informs the coursework. It inspires the class to take that knowledge into effective board service.”

Leadership Chester County is an 8-month, 15-session leadership development course designed to educate individuals in governance, ethics, and organizational aspects of serving on nonprofit Boards of Directors. Students undergo an interactive and intense program with sessions in Nonprofit Fiscal Management, Board Fiduciary Responsibility, Strategic Planning, Board Governance and Development, Social Entrepreneurship, Community Problem Solving, Advocacy.  Relational Leadership and Balancing Commitments prepare them for managing the personal demands of community service at the board level.

Randy Schauer, Esq., Fox Rothschild LLP, and LCC Advisory Board Chairman, proudly explains, “Following the class of 2011, we have had 229 graduates, with over 200 different nonprofits benefitting from class projects and graduate board service. But it’s not just the numbers that matter – it’s about where they go and what they do. We aim to make people comfortable with the idea of serving and setting a pattern of making a difference.”

Corporate sponsors, including AstraZeneca, Communications Test Design, Inc., Citadel Federal Credit Union, Gawthrop Greenwood, Bentley Systems, Siemens Healthcare, Saul Ewing, Lamb McErlane, The Hankin Group, Brandywine Valley Heating & Air Conditioning, First Niagara Bank and Sartomer, are investing in the future of Chester County and their companies as their participants in LCC enhance leadership skills and engage in community service.

For more information about Leadership Chester County contact Mary Anne Feeley at 610-429-9400 or Maryanne.feeley@unitedwaychestercounty.org.



 
 Leadership Chester County Class of 2012 began its 2011-2012 instructional year with a county-wide bus tour of local nonprofit organizations including Safe Harbor Shelter, West Chester Area Senior Center, Handi-Crafters, Lord’s Pantry, Coatesville Center for Community Health, Habitat for Humanity, and Chester County Food Bank. The Class of 2012 includes 31 individuals from a wide range of professional and volunteer experiences-nonprofit and public health program managers, lawyers, financial and operations managers, IT and marketing business leaders and a retired professor.
 

Dana Heiman of the Brandywine Health Foundation (left) and Dana Strode-Tritle of United Way of Chester County (right) stand with AstraZeneca employee Susan Sauder (center), and member of LCC Class of 2012, at the Parkesburg Mobile Food Pantry currently available monthly at Our Lady of Consolation Schneider Parish Center on Cemetary Road in Parkesburg.

The Chester County Food Bank stocks the Parkesburg Mobile Pantry with donated supplies that are sorted by community volunteers. The food pantry serves the Parkesburg community monthly at Our Lady of Consolation Schneider Parish Center on Cemetary Road in Parkesburg.