Upcoming Phoenixville Public Library Online Programs:
Job seekers are invited to learn and ask questions about Chester County’s CareerLink programs and services in a free virtual presentation hosted by the Phoenixville Public Library on Wednesday, February 17 at 10:00 am. Janet Spaulding, Community Outreach Coordinator for EDSI Solutions / Chester County CareerLink, will be the speaker. CareerLink is a government sponsored, not-for-profit, free service that helps with resume, job search, training, and interview skills. Her goal is to connect the people of Chester County with the resources they may need personally, professionally, and by location. They help connect people at all stages of life with job search support. They also connect or customers with financial support and provide access to computers, printers and even interview suitable clothing! Their youth employment program is particularly effective for vulnerable or disadvantaged youth. This event is free and open to the public and will be held online / over the phone via Zoom. Registration is required at https://ccls.libcal.com/calendar/Phoenixville/careerlink or by calling 610-933-3013 x132. Email [email protected] for more information.
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The Phoenixville Public Library will host the next virtual presentation in the “Community Gardening around the Village” series. “Backyard Medicine Making: Meals and Medicine from the Countryside” will be featured on Thursday, February 18 at 7:00 pm. Environmental scientist and educator Charlene Briggs will be the speaker. Landscape weeds are food and medicine for us and others. Charlene will discuss the planting traditions of some of the common “weeds” found in southeastern Pennsylvania and how to identify and prepare for tonic plants that support immune function. She will identify staples of the pantry and pharmacy growing for free in the natural landscape. Charlene Briggs teaches Sustainable Community Design at Temple University and facilitates the development of outdoor classrooms through Earth Visions Consulting. Botanical energetics is her therapy practice in which she works with flower essences to help people with anxiety, depression and trauma. Charlene has been studying herbalism for three decades under the guidance of many senior herbalists and is certified in herb search from the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine. Charlene starts an initiative with the Phoenixville Area Transition Living Landscape working group, PXV CommuniTEA. The signature project is to set up a community medicinal herb garden with traditional and wild plants that will be used to make herbal tea bags for the underserved populations in the Phoenixville area. Charlene is also the author of Letters to Lida; World War II Told Through the Eyes, Heart, and Words of a B-29 Tail Gunner, “her father’s WWII memoir. This event is free and open to the public and is held online through Zoom. Registration is required at https://ccls.libcal.com/calendar/Phoenixville/meals-and-medicine or by phone at 610-933-3013 x132. Email [email protected] for more information.
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Free dental care for uninsured children and adults; free eye care and glasses for authorized persons; Emergency aid with prescription drugs; free mammography screenings for the uninsured; and inexpensive immigration assistance. All of these programs are available to local residents through Phoenixville’s Health Care Access. Find out more in a free virtual presentation hosted by the Phoenixville Public Library on Friday, February 19 at 10:00 AM. This event is free and open to the public and will be held online / over the phone via Zoom. Registration is required at https://ccls.libcal.com/calendar/Phoenixville/health-care-access or by phone at 610-933-3013 x132. Email [email protected] for more information.
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The 2021 Major League Baseball season is just around the corner. Prepare with Julian McCracken and Lou Beccaria of Phoenixville, who will be having a two-part virtual discussion for the Phoenixville Public Library on Monday, February 22nd at 7:00 pm. Part 1 is “If I were the General Manager …” Play General Manager of the Phillies for one night. Given the team’s paying players budget (without going over budget and charging the MLB luxury tax), what would you do to improve the team and make them a playoff contender in 2021? Part 2 is “Negro League Stats: Did You Know …?” For many years, Negro League players were denied entry to the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame. To be honest, many of the Negro League players had better stats than their white counterparts. Let’s discuss! Julian McCracken of Phoenixville is a former general manager of the Reading Phillies and a member of the Reading Baseball Hall of Fame, who later worked for ProCards in Pottstown and Fleer Trading Cards in Mt. Laurel, NJ. Lou Beccaria of Phoenixville is the former President and CEO of the Phoenixville Community Health Foundation. He has played semi-pro baseball, coached youth baseball, and wrote about baseball in Philadelphia. This event is free and open to the public and takes place online / by phone via Zoom. Registration is required at https://ccls.libcal.com/calendar/Phoenixville/talkin-baseball or by calling 610-933-3013 x132. Email [email protected] for more information.
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Books on Tap, the Phoenixville Public Library’s book discussion group for adults ages 20-30, will meet virtually on Tuesday, February 23 at 7:30 PM. The group will discuss Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. The book is a true story of the potential of mercy to redeem us and a clear call to end the mass imprisonment in America. Bryan Stevenson was a young attorney when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a not-for-profit law firm in Montgomery, AL devoted to defending the poor, incarcerated and wrongly convicted. One of EJI’s first customers was Walter McMillian, a young black man convicted of the murder of a young white woman, which he did not commit. The case exemplifies how the death penalty in America stems directly from lynching – a system that treats the rich and guilty better than the poor and innocent. A copy of the book can be reserved at www.ccls.org. An eBook and eAudiobook copy can be reserved at chester.overdrive.com. This event is free and open to the public and will be held online / over the phone via Zoom. Send an email to Christine Shaffer at [email protected] to receive an invitation to this event and for more information.
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The Phoenixville Public Library is holding a free virtual presentation entitled “Downsizing: How to Reduce Stress and Get Started” on Wednesday, February 24th at 10:00 AM. John Hall, President of Caring Transitions in Chester County will be the moderator. This presentation will help you answer the following questions: How do I get into the right mindset? What is holding me back What do I do with my surplus belongings? How much is my stuff worth Who can help me? How long it will take? Why not stay where i am? This event is free and open to the public and will be held online / over the phone via Zoom. Registration is required at https://ccls.libcal.com/calendar/Phoenixville/downsizing or by calling 610-933-3013 x132. Email [email protected].
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The Phoenixville Public Library is hosting a free, virtual Black History Month presentation entitled “Hinsonville’s Heroes: Restoring Our Common American History” on Thursday, February 25th at 7:00 pm. Dr. Cheryl Renée Gooch, author of Hinsonville’s Heroes: Black Civil War Soldiers of Chester County, Pennsylvania (The History Press, Feb. 2018), will discuss her book about the stories of the residents of Hinsonville, a free black community in southeastern Pennsylvania who fought for the Union . The 19th century former village of Hinsonville attracted both free and determined people who advocated religious freedom, higher education, land ownership, and equality. The residents organized a black Protestant church, supported the establishment of the Ashmun Institute (now Lincoln University), vigorously opposed slavery, and in some cases emigrated to Liberia as part of the colonization movement. The community’s self-determination tradition forced 18 of its men to stand up for the promotion of freedom. Some of the men are buried in Hosanna Church Cemetery, next to the entrance to the Lincoln University campus. “Expecting history to overlook them and their role in America’s transformation, these men and their families placed tombstones and memorials for their lives next to our nation’s oldest black graduate university,” says Dr. Gooch. “By placing their personal memorials there, they placed themselves in historical memory. After most of these veterans fought for the reunification of our country, they fought for a fair pension and lived in or near abject poverty. “Dr. Cheryl Renée Gooch is academic director, published scholar, and active historical researcher. She was the historian and lead author of the Delaware History Museum’s permanent exhibition “Journey to Freedom”, in which she recorded the experiences of the Black Delawarean from 1629 to the present day. As a lifelong member of the Association for the Study of the Life and History of African Americans (ASALH), she is a member of the organization’s committees that advise the National Park Service on ways to ensure inclusive interpretive issues on battlefields, parks, and historic sites. Dr. Gooch was a noted author on PCN-TV’s PA Books. This event is free and open to the public and is held online through Zoom. Registration is required at https://ccls.libcal.com/calendar/Phoenixville/hinsonville-heroes or by calling 610-933-3013 x132. Email [email protected] for more information.
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The Phoenixville Public Library now offers free remote technical assistance over the phone and the Internet through Zoom. During the selected hours on Thursday afternoon as well as Tuesday and Wednesday evening, the library volunteers receive individual support for their laptop, tablet or smartphone. To schedule a one-hour appointment or for more information, call 610-933-3013 x132 or send an email to [email protected].