For the past three years, our annual holiday parties let employees purchase tickets to play games before sitting down to dinner and we donate the proceeds to a good cause. Recently we donated to the Keystone Warriors project, an Eastern Pennsylvania based 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that seeks to honor the daily sacrifices made by the brave men and women in all branches of the United States Military, and specifically those wounded on or after September 11, 2001.

PCC Bethlehem is very proud to be a part of the program, “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing.” This program introduces middle school students (ages 12 to 14), their parents, and the community to exciting careers in manufacturing and specifically shines a spotlight on STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math). The event is an annual contest each Fall, where teams of students and their respective teachers receive camera equipment and professional guidance as they learn to script, record, and edit their video stories about their particular local company. For the past 5 years, PCC Bethlehem has partnered with a different local middle school and, in each of those five years, every one of those respective schools has won an award!

For the past two years, PCC Bethlehem’s employee contributions at the annual holiday party have supported this worthy cause. Tails of Valor, Paws of Honor, is a certified animal-assisted rehabilitation program that allows United States veterans, trainers, and volunteers to work together to train puppies to become service dogs, and they are subsequently named in honor of a fallen soldier. After completing an 18-24 month training period, these fully-trained ADA/TOV guideline service dogs are then paired with a veteran at no cost. Our December 2021 contributions are currently helping to sponsor a training program for “Szever,” a pup named in honor of Stephen Szever, who served as an Army Ranger/Special Forces.

Beginning in 2021, PCC Bethlehem began a collaboration with PPS Sellersville and PNS Allentown, to support the initiative of Allentown’s Sixth Street Shelter. The Shelter’s main goal is to curb poverty by providing temporary shelter and basic necessities to homeless families by giving them a “hand up” and not a “hand out.” Throughout the year, employees can donate gently used housewares, educational items/toys, and various seasonal décor to help give these families a fresh start. During the 2021 holiday season, we turned our Christmas trees into “Angel/Giving” trees by adding decorated tags that held simple gift requests from the residents of the Shelter. Our employees stepped up to the plate and fulfilled all the gift requests in record time. Our inter-company collaboration shows true community involvement across borders, across businesses and across town. When we bring together a focused effort, we can make a difference!