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Bethlehem, PA – August 1, 2019 – Child by child, block by block, and book by book PBS39 will celebrate Neighborhood Heroes at its fourth annual Good Neighbor Awards beginning at 5 p.m. November 1 at the DeSales University Center in Center Valley. The show will air on PBS39 at a later date.
The theme of this year’s Good Neighbor Awards is built around a quote from Fred Rogers, the gentle force behind PBS’s Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
“Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a HERO to me,” he said. And indeed, our three distinguished award recipients have exponentially raised the quality of life for children throughout the Lehigh Valley. In addition, the evening will also include a nod to Sesame Street’s 50th anniversary. In other words, the evening will be an homage to children, and to the child in each of us.
Emmy-Award winning local broadcast journalist Liz Keptner will host the event. Keptner, the director of the Multimedia Innovation Center at the Pennsylvania State University’s Lehigh Valley Campus, also lectures in communications there. The seasoned reporter has interviewed newsmakers and personalities that include President Barack Obama, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chef Emeril Lagasse. Her Pittsburgh upbringing put her in close proximity to PBS’s very own Fred Rogers, one of her own personal heroes.
Though he is most often associated with Jaindl Turkey Sales, Jaindl Land Company, Jaindl Realty, Jaindl Beverage (A-Treat), Schantz Orchards, and The Hitter’s Edge, child by child, David Jaindl has added to the Lehigh Valley’s quality of life by donating land for elementary schools and ball fields. And let’s not forget that Big Bird’s very first feathers came from Jaindl turkeys! For all these reasons the 2019 Good Neighbor Awards will honor Jaindl with the Good Neighbor Founder’s Award.
Additionally, Alan Jennings, Executive Director of Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, will be honored with the Good Neighbor Award for Youth and Families. Block by block, Jennings has fought for decades to make the Lehigh Valley a better place for our neighbors who struggle most. He has expanded CACLV to include food access, housing assistance, energy assistance, neighborhood revitalization, small business assistance, and advocacy.
Our third award recipient, Beverly Donchez Bradley, is president of the Lehigh Valley Cops ‘n’ Kids Children’s Literacy Program, will receive the Good Neighbor Award for Arts and Education. Book by book, after retiring from a decades-long career as every one of her students’ favorite teacher, Bradley has delivered more than 1 million books to children throughout the Lehigh Valley’s neighborhoods.
Join us for an evening that will reconnect you with your inner child in the best ways: nostalgic goodies to munch, activities filled with childlike wonder, and maybe a sing-along or two. Excellent sponsorship opportunities are still available, as are tickets, by visiting our website at PBS39.org or by contacting Maria P. Esposito at MariaE@wlvt.org or 610-984-8134.
About PBS39
PBS39 acts as the catalyst to promote civic engagement, and to fulfill the regional needs of the Greater Lehigh Valley through its dynamic communication platforms and resources. PBS39 Reporter Corps TM journalists are embedded in the ten counties that make up the Greater Lehigh Valley. The PBS39 Reporter Corps TM creates community-focused content for PBS39 News Tonight and for the PBS39 digital platform. PBS39 and the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley are partnering to fund and fulfill the regional literacy initiative Lehigh Valley Reads. This campaign is working to ensure all Lehigh Valley students read on grade level by the end of third grade by 2025. Battling Opioids: A Project of Pennsylvania Public Media is a collaborative, multi-media, effort undertaken by all seven PA Public Media stations. This initiative uses public media’s combined resources of TV, radio, online, social, digital, and community outreach events for one common good – to save lives. PBS39, part of Greater Lehigh Valley Public Media, is a community-owned public media station serving eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. PBS39 is licensed in Allentown to the Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation. For more information, visit PBS39.org.
Information provided to TVL by:
Mariella Miller
Advancement, PBS39
