Please join us to support the Strong & Healthy Families grant program at Spirit(s) Night January 28 at Bert’s Bottle Shop.

The event, cosponsored by PMEF and the Penn Manor Alumni Association, will run from 5 to 10 p.m. and include food specials and an array of “celebrity” bartenders from Penn Manor past and present.

Proceeds will benefit Strong & Healthy families, an initiative established in 2016 to provide assistance to Penn Manor families facing financial, emotional and physical difficulties.

This past year, Strong Grants included $5,500 to pay for uniforms, tools, equipment and supplies for Penn Manor students attending Lancaster Career & Technology Center programs; $2,500 to help students pay fees for SATs and advanced-placement tests to earn college credits; and $1,000 to pay for credit-recovery courses to help students graduate.

In addition, a $1,000 grant went to support Samaritan Counseling Center’s Teen Hope program, which provides mental health screenings to all Penn Manor ninth-graders; and a $1,300 grant funded the Literacy Outreach program, which brings books and other materials to children in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Strong & Healthy Families was established in response to the increasing needs of families in the Penn Manor community, where more than 42 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches.

Please join us January 28 to support this worthy cause.