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Local nonprofits and volunteers ask Swatara supervisors for support letters, grant aid and partnerships
Summary
At the July 1 meeting, local groups — Friends of Midland Cemetery, Family Fresh Food Pantry, Operation Light of Hope and the Swatara Tigers — asked the board for support letters, gaming-grant consideration and for the township to explore a formal partnership for youth athletics.
Several community organizations used the public-presentation portion of the July 1 Swatara Township meeting to request township support and to report work in the township.
Barbara Bartzel, who said she cares for the historic Midland Cemetery, asked for the board’s continued support and for letters to back restoration and tourism efforts; she described plans to place a carved-stump feature and to participate in the Civil War Trail project. "We're making up the roadside stand...you'll be seeing that," Bartzel said, noting the cemetery’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
A representative of the Family Fresh Food Pantry at United Methodist Church described operating the pantry weekly and now twice a week because demand has risen; the pantry serves about 150 families per week (roughly 800 people a month) and asked for a generic township support letter that can be included with grant applications, including to private funders.
Bridal North, who identified himself as representing Operation Light of Hope, described services such as Packs of Hope for children, HERO snack packs for first responders and a new lost-pet drone service. North asked the board to support two proposals for the next round of gaming-grant funding: purchase of an underwater drone for water rescues and an inflatable rehabilitation tent (about 15 by 20 feet) to give first responders a place to warm or cool down during incidents.
A Swatara Tigers coach and longtime volunteer asked the board to explore a "community continuity partnership" with the program, which he said has served families since 1999 and supplies volunteer coaches and civic leaders; he emphasized mentorship, public-safety connections and long-term planning rather than an immediate request for budget changes.
The board said it intends to provide letters of support and invited written follow-up; staff confirmed support-letter requests and grant items will be put on the board agenda for approval the following week.
The meeting also included brief public acknowledgements — Michael Tucki thanked township manager Kevin Trafka for nearly 26 years of service — and routine consent-agenda approvals.
