The Great Valley Community Organization helps build a strong, vibrant and connected community by providing facilities, activities and programs enriching the lives of all local residents.

May 2020 GVCO Newsletter

DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

Our GVCO Practice Field Is Taking Shape  This spring our practice and flag football field was graded and seeded in anticipation of the the potential for our GVFL youth football/cheer program restarting if Pennsylvania state mandates allow. The weather has thus far cooperated and the field has begun to turn green. The hope is that Chester County will enter the "Green Phase" of Gov Wolf's reopening plan by the summer and our youth football/cheer program will begin its fall season. For program pre-registration info, go to  GVFL News and Updates GVBL Center Closes...Time For The New GVCO Community Center! Because of the uncertainty surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, GVCO determined that for the health and safety of the community, as well as for fiscal reasons, it was best to terminate the remaining months on our lease agreement for the GVBL Center. As we await further direction on Gov Wolf's reopening plan and the possibility of resuming our youth sports programming, we have decided to focus all of our energy and resources towards getting the new facility operational. A complete description of our decision making involving our GVBL and GVCO boards can be found in a previous  GVBL Center Update . In June we will restart Project Updates on the progress we are making with the new GVCO Community Center. In addition we will be reviving our capital campaign that has been "dormant" since mid-March when the pandemic hit. Our focus will be to raise the final amounts of capital necessary to move into the new facility. GVCO felt there was no better time to rally the community in initiating the move from the antiquated and unhealthy GVBL Center to the brand new facility. The new GVCO Community Center will give us the opportunity to add all of the necessary health and safety standards that will come with the new post-Covid world. For complete understanding of the current guidelines for gyms and sports activities in Chester County, please reference Restore Chester County guidelines . Keith Walsh GVCO Executive Director

COMMUNITY CORNER

GVCO Programming

Basketball GVBL Cancels All Indoor Basketball Activities For The Summer: Earlier this month our GVBL advisory board made the decision to cancel the GVBL indoor summer basketball league as well as all of the camps and clinics that would normally occur during this time of year. As we await further information from Gov Wolf on moving through the three phases of the reopening, GVBL has begun to discuss some of the possible strategies for resuming the GVBL youth basketball programs outdoors if the opportunity arises. Look for additional correspondence from GVBL in June. (For complete understanding of the current guidelines for gyms and sports activities in Chester County, please reference Restore Chester County guidelines .)  GVBL News/Updates

GVCO Caring Hands Thanks to your support, GVCO Caring Hands Food Fund raised  $4700  for grocery gifts cards for GV Families in Need!! GVSD Social Worker, Krista Russell will work directly with these families to help with food during this crisis. Also, the GVCO Caring Hands Headbands for Healthcare Workers initiative has donated 350  special headbands, with buttons for attaching masks away from their ears, to local hospitals, senior centers and the emergency responders at the East Whiteland and Malvern Fire Companies. One recipient sent this nice note: We can now secure the elastic on the headband buttons instead of behind our ears. What a relief!  Thanks to you, we are not only fashionable, but much more comfortable. Each day as I walk through the units and see the colorful headbands, I am reminded of your support and that we are all in this together.   Thank you for your kindness, creativity and generosity…We love our headbands! Thanks to our awesome GV community! Caring Hands News/Updates

GV Crew It’s Senior Week for Great Valley Crew! Congrats to our seniors! And in case you missed this news: It's Official... GV Crew is Moving ! Starting with the Fall season 2020, Great Valley Crew will be rowing out of the John S. Trinsey Jr. Memorial Boathouse which is also home of the Upper Merion Rowing Association. Many thanks to Marcy Schell for her work in making this happen! The move will cut our travel time to practices in half. The boathouse is also fully equipped with 24 ergs and is part of the  Upper Merion John S. Trinsey Jr. Memorial Boathouse  Township Park. Senior yard signs Our BIG spring fundraiser, Senior Yard Signs, was a huge success. Look for approximately 125 signs throughout the district congratulating GV Seniors. For those who have a sign, please help continue this tradition for years to come by posting a photo of your senior with their sign on social media.

GVFL/Cheer Pre-Registration We are excited and optimistic for the 2020 season! GVFL Junior Patriots pre-registration is now open with no payment due at this time. Please  pre-register  your child as soon as possible to reserve a spot on tackle, flag or cheer teams and help us plan numbers for the Fall season. We anticipate having a final determination by mid-June and opening full registration with payment by July 1st. For families with multiple children, please complete the form for each child. For more information email  Football@gvco.org .

Pre-Registration Form

New GVCO Community Center

GVCO Walk Through Video

See the Future GVCO Community Center Want a brand new GVCO Community Center with multiple courts, an outdoor field, a cafe, an elevated track and work out area, as well as multi-purpose rooms for other community programming, activities and events? We purchased the land, the property is fully engineered and the approval process is complete. The time is NOW.... Donate to help us make it happen! Check out the program pages: GVCO Inside and Out

GVCO Sponsor

REMAX Barbera GVCO program

The Chuck Barbera Team of REALTORS/ RE/MAX Partners with GVCO in “REALTORS Giving Back” Program BUYING OR SELLING YOUR HOME THIS SPRING? Over the next year, for anyone who contacts the Chuck Barbera Team at RE/MAX Fine Homes and signs them to serve in the purchase or sale of their next home, GVCO will receive 10% of the real estate commission received! Let's DO GOOD TOGETHER!!!

Does your company match employee gifts? It's a great way to maximize your impact! List  of companies with  corporate matching gift programs . Please check your company policy.

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GVCO is a 501(c)(3) organization.