The NVRC Winter Blood Drive A Big Success

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Written by Mike Casper Mike Casper

Winter is a vital time for collecting blood for area hospitals, so kudos go to the NVRC and supporters who turned out on Thursday for the NVRC’s Winter Blood Drive. With your generosity, we collected 30 units! Donors were treated to fresh Pizza Mia pizza, tasty cookies, movies and friendly conversation. Whether you gave or not at this drive, be sure to put the NVRC’s Fall 2017 Blood Drive, set for Thursday, Sept. 7, on your calendar.

Special thanks to Meira Minard, George Conrad, and Jake Clements for donating of their time to help staff the drive! The presenting blood donors, volunteers, and those whose lives may be saved by those donations were all winners from this drive.

Drawing prize winners are:

Jim Sellmer – Beidleheimer Sidewinder 10K entry (May 13)

Tricia Farrell – Crack O’ Dawn 5K Run/Walk & Pancake Breakfast entry (June 24)

Jim Maras – Nittany Valley Arts Festival Races (5K-10K-10M) entry (July 16)

Lincoln Kennedy – Allegheny Front Trail Run (50K or 13.1M) entry (Aug. 5)

Margie Costello – Tussey mOUnTaiNBACK 50M mug

When can you give? As often as every 56 days: If you didn’t donate on 1/19, we encourage you to donate now at a drive that’s convenient for you. We hope to see you at the Sept. 7 NVRC drive.

Thanks for supporting the American Red Cross and the NVRC!

Tom Cali To Receive 2016 LT Michael Murphy Distinguished Citizen Award

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Local real estate professional and avid runner Tom Cali has been selected to receive the 2016 LT Michael Murphy Distinguished Citizen Award. Tom Cali has always believed in giving back to while strengthening our community. He has supported the youth of State College through his involvement as a coach and board member of the Centre Soccer Association, a Cub Scout den leader, a sponsor of the Nittany Track and Field Youth Club, and as a volunteer for Our Lady of Victory School. He is an active supporter of the Center County United Way, the PA Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, Team Ream, Coaches vs Cancer, Nittany Valley Running Club, and the Central PA Festival of the Arts. He served on the board of Centre Volunteers in Medicine, and continues to serve that organization as a member of their facilities committee and the Marathoners for Medicine fundraising efforts. Recently, Tom completed two terms of board membership for the Centre County Women’s Resource Center. He has also served on both the Parish and Finance Councils of Good Shepherd Church.

Guest speaker for the event is Colonel Thomas Manion, U.S. Marine Corps (retired), Chairman Emeritus of the Travis Manion Foundation. 

More information on the Navy League, Tom Cali, and details on how to register to come to the banquet, can be found at this link.

Running Club Coach Needed At Friends School

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Written by Martin Mazur Martin Mazur

The State College Friends School is seeking a coach for Running Club on Mondays and Wednesdays, starting in March. Running Club occurs from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Prior coaching experience is required. Running Club is open to children in grades K-8. The winter season starts in early March. In general, we pay $20.50 an hour to club leaders. This depends on the experience of the coach. We ask coaches to teach in accordance with Quaker values, including peacemaking, respect for the child, and appropriate choices and consequences. For more information about Friends School, please visit our web site at scfriends.org

To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to Johanna Jackson, Extended Care Director, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

NVRC Fall Blood Drive A Success

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Written by Martin Mazur Martin Mazur

Thanks to everyone who came out last week for the NVRC Fall Blood Drive. With your generosity, we collected 19 units, surpassing our goal of 18! Donors enjoyed Pizza Mia pizza, peanut blossom cookies by Meira, movies and great conversation. Anyone who donated will be eligible to give again in early November. Be sure to put our Winter Blood Drive, set for Thursday, Jan. 19, on your calendar. Plan now to make your next donation with the NVRC!
 
Yes, there were winners *beyond* the presenting blood donors, volunteers, and those whose lives may be saved by those donations. Drawing prize winners are:
 
Elizabeth Hay – Run for Shelter 5K entry
Sarah Clements – NV Half Marathon entry
John Hook – mOUnTaiNBACK fleece
Jake Clements – mOUnTaiNBACK mug
Matthew Baran – Webster’s gift card
 
When can you give? As often as every 56 days:  If you didn’t donate on 9/8, you can donate any day this fall up to Thanksgiving Day and be eligible to donate at the Jan. 19 NVRC drive. If you donated a regular unit on 9/8, you can give again between Nov. 3-24 and be eligible at the NVRC drive.

NVRC Supports 2016 United Way Day of Caring

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Written by Martin Mazur Martin Mazur

For the sixth year in a row, Cheree Jones and Sheryl Balkey helped to organize a crew of bushwhackers for the United Way Day of Caring,. The project was again the golf course perimeter bikepath/jogging path, this time along the south and west edges of the Penn State Blue Golf Course near the corner sand traps and cart paths. The usual saplings, bushes, brush, shrubs, and branches had encroached on the jogging path. 

The volunteers were: Penn State Build Brigade and the Penn State Men's and Women's Fencing Team (over 20 volunteers from among these groups), Joe Hughes--Penn State Golf Courses PGA General Manager/Head Golf Professional, who helped tremendously with the planning and execution, and Sheryl Balkey and Cheree Jones. The crew cleared the way so that runners have a clear treadway and golfers can see runners so they can yell "fore!". The NVRC chipped in to pay for some food and refreshment. Here are a few pictures.

The Penn State Build Brigade and other volunteers stand in front of a conquered brush pile

Read more: NVRC Supports 2016 United Way Day of Caring

Shoe Donations

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Written by Dave DeGroote Dave DeGroote

The Nittany Valley Running Club collects used running shoes to donate to the More Foundation.  Some local races will have a collection box... check the email discussion group for updates, or contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you'd like to drop them off any time. 

Shoes should be "gently used" - shoes you've retired because you have "too many miles" on them are fine, even if the tread is worn.  Those you've been using to garden and cut the grass with for a year, or done a few mud runs in, maybe not.  Here's what the foundation says: "Please send only gently used athletic shoes (running and soccer) in adult sizes 6 – 12.  Please do Not send dress shoes, single shoes, or damaged shoes - heavily stained or with holes/rips."

Here's some more info from the foundation:

We are asking for used athletic shoes to fight poverty, hunger, and global warming

This is accomplished by educating small farmers in the use of the MORE Farming System. This is the entire focus of MORE Foundation Group, a Not-for-profit Foundation registered in Delaware. We are 100% funded from the sale of ‘gently used athletic shoes’. Of the one billion pair of shoes placed in landfills each year we only need a few hundred thousand of those to reach a tipping point. Villagers seek opportunities to prosper, conserve natural habitat and regenerate regions that have been severely damaged. The highly qualified management of MORE Foundation in developing countries teaches small farmers and villages how to create Modular Organic Regenerative Environment’s (MORE).

With each 600 pair of shoes the adopted family will receive 12 months of hands-on MORE training. After MORE training is complete the family receives the tools, seeds, trees, and livestock to increase productivity as much as 1000%. MORE Foundation teaches the integrated MORE Farming System as well as small farm business management, rainforest resource conservation, capacity analysis, marketing research, profit center modeling, tribal community development, microfinance lending. As well as training in Co-op set up; how to form a village credit union with self-capitalized expansion. We also provide free medical assistance for the families protecting them from Malaria and other infectious diseases.