Special Events

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

29th Anniversary Luncheon

Pinebrook will hold its biggest fundraiser of the year on November 13, 2008 to commemorate 29 years of service to children, youth and families of the Greater Lehigh Valley. Venue is the ballroom of the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel and Conference Center. For reservations and sponsorship information, please call Pinebrook's Development Department at 610-432-3919.

Put FUN into Fair Parking Fundraising!

Pinebrook is looking forward to lots of sunshine and enthusiastic volunteers to direct cars into its parking lots during the Great Allentown Fair, August 26th through September 1st. This $5 FUNraiser gives fair-goers a stress-free parking opportunity and the joy of helping children, youth and families in need. For volunteer information, please contact Pinebrook’s Development Department at 610-432-3919.

Summer Bus Tour to QVC Studios and Longwood Gardens

All aboard the Pinebrook FUNdraising bus tour, Saturday, September 13! In the morning, witness how QVC studios produces and broadcasts its popular home-shopping segments. In the afternoon, enjoy a delightful lunch and a walking tour of famed Longwood Gardens, with its hundreds of floral varieties in full bloom. Depart 8:00 am onboard a Bieber chartered bus from Pinebrook's Allentown main office. For reservations, please call Pinebrook's Development Department at 610-432-3919.

RECENT SPECIAL EVENTS

December 2007

Holiday Gift Wrapping Fundraiser at the Lehigh Valley Mall

November 8, 2007

28th Anniversary Luncheon a resounding success
A first in Pinebrook's history, an Emmy-nominated actress, bestselling author and champion of child welfare served as Honorary Chair and Keynote Speaker at the agency's biggest fundraiser of the year, as well as the companion nonprofit conference the next day. Victoria Rowell, a mainstay of daytime TV's The Young and the Restless (for which she received two Emmy Award nods), captivated the luncheon audience of more than 250 guests with her moving life story as a former foster child. Victoria's eloquent keynote speech at the luncheon, held at the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel and Conference Center on November 8th, paid tribute to the remarkable foster mothers and mentors who shaped her values. The speech and Question & Answer session shined a bright light on the work that Pinebrook is doing on behalf of foster and adoptive children, and families in need. Victoria enthralled the audience with a passionate reading of a few pages from her bestselling memoir, "The Women Who Raised Me," copies of which the actress signed at the luncheon's conclusion.

Executive Director Robert Jacobs

Victoria Rowell and Shariel Fonville

Shariel Fonville, a former Pinebrook client and now a student at Lock Haven University, tearfully thanked Pinebrook upon receiving the 10th Ruth A. Rodgers Memorial Scholarship award from James Brophy, president of Lighting Fixture & Supply Co., the award's sponsor.

Luncheon guests crowded the Chinese Auction tables, which featured elegantly presented products that would tempt the more discriminating connoisseur.

More than $53,000 in total was raised at the luncheon, exceeding the 2007 goal by over $11,000 and the 2006 luncheon's gross revenue by over $13,000.

Nonprofit conference puts Pinebrook on the PA social service map
Victoria Rowell closed her visit to the Lehigh Valley with a well-received keynote speech at the Pinebrook-hosted "A Conversation with Victoria Rowell" conference, November 9th at the Lehigh Room of the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel & Conference Center. Following Pinebrook Executive Director Bob Jacobs at the podium were Brenda Lawrence of SWAN/Diakon Lutheran Services and Garry Krentz, board president of the Pennsylvania State Foster Parent Association. Ms. Lawrence asked the conference audience, some of whom were foster parents and teenagers in placement, to think about one person who has made a difference in their lives, and to apply that positive emotion for the betterment of social services for children in need of resource familiies. Mr. Krentz spoke about the work that the PSFPA is spearheading in Harrisburg and Washington, DC to influence legislation that will impact resource family retention and ensure subsidized college tuition for youth in foster care.

Robert Jacobs, Brenda Lawrence,
Victoria Rowell, Garry Krentz and
Kathy Ramper of PSFPA

As with the Pinebrook luncheon's guests the day before, more than 80 representatives of the Valley's non-profit community, shapers of legislation, and social work practitioners were captivated by Victoria's re-telling of how her foster mothers and mentors raised her to become what she is today: successful actress, bestselling author and child welfare advocate. A private screening of "The Mentor," a documentary about the women who guided Victoria's journey from foster care to Hollywood, moved some members of the audience to tears, and showed how filmed entertainment can help raise public awareness about the urgent need for resource families all over the country.

Pinebrook Founder Florence Applebaum
and Victoria Rowell

Victoria Rowell and Pinebrook Board
member Carlos Arnaiz at booksigning