Connections: Fall 2022

IN THIS ISSUE Issue 1 Volume 1 In Motion

From the Desk of Sue DiLisio Executive Director, DLFF

Pathway Scholars, DLFF/CEC Scholars, STEM programs, and Counseling

Focus on Education Focus

Community and Elementary Partners, Grantee News

News & Notables

About DLFF: The mission of the Danaher Lynch Family Foundation is to help unleash the potential of the people in our community. Through this mission, our team connects closely with educational and community organizations whose programs inspire an individual’s growth, confidence, and the ability to recognize their own unlimited potential.

DESIGNERS

PROOFREADERS

On the Cover: DLFF.org recently relaunched with a new look and new features. More on pg. 13.

FROM THE DESK OF SUE DILISIO

Hello and welcome to our DLFF newsletter,

As in the past, our goal with the newsletter is to share the DLFF mission and message through the work that our team, students, and community partners are accomplishing. The newsletter theme “In Motion” certainly describes DLFF.

As we enter the 2022-23 school year, plans and goals have already been put in motion. Our Educational team looks forward to connecting with students in both our Pathway and CEC scholarship programs through providing opportunities for unleashing potential. Growing initiative, responsibility, leadership, accountability, and a commitment to service will underline all our scholar plans and projects.

The DLFF Elementary Resource team will continue their work through supporting areas of Development, Enrollment, Marketing, STEM, and Strategic Planning with multiple schools in our area.

The DLFF Counseling team continues their commitment to serving CEC high school students through supporting their academics, goal setting and career planning.

Our DLFF Community Outreach team is in a constant state of motion. Dedicated DLFF team members, along with scholars, are building relationships with important community partners. This valuable partnership provides opportunities to bring awareness, education, and another opportunity for unleashing potential in all of us.

Communication is a key area for our team to keep in motion. Whether you’re a scholar, parent, educational or community organization, we invite you to stay connected with DLFF via this newsletter, our Instagram (@DLFFNews), and our updated website at DLFF.org.

We will do our best to keep you informed and inspired as we serve our mission of unleashing the potential of the people in our community.

Sincerely, Sue DiLisio Executive Director, DLFF

FOCUS ON EDUCATION

“TAKING INITIATIVE” WITH PATHWAY SCHOLARS

By Kate Rice and Kathy Shegda Pathway Scholars Liasons

As we look forward to this year with our new and returning Pathway Scholars, we are excited to continue offering events to help our scholars find meaningful ways to unleash their potential. Each year, we identify an important characteristic to help our scholars understand and create ways they can carry it with them beyond our events and into their daily lives. This year, our theme is “Taking Initiative.”

We are already busy planning our next fall workshop with our scholars of the same title. We look forward to collaborating with our scholars again this year in a new and exciting way.

Our annual workshop, scheduled for November 9, will also kick off the return of our DLFF Pathway Greeting Card Service Project. This year, our partner schools will choose a new DLFF community partner to make and send greeting cards. Our scholars championed the greeting card project last year to include members of their whole school community. We’re so proud of the work they accomplished, and look forward to bringing this service opportunity back again this year. These students have done a great job so far this year in taking initiative and responsibility in leading their fellow scholars. Congratulations and best of luck to all this year.

Pictured above: St. Ignatius Pathway Scholars (top left), St. Charles Pathway Scholars (top right), Our Lady of Grace Pathway Scholars (bottom left), St, Ephrem Pathway Scholars (bottom right).

DLFF/CEC SCHOLAR MENTOR PROGRAM

By Maggie Fischer DLFF/CEC Scholar Program Director

The CEC Scholars Program is gearing up for an exciting school year ahead. The DLFF team is thrilled to add 21 incoming freshman scholars this year. The program is in motion, and we could not be more excited to welcome our newest students to the program!

The focus of the DLFF/ CEC Scholar Program is to keep the DLFF Founders’ mission “to help unleash the potential of the people in our community” at the core of everything we do. DLFF mentors will work with scholars throughout the year to cultivate the character traits of service, initiative, responsibility, leadership, and accountability. Through one-on-one meetings with scholars throughout the school year, the mentors will instill the DLFF traits by providing leadership opportunities in scholar program events, discovering scholars’ unique interests, encouraging involvement at CEC, and continuing to

emphasize the importance of service in the broader community. While mentees are assigned by class, scholars are welcome to meet with any of the DLFF mentors throughout the year.

The DLFF mentor team looks forward to working together this year to unleash potential.

The DLFF/CEC Scholar Class of 2026 came together for the first time at the New Scholar Welcome on August 30. The event took place in the DLFF classroom at CEC. The morning included a welcome from DLFF Executive Director Mrs. DiLisio, along with an introduction of the DLFF mentors and the Scholar Leadership Council (SLC). The scholars participated in an icebreaker activity and wrapped up with a service project to support Ivan’s Outreach.

We look forward to watching our scholars unleash their potential this school year.

WELCOME, NEW SCHOLARS!

We are thrilled to welcome our newest class of DLFF/CEC Scholars! We are so excited you are joining us and look forward to getting to know you. These students will receive a $2,000 four-year scholarship to attend Conwell-Egan Catholic High School.

Ben Blaskopf (Charles Boehm Middle School)

Cameron Browne (Holy Trinity)

Antonio Carmona (Our Lady of Grace)

Lilyian Evans (Armstrong Middle School)

James Fowler (St. Mark)

James Gillespie (St. Ephrem)

Andrew Haney (Holy Trinity)

Christopher Kane (Holy Family)

Allie Kerner (Holy Family)

Mia Lochetto (St. Andrew)

Anna McGoldrick (Our Lady of Grace)

Kelly McVey (St. Ephrem)

Jessica Naphy (Holy Trinity)

Abigail Nix (Holy Trinity)

Ariella Parks (Holy Trinity)

Isabella Petrillo (Holy Family)

Deanna Porter (Holy Family)

Summer Rhodes (St. Ephrem)

Alessia Romano (Our Lady of Grace)

Abigail Rooney (St. Ephrem)

Matthew Sheridan (St. Ignatius )

FRESHMEN SCHOLAR MENTOR

Kathy Shegda

SOPHOMORE SCHOLAR MENTOR

Kristin Addis

JUNIOR SCHOLAR MENTOR

Sue DiLisio

SENIOR SCHOLAR MENTOR

Maggie Fischer

By Brian Wurtz Director of STEM Programs

LAUNCHING SUMMER FUN

Another successful Rocket Camp launched this July! Eleven campers spent a fun week learning about compressed air rockets, aerodynamics, and the physics behind their flight. Each camper designed and built many different rockets and their own launch system to take home and continue the fun. Thank you to all our campers who joined us this year!

TAKING STEM ON THE ROAD IN 2022

Our team will be bringing some fun STEM activities directly to three of our elementary partners this school year to help support and expand their current STEM programs. This program will focus on 7th and 8th grade classes at each of the pilot schools bringing activities that tie in elements of the current curriculum with other STEM concepts including engineering principles. The team will be visiting each school one day a week throughout the school year rotating between 7th and 8th grade. Grade Schools participating this year are St. Michael the Archangel, Holy Trinity, and Our Lady of Grace. Activities will be coordinated with each schools STEM teacher to ensure they are customized to aligned with each schools STEM curriculum.

ENGINEERING GEARING UP FOR THE YEAR

The engineering classes at CEC continue to evolve as we look to grow our partnership with Drexel University and expand the topics covered in each class to align our curriculum. This year’s class project is to design and construct a universal material testing machine which will allow the students to test various materials and structural shapes under compressive and tensile loads. This machine will be a valuable addition to the engineering lab, as well as being a great design project for this year’s class.

ROBOTICS SPINS UP TO COMPETE

CEC’s Robotics Club is hard at work preparing for this year’s VEX Robotic’s Competition, “Spin Up.” This year’s challenge requires teams to design and build robots to pick up round disks and launch them across the playing field into elevated goals similar to “Disk Golf”, while preventing opposing teams from scoring on their goal. The competitions include an autonomous period where the robot must complete tasks on its own, running a software program developed by the team with input from various onboard sensors. The robot’s design is well under way, with several sub-systems already being prototyped which has our “RoboEagles” confident they will be ready for their first competition in November.

WELCOME TO THE TEAM

PAUL JONES

School Counselor

Counseling Updates

By Mrs. Jenny Diamond Director of School Counseling

During the Fall, Mrs. Powell will be working with the junior and senior students preparing them for the college application process. Last year, we conquered our goal that all senior students who wanted to seek college admission, apply for Early Action by November 1. We hope to have all seniors this year accomplish this achievement as well. With the help of CSL Director, Mr. Schiavo, we will have college admission representatives visit during student lunches to speak with students interested in their campus. There will also be other opportunities for our senior students to visit college campuses such as Temple University, LaSalle University, and Immaculata University. Our seniors will have the opportunity to apply for Instant Decision Day with LaSalle University and Holy Family University.

For the 2022-2023 school year, the CEC Counseling Center plans to incorporate more mental health awareness by inviting speakers to come speak with our student body throughout the school

year. Our friends from Minding Your Mind will come in February during National School Counselors Week to educate students about anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders; suicide ideation, disordered eating, addictive behavior, trauma, self-harm, bullying, and other topical subjects.

The Counseling Center team plans to work with our local mental health professionals and refer our students to outside resources as needed. Our K-12 certified school counselors focus on counseling the students within academic, college & career, and social/ emotional counseling.

The Counseling Center will host the SAT’s at CEC for two dates this year. This gives CEC students the opportunity to be in a comfortable environment while testing. Junior and last minute senior students should take the opportunity to sign up on Collegeboard today. The dates are October 1, 2022 (registration deadline 9/2), and May 6, 2023 (registration deadline 4/7).

We wish all our new and returning scholars the best of luck this year at CEC and beyond!

The CEC Counseling Center is certainly in motion! We are back in action with four school counselors that will serve every grade level at CEC. We would like to introduce our newest School Counselor, Mr. Paul Jones. Mr. Jones will serve as our new 9th grade counselor at CEC. He recently graduated from Holy Family University with his Masters in Counseling. Mr. Jones completed his school counseling internship this past school year in Jenkintown School District. Welcome, Mr. Jones!

COMMITMENT COMMUNITY to

WELCOME NEW GRANT

By Pam Lynch Director of Community Outreach

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”

–Muhammad Ali

DLFF would like to welcome our newest DLFF grant

DLFF’s committment to service didn’t stop when last school year ended. From the DLFF Scholars who volunteered at the Bucks County Emergency Shelter, to the DLFF team members who helped Habitat for Humanity build a house for a new home-owner, or the DLFF board and staff who donated back-to-school items for the United Way’s Stuff The Bus drive

A Woman’s Place and Children’s

of

Through our grantees, we are given the

Looking ahead to the 2022-2023 school year, DLFF Scholars and parents will notice that the DLFF Service Program will look a little different. For starters, DLFF held its inaugural Service Fair on September 14th. Similar to a college fair, scholars heard from a handful of community organizations about upcoming project opportunities and then selected one partner to work with this year.

to

in the community.

look forward to deepening

with both of these

A key change in our program is providing scholars with choices: choice of the partner that aligns with their giving spirit and a choice in the time of school year that they can commit to volunteering. By providing this flexibility, scholars can balance their commitment to community with busy extracurricular schedules.

Our scholar service partners this year are: The Christmas Gala, Family Service Association of Bucks County (FSABC), Holy Trinity School, and a special Arts team. Scholars on the Arts team will utilize their passion for creativity, whether through special art projects or performances, to give back to the community.

Top left (opposite): DLFF/CEC Scholars collected donations for CHOP. Top right (opposite): DLFF collected donations for United Way’s Stuff the Bus fundraiser this summer.

Bottom left (opposite): DLFF Scholar and CEC graduate Gabi Cain led the Animal Rescue fundraiser.

ELEMENTARY PARTNERS

PERFORMING ARTS

NEW VENTURES

By Jahmai Person

DLFF will be scouting for new ways to collaborate with our partner schools in the area of the arts. As live-shows and audiences are coming back together, DLFF Performing Arts will be in motion with music teachers, band conductors and directors alike to collaborate on bringing audiences together. DLFF Performing Arts aims to create an overarching community of artists by highlighting unique ways to provide performance & experience opportunities for each active partner school. From acting and singing, to crew and production, or playing an instrument, our partner schools have so many avenues for DLFF to compliment their vision of unleashing student potential. One of the initial ways DLFF Performing Arts will be spearheading new collaborations is by piloting schoolbased workshops in the areas of acting & performance. Students will soon be able to beef up their confidence, on-stage knowledge, and public speaking skills by having access to key perfor mance tools. Our department is in motion with new collaborations! Congratulations to all!

By Maryann Conway

Just how high can an eagle soar? Gifted with the ability to glide across a seemingly limitless sky, reaching new heights is perhaps a certainty. So too, is the case at Holy Family Regional Catholic School and Our Lady of Grace School both of whom have a DLFF signature footprint.

The DLFF team of elementary school resources, have placed these schools on an upward trajectory and strategically plan to not only sustain growth, but take it to a whole new level. At the center of such growth are students in kindergarten through 8th grade who benefit in ways never before imagined. From Pathways Scholarships, Helping Hands Grants, program and annual fund support to collaboration at the high school level, namely at Conwell-Egan Catholic High School, DLFF has had an instrumental presence and impact on these children. As new opportunities are afforded to them and possibilities reimagined, and when catholic schools thrive and students flourish, the DLFF mission of unleashing potential creates an atmosphere where students can take flight and become the very best version of themselves.

In the 2022-2023 school year, we envision even more growth. “A Century of Pride, A Future of Promise” the mantra for Our Lady of Grace in this 100th year, aspires to set a new trail ablaze for years to come. OLG has such aspirations because of DLFF – its support and faith in the school’s mission, in its leadership and school community. Similarly, Holy Family seeks to break the $200,000 barrier in raising annual funds, both restricted and unrestricted and enhance its technological capabilities and expand its reach.

This can only be possible because of Advancement and Enrollment support provided by DLFF at the Levittown school.

So, what does an eagle soaring have in common with the DLFF mission? Both inspire and embody confidence; each finds greatness simply by unleashing potential, and each has the chance to soar and become the best they can be.

To soar with Holy Family and Our Lady of Grace, please visit their respective websites: hfrcs.org and olgschoolpenndel.org.

DLFF Scholars are committed to helping our community beyond what is expected with their scholarship program commitment. Our DLFF/CEC scholars have been working over the summer to support our community partners and volunteered their time at various locations. We eagerly welcomed our new and returning scholars this September and look forward to a great year ahead!

On June 9 and 10, DLFF team members Mrs. DiLisio, Mrs. Lynch, Mr. Wurtz, Mr. Downey and Miss Downey volunteered their time and skills with Habitat for Humanity as they assisted in building a home for a family in Bristol, Pa. We thank Tom and Katie from Habitat for their guidance and encouragement.

DLFF/CEC scholars Calleigh Joyce ‘25 and Joshua Grodsky ‘25 volunteered at Bucks County Emergency Shelter Garden on June 13, planting vegetables and painting rocks for plant markers.

DLFF/CEC scholars Calleigh Joyce ‘25, Aiden Porter ‘25, and Joshua Grodsky ‘25 volunteered at the Bucks County Emergency Shelter Garden on July 11. Scholars worked to put up chicken wire around the garden. They also helped plant a few crops in the garden. DLFF gives special thanks to Pam Newitt and Mariah Morris, our great volunteer team from Snipes Farm.

DLFF/CEC scholars volunteered with the Travis Manion Foundation this summer. Students helped organize the food pantry at FSA’s Emergency Shelter on August 4.

DLFF/CEC scholars Calleigh Joyce ‘25, Ryan Seger ‘24, Andrew Haney ‘26 and Denny Fife ‘25 devoted their afternoon on August 12 volunteering at the Bucks County Emergency Homeless Shelter organizing food and clothing donations.

The DLFF team welcomed its newest scholars on August 30 at the New Scholar Welcome. The Executive Director of The Ivan’s Outreach Center, along with the 21st Century Grant Coordinator, spoke about opportunities for scholars to make a positive impact in the community. Scholars also assembled 130 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to be delivered to the homeless through Ivan’s Outreach.

DLFF held its inaugural Community Service Fair on September 14. We were joined by four of our community partners: The Christmas Gala, Family Service Association of Bucks County, Holy Trinity School, and the CEC Fine Arts Department. Scholars selected a community partner that they will volunteer with this school year.

On September 15, we welcomed families at Back to School Night and gave an overview of the program to parents in the DLFF classroom at CEC.

Summer proved to be quite busy for our scholars and team leaders! Thank you to everyone who went above and beyond to help those in need.

INTRODUCING THE

DLFF.ORG

Your source for all things DLFF, now with more resources, features, and capabilities than ever before. We’ve redesigned our website to bring you a better experience and better convey what we do.

Our NEW online calendar allows you to view events in advance and see details about upcoming meetings and scholar volunteer opportunities!

Visit the new DLFF.org to stay informed of news, announcements, and learn more about our community partners!