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I really enjoyed the movie Remember the Titans. The movie does a great job of explaining the deep seeded prejudice that existed and how this team overcame that. While faced with tough odds, the football team and the town come together and create a community that protects and stands up for one another. The thing that the community has in common is their love for the game of football. Once they came together and created a community, they had a much easier time learning the plays for the game and winning.

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community is defined as a group of people who have something in common. For example, the Christian community or the black community.

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This church offers aid in several ways for Berks county. One example of this is that they host free meals once a month and holds a Christmas donation drive for needy families. You can see other way they reach out on their website, linked above. Their phone number is
610-683-3450

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Pastor Ritter's third call was to serve as the President and CEO of Lutheran Congregational Services, a social ministry organization of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The agency specialized in providing and brokering services that supported and strengthened congregational ministries and provided direct relief to communities following disasters through much of the Northeastern Pennsylvania. During the latter years of his tenure with LCS, it was able to merge with Liberty Lutheran Services, a social ministry organization of the ELCA located in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod. With this partnership LCS was able to expand the reach of its congregational ministry and combine the disaster response ministries of the two organizations.

Upon his retirement in 2013, he began to do transitional ministry work serving congregations between the departure of one pastor and the arrival of a new pastor. His first such work was with Zion Lutheran Church, Perry Township. During his time there the congregation began a community garden that continues to provide thousands of pounds of fresh produce annually to community food pantries. His second transitional ministry call was with Mount Zion Lutheran Church, Krumsville. During his time with them they also began a community garden, successfully transitioned to the ELW, welcomed several new families, healed from a toxic pastoral relationship and grew in the congregation's outreach to the community and beyond. His third transitional ministry call was to the Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, Leesport. The challenge there was to help them identify a path forward for a congregation that was in decline. While they were able to maintain many of the ministries and the support of its members during his nearly 1 ½ years with them, they struggled to identify a discernible path forward. While this was disappointing, the congregation has continued to be a significant presence in the community and continues to discern its future under new pastoral leadership.

In 2019, Pastor Ritter entered what he thought would be full retirement, and such was the case until our pastor was elected and called to be the bishop of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the ELCA starting on January 1, 2021. Pastor Ritter offered his services to Trinity as transitional pastor, where he and his wife Susan have belonged since joining in 2004, because he felt that he could provide a smooth and effective transition for the congregation. The Congregation Council accepted his offer to serve on a 2/3 time basis, and he officially began his role on January 1, 2021.

Pastor Ritter is enjoying his work with the congregation, its talented and dedicated staff and its capable lay leadership, but he looks forward to the arrival of his successor as soon as that is practicable. His goal in what he senses may be a short tenure is to ensure that Trinity is ready to welcome and follow its next regularly called pastor into the future that God is creating for it.

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Our Pastor - Trinity Lutheran Church, Kutztown PA

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Pastor Ritter's third call was to serve as the President and CEO of Lutheran Congregational Services, a social ministry organization of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The agency specialized in providing and brokering services that supported and strengthened congregational ministries and provided direct relief to communities following disasters through much of the Northeastern Pennsylvania.

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This community swim team operates out of the Kutztown public pool. On the website, you will find registration forms, and volunteer forms for the team. The contact info is given as a list with the various different people involved you can reach out to via email.

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Kutztown Dolphins Swim Team - (Kutztown, PA) - powered by LeagueLineup.com

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The Kutztown Dolphins are a summer competitive swim team located in Kutztown, Pa.

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The race forward initiative goes into communities and starts movements for racial justice and reaching into the culture of a community. You can email race forward at info@raceforward.org or call them at (212) 513-7925.

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In 2017, Race Forward united with the Center for Social Inclusion. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Founded in 2002, the Center for Social Inclusion catalyzed community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all. Race Forward is home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of local government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Race Forward publishes the daily news site Colorlines and presents Facing Race, the country's largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

OUR MISSION

Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture.

OUR VISION

Race Forward imagines a just, multiracial, democratic society, free from oppression and exploitation, in which people of color thrive with power and purpose.

CORE VALUES

Organizational values play a very important role in social justice organizations as they clarify the core beliefs of the organization and help support the vision and shape the culture. Race Forward has adopted the following organizational values:

People of Color.
We value the voices, experiences, cultures, intellect, talent, and multi-dimensionality of people of color.

Racial Justice.
We value movements that build towards a society that is free of racial hierarchy; a society where all people, including people of color, have the dignity, resources, power, and self-determination to fully thrive.

Multiracial Democracy.
We value the process of centering those most impacted by systemic racism to define and determine the policies and institutions that impact us all.

Liberation.
We value the freedom of all people from oppression.

Solidarity.
We value bridge-building amongst a variety of people, organizations, sectors, and movements to multiply our efforts towards racial justice.

Emergence.
We value the adaptability of local communities who are developing transformative solutions for racial justice in the face of changing environments.

Expression.
We value authentic personal, community, cultural, and artistic expression, especially when it is difficult, uncomfortable, unpopular, or risky.

Joy.
We value making space for laughter, beauty, and celebration in the work of social change.

WHAT WE DO

Research: Race Forward Research conducts cutting edge, original and broadly accessible research on pressing racial justice issues focused on the significance of race to social and economic outcomes in our society. Race Forward Research seeks to provide evidence of the entrenched and systemic barriers to racial justice. While our research acknowledges the impact that individual acts of racism have on people of color, we primarily seek to contextualize them within a deeper, structural analysis of racial injustice. Underpinning our rigorous research is the belief that a true understanding of racial justice issues requires an explicit, though not exclusive, examination of race and ethnicity. Race Forward's Research agenda is built around understanding how race compounds and intersects with other societal issues. At Race Forward, we refer to this intersectional approach as "race and ..." In addition to developing original research and data on pressing race issues, Race Forward Research also highlights ways to nurture and strengthen social change.

Media: Race Forward Media encompasses the various ways we push forward the conversation on race in the media. Race Forward's primary media product is Colorlines, an award-winning, daily news site where race matters. Colorlines brings a critical racial lens to its journalism, as it covers breaking news, offers context and analysis for fast-moving stories and digs deeper with investigative reporting. Race Forward Media's work is guided by the importance of storytelling, whether it's a story that shows the personal impact on a specific person or family or a story of the broader societal impact of unjust policies. Through Colorlines and broader initiatives, Race Forward leverages the robust power of multimedia through the creation of original videos, infographics, and other visual platforms to amplify its work. Finally, given that Race Forward's leaders and staff are widely regarded as experts on race, Race Forward Media promotes racial justice through appearances and interviews in broadcast, print, and online media.

Practice: Race Forward Practice supports advocacy and action on complex racial justice issues in several ways. Our work includes mobilization, skill-building, leadership development, organization- and alliance-building, issue-framing, messaging, and advancing solutions. Through the Race Forward Racial Justice Leadership Action Network, we provide targeted online and in-person training and consulting services in these areas. We also provide a team of seasoned speakers who can address public audiences on a range of racial justice issues. Race Forward also organizes the Facing Race National Conference, the largest national, multiracial gathering on racial justice. This biennial conference features talks, panels, workshops, films, and performances by established and rising leaders in the racial justice arena and brings together advocates, students, academics, journalists, community organizers and leaders, and artists. From time to time, Race Forward spearheads and engages in action-oriented campaigns. A key example is our Drop the I-Word Campaign, which seeks to eliminate the widespread usage of the inhumane and derogatory word "illegal" in reference to immigrants, demonstrating the links between racially charged language and racially unjust policies.

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In 2017, Race Forward united with the Center for Social Inclusion. Founded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Founded in 2002, the Center for Social Inclusion catalyzed community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all.

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Linking schools, communities, and businesses 

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Linking schools, communities, and businesses 

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The Kutztown Community Partnership showcases several community outreach things that connect the local schools, supports local businesses and tie in the community to the university. You can contact their business office at (484) 646-9069

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Kutztown Community Partnership is a community-driven non-profit organization dedicated to the economic revitalization and preservation of Kutztown. The Partnership serves as a liaison to build community, to forge positive relationships, and to foster cultural and economic collaboration in this historic college town. Kutztown Community Partnership envisions Kutztown as an inclusive community that welcomes all our best efforts: to get an education, to do business, and to live well at every stage of our lives.

The Kutztown Vietnam Veterans Breakfast Club announces the Kutztown Borough Military Hero Banner Program. The clubs initiative is to display Military Hero banners on light poles in Kutztown Park and along borough streets. This program is to recognize any current and past military veterans. This effort by the Kutztown Vietnam Veterans Breakfast Club is supported by Kutztown Community Partnership, Kutztown Civic Organizations, and the Kutztown Borough.

Information and applications are available at the following locations: Mr. Food, Kutztown Community Library, Kutztown Borough Hall and Kutztown Community Partnership.

The cost for the 30" x 60" double sided banner including brackets is $190.00

Sample Banner Below

The one-stop off-campus resource, perch'n®, serves the Kutztown community. It's free for students. It's also free for property owners/managers to list their rentals. On perchn.com and the mobile app, students will find off-campus housing to best meet their needs. The listings are comprehensive, from a single room in a private home to apartments in a large building. Best of all, students are provided with powerful searching tools for quick and effective browsing. They also can contact property managers via the safe and smooth perch'n® messaging system. Additional features of the perch'n® website: roommate matching, subletting, and a marketplace for buying and selling items. Students also will appreciate the perch'n® perks page where they can find deals and promotions. More than just listings, perch'n® is "everything off-campus!"

Griffin from Troop #183 teamed up with Kutztown Thriving and his community to complete his Pollinator Bee Eagle Scout Project. The video below will help you to learn more about bees, their homes, and their roles.

With over 200 businesses in town, there is something for everyone. Whether it's to grab a quick bite to eat, sit down for dinner, stay for the weekend, or pick up a unique gift for yourself or a friend; our friendly shop owners are here to help you find that special something.

Looking for a way to give back to the community or get some community service hours? KCP has multiple opportunities for volunteering. Help keep our town beautiful with our Safe, Clean & Green events or help keep our community safe on the weekends with KuBok! No matter what, there is always a way to get involved and stay involved!

Stay in the loop with our many community events by connecting with our social networking sites as well as our community newsletter. See links below!

Keep up to date with current events and upcoming events with our weekly newsletter. Planning an event in town? We can help get the word out too. Click here to tell us about your events!

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Kutztown Community Partnership is a community-driven non-profit organization dedicated to the economic revitalization and preservation of Kutztown. The Partnership serves as a liaison to build community, to forge positive relationships, and to foster cultural and economic collaboration in this historic college town.

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This group offers special interest housing to first year KU students that is gender inclusive and has a focus on social justice related to those specific communities. You can learn more about this group by emailing housing@kutztown.edu or calling 610-683-4027

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The Residence Hall: Schuylkill Hall

Stonewall Community is a gender inclusive special interest group open to all first-year students interested in learning about sexual orientation and gender identity, with a focus on social justice for LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and asexual) and allied people. This community seeks to connect first-year students interested in supporting and educating themselves about the history and culture of the LGBTQ+ movement by providing opportunities for them both on campus and in the broader surrounding community.

The Stonewall Community provides first-year students with a supportive and structured environment that encourages them to learn from one another and develop a strong sense of self and greater belonging to the campus community. The program will provide students with a number of opportunities that include:

Mentorship experience with the LGBTQ+ Resource Center

Learning more about LGBT history and current issues

Opportunities to engage in community service and advocacy

Excursions to LGBT+ related locations

Opportunities to attend numerous campus events

Membership and leadership opportunities with the LGBT+-straight alliance, Allies of Kutztown University

Becoming a trained Safe Space advocate

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Stonewall Community - Residence Life Special Interest Group

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The Residence Hall: Schuylkill Hall Stonewall Community is a gender inclusive special interest group open to all first-year students interested in learning about sexual orientation and gender identity, with a focus on social justice for LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and asexual) and allied people.