Conestoga Valley FEBRUARY 25, 2026
SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
REACHING MORE THAN 13,770 HOMES
VOL LXII • NO 10
Gentile CRC Serves as Caretaker Frank Is Running for Others of Conestoga River BY JEFF FALK
BY JEFF FALK
t’s a club. It’s a group of individuals who share values, experiences and a vision. Members of the Conestoga River Club (CRC) believe that if they take care of the river, the Conestoga River will take care of them. “Why does the river matter? B ecause it brings us together,” said Todd Roy, the program director and founder of the CRC. “If Participants in a Conestoga River Club program learn kayak safety. we don’t take care of this planet to taking care of, advocating for, volunteer meetings at Rhoads we live on, we lose our right to do conserving and educating about Energy Corporation, 205 Hazel St., that. We have to work with our the 60-mile Conestoga River, Lancaster, including an upcoming one from 8 a.m. to noon on Thursneighbors because it’s a great, big Lancaster County’s river. CRC doesn’t maintain a brick- day, April 2. job. Why does the river matter? and-mor tar headquar ters or “We’re very much a grassroots Because we matter.” CRC is an environmental club, clubhouse; it performs its service organization,” said Roy. “We teach it’s a recreational club, it’s a com- work in and around the water. But what we know. We teach how to munity club. The club is dedicated the club does conduct quarterly kayak safely. We teach how to leave
Council of Lancaster-Lebanon for 18 years. “There’s a correlation between literacy and health. The ability to read and write English and fully participate in today’s world can impact every single aspect of an adult’s life. You can’t be fully engaged in your child’s education if you don’t have those skills. Those are significant barriers.” The Literacy Council of Lancaster-Lebanon, which is located at 407 Lafayette St., Lancaster, is A tutor works with a participant
Frank Gentile runs for his own fitness, recreation and mental health. But he also runs for others, people who can’t run themselves, like his father. “When you think of having a father who died when he was 46, you start to feel shortchanged,” said Gentile. “If I can help give someone an extra 10 years and give them a chance to see their grandchildren being born or their children get married or their children graduate from college, it’s very personal to me. I think it’s just part of who I am, and I think running has helped with that transformation.” Gentile, a 59-year-old resident of Lititz, is currently preparing to participate in the running of the 130th annual Boston Marathon on Monday, April 20. His preparations for the race include raising money as a charity runner for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and logging hundreds of miles and hours of training. He’s motivated by intestinal fortitude, something nurtured by his father, who passed away 41 years ago in Michigan following a three-year battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. “ When I got to the age of 46, I thought it was incredibly young,” said Gentile. “I wanted to prevent that from happening (to me). That’s what fuels me. (Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is) an incredibly debilitating disease. It brings tears to your eyes to see people in that condition. That’s my why.” Gentile has already raised $10,000 toward his $25,000 goal for cancer research through the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge.
See Literacy Council pg 5 Lancaster-Lebanon’s initiative.
See Frank Gentile pg 8
ONLINE I WINTER EVENT CALENDAR townlively.com/ events
See CRC pg 3
CON
Literacy Council Linked to Improved Quality of Life
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BY JEFF FALK
Poverty, certifications, education, language skills, self-enrichment. All of those concepts and their implications are related and interrelated. All of those concepts and implications are relevant and intersect at the Literacy Council of Lancaster-Lebanon. “I would add health to that list,” said Cheryl Hiester, who’s been the executive director of the Literacy
as part of the Literacy Council of
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