{"id":151233,"date":"2026-10-08T22:28:33","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T02:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=151233"},"modified":"2026-10-08T22:31:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T02:31:13","slug":"champions-for-education-to-honor-united-way-of-the-greater-lehigh-valley-and-induct-three-local-leaders-into-communities-in-schools-of-eastern-pennsylvanias-leadership-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=151233","title":{"rendered":"Champions for Education to Honor United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley and Induct Three Local Leaders into Communities In Schools of Eastern Pennsylvania\u2019s   Leadership Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Featured Image: Tim Mulligan, president of CIS of Eastern PA<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Annual event recognizes community partners and leaders dedicated to supporting\u00a0<\/em><em>student success.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>ALLENTOWN, Pa. (Oct. 8, 2026) \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>Communities In Schools of Eastern Pennsylvania (CIS of Eastern PA) will host its annual Champions for Education celebration on Thursday, Oct. 29, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at DeSales University Center in Center Valley. The event will recognize United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley with the Champions for Education Award and induct three new members into CIS of Eastern PA\u2019s Leadership Circle: Ed Baldrige, Ellen Kern and Tyler Papaz.<\/p>\n<p>CIS of Eastern PA\u2019s Champions for Education celebration honors the individuals, organizations and community partners who help create a network of support around students and families. Through collaboration, advocacy and partnership, these champions help ensure students have access to the resources and relationships they need to overcome barriers and succeed in school and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>During the event, CIS of Eastern PA will induct three new members into its Leadership Circle, which honors individuals who have provided transformational leadership and enduring support for CIS of Eastern PA\u2019s mission. The inductees include two former board presidents, Ed Baldrige and Tyler Papaz, along with Ellen Kern, a former board member. Through their leadership, advocacy, philanthropy and partnership, the inductees have each helped strengthen the network surrounding students and families across the region.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEd, Ellen and Tyler have each played a central role in shaping CIS of Eastern PA into the organization it is today,\u201d said Tim Mulligan, president &amp; CEO of CIS of Eastern PA. \u201cThrough their leadership, actions and dedication, they\u2019ve not only strengthened our board and operations but have directly impacted the lives of thousands of students. It\u2019s an honor to recognize their contributions and welcome them into our Leadership Circle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alongside the Leadership Circle induction, CIS of Eastern PA will present the Champions for Education Award to United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley. The recognition highlights the role long-term nonprofit partnerships can play in expanding access to the resources, relationships and support systems students need to succeed in school and thrive beyond the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStudent success is not achieved by one person or organization alone,\u201d said Mulligan. \u201cIt takes families, educators, nonprofits, businesses and community leaders working together to make sure students have the support systems they need. Champions for Education celebrates those partnerships and the people who continue to show up for young people every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Presented by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olympusamerica.com\/\">Olympus<\/a>, Champions for Education will take place Thursday, Oct. 29, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at DeSales University Center.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more by visiting:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ciseasternpa.org\/champions\">www.ciseasternpa.org\/champions<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>About Communities In Schools of Eastern Pennsylvania<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Started in 1983, Communities In Schools of Eastern Pennsylvania is part of the Communities In Schools national network, which consists of independent 501(c)(3) organizations serving over 2 million students in 29 states and the District of Columbia. With caring adults serving over 41,000 students in 36 schools throughout Berks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Monroe, and Northampton counties, the CIS mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. We believe in the incredible potential in every student, and we work tirelessly to unlock it.<\/p>\n<p>For more information, visit\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ciseasternpa.org\/\">www.ciseasternpa.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Information provided to TVL by:<br \/>\nGrace Levy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Featured Image: Tim Mulligan, president of CIS of Eastern PA Annual event recognizes community partners and leaders dedicated to supporting\u00a0student success. ALLENTOWN, Pa. (Oct. 8, 2026) \u2014\u00a0Communities In Schools of Eastern Pennsylvania (CIS of Eastern PA) will host its annual Champions for Education celebration on Thursday, Oct. 29, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=151233\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Champions for Education to Honor United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley and Induct Three Local Leaders into Communities In Schools of Eastern Pennsylvania\u2019s   Leadership Circle<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151234,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\r\n\r\n{excerpt}\r\n\r\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-151233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Tim-Mulligan.jpg?fit=672%2C372&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=151233"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151235,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151233\/revisions\/151235"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/151234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=151233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=151233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=151233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}