Elizabethtown townlively.com
MARCH 1, 2023
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXIV • NO 3
A helping hand for furry friends BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Lori Shenk with Child Life donations
Bringing joy to hospitalized children BY CATHY MOLITORIS
t’s no fun for a child to be in the hospital, but thanks to Northwest EMS, pediatric hospital stays are a little happier. Northwest EMS collects toys for Child Life, an initiative that provides new toys to children who are hospitalized. Northwest EMS started the partnership with Child Life in 2021. “Our office manager, Luci, had a granddaughter in the hospital in November and December of 2020, and visits were limited,” explained Lori Shenk, community outreach manager for Northwest EMS. “Her granddaughter, Taylor, had a lot of anxiety about being there, but every day that Taylor was in the hospital, members of the Child Life team would visit her. They played cards with her, did puzzles, played board games, and they developed a friendship with her.” Taylor got to keep every
See Helping pg 4
Heather Buller-Grady at her free pet food pantry
Going old school for a cause BY CATHY MOLITORIS
If the winter blues have you feeling low, head out for a fun night guaranteed to raise your spirits. Iron-Leg Corp. will host a Back to the ’70s and ’80s Dance Party on Saturday, March 11. The event will be held at Club Twenty3, 1703 New Holland Pike, Lancaster, from 7 p.m. to midnight. “Come out, dust off your platform shoes and help support a great cause,” said Sean Laukhuff, vice president of Iron-Leg. “Come enjoy the night with friends and dancing and just let loose.” The festivities will feature ’70s
and ’80s music from a DJ, a photo booth, a signature Iron-Leg drink and a silent auction. “We’ll have lots of sports memorabilia, memorabilia from the ’70s and ’80s and really something for everyone at the auction,” Laukhuff commented. People are encouraged to come in their best ’70s and ’80s costumes, and a costume contest will be held. “We’ll award prizes for the best male, best female and best couple,” Laukhuff noted. Proceeds from the party will benefit Iron-Leg Corp., a Lancasterbased nonprofit organization that raises funds for children in need of prosthetics. The organization was See Old school pg 5 R093027
age 17 and under. “It’s easy to pick up a toy to donate, and people should not just think about what their child would like, but think about something any child would like,” she recommended. “The dollar store and other discount stores are excellent places to get activity books or craft supplies.” Other suggested donations include board books, Legos, dolls, DVDs, video games and Play-Doh. “ When someone drops off a donation, they should be sure to tell the person who receives it at the station that it’s for Child Life,” Shenk stated. Northwest EMS stations are located in Maytown, 186 Rock Point Road; Brickerville, 10 Hopeland Road, Lititz; Elizabethtown, 380 W. Bainbridge St.; and Manheim, 60 W. Colebrook St. For more information on the Child Life program or on making a donation, contact Shenk at 717371-8282 or lshenk@nwems86.org.
Let us show you the difference a caring neighbor can make. Rothermel-Finkenbinder Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. Palmyra | 717-838-9211 Travis S. Finkenbinder, Supervisor
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toy and game she received during her stay. “The Child Life team members would come in and distract her during procedures, and their presence made the biggest difference for her,” Shenk said. The then-10-yearold mentioned Child Life to her grandmother and suggested it might be a project Northwest EMS would like to take on. All four Northwest EMS stations - in Maytown, Brickerville, Elizabethtown and Manheim participate in the program. Toys are collected year-round at the stations, and Shenk delivers the collection to Penn State Health Children’s Hospital and Lancaster General Hospital throughout the year. “Doing something like Child Life is important to us, because we want to support our community,” Shenk shared. She noted that the stations are always accepting donations of new, unwrapped toys for children
“Times are hard on a lot of people. Nobody should have to decide between feeding themselves or their pets,” said Heather Buller-Grady. Determined to help, the Mount Joy woman took action. In January, she opened a free pet pantry at her house, 210 Mount Joy St., where anyone can pick up cat food, dog food, pellet litter and even toys for their pets. Buller-Grady got the idea for the free pantry during COVID, when she had trouble finding pet food for her own pets. “Sometimes our animals liked it, and other times, not so much,” she said. “I decided rather than waste it, maybe someone could use it.” She’s also active with trap, neuter and return (TNR) of feral cats in her community. “I had noticed while doing TNR in Mount Joy, I was finding several friendly cats,” she recalled. “I kept wondering if they had been released outside to find their own food. Could people not afford to keep them? My hope is to help people in need or
Miller-Finkenbinder Funeral Home & Crematory Elizabethtown | 717-367-1543 Thomas W. Ford, Supervisor
Fager-Finkenbinder Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. Middletown | 717-944-7413 Alana A. Ace, Supervisor