Community news of Delaware County

MARPLE — Delaware County Community College is offering a full schedule of events this fall, focused on the topics of social justice, leadership, social class and inequality and more.

From coaches to filmmakers, from bestselling authors to successful entrepreneurs, the intriguing lineup of speakers is designed to create awareness, promote education and understanding and encourage meaningful dialogue about equity for all.

The events, which are part of the college’s annual signature Dialogues for Diversity speaker series and its annual College-Wide Reading Program author series, are supported by DCCC’s Center for Equity and Social Justice.

All are free and open to the public, and all are available virtually by registering for the Livestream link.

Upcoming presentations include:

• “Raise Your Bar: Sports/Life/Beyond,” will be presented 10:10 to 11:05 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2 at Marple Campus Academic Building, Large Auditorium, 901 S. Media Line Road, Media. The presenter will be Erick Woods, director of Student-Athlete Development at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, who is a former high school and college basketball coach and Division 1 student-athlete. Drawing upon his work with student-athletes, Woods will deliver a motivational talk on how to push bounds.

• Patrice Banks, founder and CEO of Girls Auto Clinic in Upper Darby, will be featured 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8 at the Marple Campus Academic Building, Large Auditorium, 901 South Media Line Road, Media. Banks will speak about the growing community of women and girls who are redefining the automotive world on their own terms. Banks, who has been featured in national media, will discuss her success as an entrepreneur, mechanic, engineer, author, speaker and visionary and how she empowers women to have an equal voice and role in all aspects of the auto industry and beyond. A Q&A session will follow.

• College-Wide Reading Author Series will present Jennifer Pashley, 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 17 at the Marple Campus Small Auditorium, 901 S. Media Line Road, Media. Pashley, an award-winning novelist and short story writer, is known for her suspense fiction. Raised by an accordion virtuoso and a casket maker, she writes about the people on the fringes of society with clear-eyed compassion and grace. Her latest suspense novel is “The Watcher” (2020).

• “William Penn, the Lenni Lenape and the Collapse of the Peaceable Kingdom” will be the topic, 11 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Nov. 6 at the Marple Campus Academic Building, Large Auditorium. Attendees can hear from DCCC professors Drs. Kevin Cahill and Jeffrey Lamonica joined by W. Ronald Williams and Barry Lee, board director and director, respectively, of the Circle Legacy Center, an organization to promote and assist Native Americans in the southeastern Pennsylvania region.

• College-Wide Reading Author Series, presented by Stephanie Land at 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 14 and will also be available via Zoom. Land is the author of two bestselling memoirs: “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Will to Survive” (2019) and “Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education” (2024). Both narrate her lived experiences coping with homelessness, domestic violence, low-wage labor and single motherhood, as well as her simultaneous pursuit of a college degree and a career as a writer. “Maid” was adapted into a Netflix series in 2021.

• A screening of the documentary “Pardon Me: Social Workers and the Community’s Role in Disrupting the Criminal Justice System” will be shown and discussed, 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10 at the Marple Campus Academic Building, Large Auditorium. Having a criminal record as a returning citizen can feel like a life sentence. On Human Rights Day, the documentary “Pardon Me” provides a comprehensive look at how a pardon can serve as a powerful legal mechanism to erase a person’s criminal past. Through personal narratives, “Pardon Me” highlights the broader societal implications, including the collateral consequences that affect thousands of families and communities across the U.S. The screening will include an introduction by Shuja Moore, director, with a Q&A afterwards.

For more information on the Dialogues For Diversity series, or to register: www.dccc.edu.

Hope Thru Wholeness free resource fair comes to Prospect Park

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church I, Norwood, and Prospect United Methodist Church, Prospect Park, will present Hope Thru Wholeness, featuring a free farmers market and resource fair from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26 at Prospect UM, 800 Lincoln Ave.

Vendors will offer free food, resources, formula, diapers and more.

Other upcoming market dates are Oct. 24, Nov. 20 and Dec. 19. For more information, email [email protected].

Delaware County Health Department hosts free flu shot clinic in Upper Darby

The Delaware County Health Department, the Medical Reserve Corps of the Citizens Corps of Delaware County, and SEPTA are helping residents prepare for respiratory illness season by offering free flu shots on Thursday, Sept. 19 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Residents who are traveling through or near SEPTA’s 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby will have a unique opportunity to stop by the health department’s special influenza immunization clinic to get a free flu shot.

This special flu shot clinic will be held outside the 69th Street Terminal at 6901 Market St., Upper Darby.

This flu shot clinic will provide convenient access and effective protection for residents against the flu as respiratory illness season begins. These immunizations are at no cost, no insurance is required, and no appointments are necessary. High-dose flu shots for residents over 65 years old are not available.

Residents who are unable to attend the 69th Street Terminal clinic are encouraged to check future immunization opportunities through the department’s Community Events and Clinics Calendar.

For more information about the Delaware County Health Department or its clinical services, dial the Wellness Line at 484-276-2100 or go to [email protected].

Scott Arboretum celebrates first day of fall

Scott Arboretum will celebrate the first day of fall with an autumnal equinox celebration on Sunday, Sept. 22 from 3 to 7 p.m.

The free event will be held in the outdoor amphitheater and feature music, lawn games, nature crafts and the Relish food truck.

Tours departing at 5 and 6 p.m. will be held to learn about the arboretum’s 95 years. For more information: http://scottarboretum.org.

Open Wardrobe event offers free attire to parents and caregivers in need

With a mission of eliminating clothing insecurity for all, and in the spirit of back to school, The Wardrobe opens its doors this month for parents and caregivers to access free attire.

This month’s Open Wardrobe — the nonprofit organization’s monthly open event to meet the needs of specific communities — will offer attire for parents and caregivers on Thursday, Sept. 26 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Participants will receive free clothing along with additional community resources.

Open Wardrobe will be available at four Wardrobe locations:

• 62 W. Marshall Road, Upper Darby

• 413 N. Fourth St., Philadelphia

• 345 Scarlett Road., Kennett Square

• The Exton Square Mall, second floor near Boscov’s

All participants must RSVP at http://wardrobepa.org/open-wardrobe.

The Wardrobe is a mission-driven nonprofit organization focused on eliminating clothing insecurity, empowering people for success, and curbing fashion waste.

Whether someone needs an outfit for work or everyday life or coaching to help them build their career, they receive free support and STAR treatment — Styling, Time, Advice, and Respect — at The Wardrobe. With six locations in the Philadelphia region, The Wardrobe supports 10,000 people annually with the clothing, advice and tools needed to move toward independence and stability.

The Wardrobe believes clothing shouldn’t be a barrier to success. In addition to clothing, The Wardrobe has the Wings for Success education program which offers one-on-one coaching and workshops to help people achieve their professional or personal goals.

Each year, The Wardrobe upcycles over 200,000 pounds of gently used or new clothing to provide a stable source of free quality clothing for participants’ needs. Every article of clothing donated to The Wardrobe is ethically repurposed for free guest services, resale inventory, or recycled with its partner Helpsy.

The Wardrobe is open to all for shopping and free clothing for those who qualify. Hours for shopping, clothing donations and clothing services: Monday-Saturday from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Information on how to get clothing or sign up as a community partner is available at www.wardrobepa.org/services.

Donate blood in October and get Amazon gift card

Anyone who donates blood in October will get a $10 Amazon.com gift card by email and be automatically entered for a chance to win one of three $5,000 gift cards.

Upcoming blood drives include:

• Springfield Country Club, 400 W. Sproul Road, Springfield, 2-7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1

• Neumann University Bruder Life Center, One Neumann Drive, Aston, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2

• Delaware County Community College, 901 Media Line Road, Media, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3

• American Legion Post 507, 20 W. Cleveland Ave., Norwood, noon to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4

• Covenant UM Church, 212 W. Springfield Road, Springfield, noon to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4

• Rocky Run YMCA, 1299 W. Baltimore Pike, Media, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18

• Riddle Hospital, 1068 W. Baltimore Pike, Media, 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21.

To register to donate, visit http://redcrossblood.org.

Krueger to host free record expungement clinic

State Rep. Leanne Krueger will host a free Clean Slate Expungement Clinic with Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania on Thursday, Sept. 26 at Brookhaven Municipal Center along Cambridge Road.

Attorneys will be available to provide information and discuss options that may be available for clearing a person’s criminal record. If expungement is not an option, additional resources will be available.

Registration for the free clinic is required. Interested residents can ask a question or sign up for appointments, which start at 6 p.m., by calling Krueger’s office at 610-534-6880 or emailing [email protected].

Those seeking expungement would need to bring case information, including a copy of court records and orders, and must not currently be in violation or on probation or parole.

Krueger said Pennsylvania became the first state to pass a bipartisan clean slate law in 2018. She stated that lawmakers have since worked together to improve it, most recently passing Clean Slate 3.0, which took effect in February.

“Clean slate laws recognize that people make mistakes, but those mistakes should not prevent them from securing housing, education or employment when they’ve turned their lives around,” Krueger said. “I want to make sure that people know there are new options to seal minor offenses that might be keeping them from moving forward with their lives. At this clinic, residents can talk with experts and receive important information about Pennsylvania’s clean slate laws, and maybe get the fresh start they need.”

Krueger and her office staff will be at the clinic to provide information on state-related programs and services.

Rose Tree Optimist announces October flea market

The Rose Tree-Media Optimist Club will hold its final flea market of 2024 at Delaware County Community College in Marple Township from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13.

Cost is $50 per space or $90 for a double space. The flea market is a fundraiser for the Optimists’ local youth programs and other charitable endeavors.

For information, call 484-908-9662 or email [email protected].

Vendors can register by Paypal @RTMOptimistClub or Venmo @Amanda-Ross-64 or by mailing a check or money order to Rose Tree Media Optimists, PO Box 1892, Media, PA 19063. The rain date is Oct. 27.

National Mail Marketing celebrates 50 years

National Mail Marketing Corp., founded in 1974 in Media will host a 50th Anniversary Gala, 6-10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20 at Anthony’s Ristorante and Ballroom in Springfield, for over 100 dedicated employees, long-term clients and reliable vendors.

The corporate event will feature an opening reception, 50-year presentation, buffet dinner, giveaways, photo booth and music.

Established in 1974, NMMC embarked on a groundbreaking journey, revolutionizing direct marketing through direct mail, which set the stage for personalized brand connections for a nationwide member organization and their affiliates, a multitude of affinity partners, and several fortune 500 companies. As the marketing landscape shifted and technology advanced, NMMC evolved to include opportunities presented by digital marketing.

“We continue to thrive on our enduring value of developing partnerships with businesses and organizations looking for a solutions-based direct marketing company,” said Kathryn Jennings, co-owner and vice president of marketing. “Our campaigns are created, tested, proven, and utilized to meet the goals of the client, not our own.”

NMMC is located at 450 Parkway Drive, Broomall. For more information about the firm’s services and history, visit or contact  Jennings at [email protected] or 484-571-8457.

Readers can send typed community news press releases and photos to Peg DeGrassa at [email protected].