Roosevelt Student's Senior Project Honors Breast Cancer Victim's Memory

Alan Fraelich is collecting hat, scarves, gloves and mittens for the Salvation Army in honor of a neighbor who died last year of breast cancer.

The Times Herald recently profiled Roosevelt Alternative School senior Alan Fraelich, whose senior project is dedicated to the memory of his neighbor – a woman he referred to affectionately as "mom" – who died of breast cancer last year.  Fraelich created a "mitten tree" to encourage his fellow students to donate hats, scarves, gloves and mittens that he would then take to the Salvation Army – an organization that Fraelich says helped his neighbor's nine children when they needed help most. "Everybody who lived on the street we lived on, we all looked at her as a mom," Fraelich told the Herald. "We all called her mom. She had nine children of her own that all lived with her and she had to take care of by herself." School administrators …

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Preston and Steve Return to Plymouth Meeting for 'Camp Out for Hunger'

Celebrities and performances will headline the weeklong annual event at the Plymouth Meeting Mall.

Raffle Items, Donations Sought for Cancer Benefit for Hatfield Man

A beef and beer fundraiser takes place Friday evening in Lansdale for a local man diagnosed with cancer for the second time

Area businesses have contributed greatly for a cancer benefit this Friday evening for a Hatfield native diagnosed with cancer for the second time in 11 years. However, more raffle items and donations are still being accepted for the event. The benefit seeks to help cover the medical costs for Hatfield native and 1998 North Penn High School graduate Jason Heffner. Heffner, an amateur filmmaker who currently resides in the Juniata section of Philadelphia, is battling cancer without medical insurance. More than $1,200 has been raised so far via an online donation page. Donations can also be made online at https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/fNU95 More information on the event can be found at its public Facebook page, including who to contact for …

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Patch and AOL Mobilize to Help Victims of Hurricane Sandy

Hundreds of AOL and Patch employees showed up this weekend with their families to drop off supplies for people in affected Patch communities.

We Patch editors are always telling people we're more than just journalists, we're part of our communities. Well this weekend we showed it. Patch and AOL employees mobilized this weekend in Dulles and Baltimore to drop off supplies for people in Patch communities hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy. We even commissioned our own tractor trailers that will roll out Monday morning at 10:30 a.m. to deliver supplies to New Jersey. More Patchers and AOLers will be meeting the trucks at their drop-off locations to help unload and to meet with local officials. It's not everybody who can say that their job helps make people's lives better. I'm really happy that I can. Thank you for reading and being part of Norristown Patch.

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East Norriton Fire Department Collecting Donations for NJ, NY Victims of Hurricane Sandy

East Norriton Fire Department is reaching out to help communities in New York and New Jersey who were devastated by Hurricane Sandy.

While our area saw some damage from Hurricane and some residents are still without power, communities in New York and New Jersey saw much more devastation. Homes and lives were lost and residents of those communities are still struggling to pick up the pieces. The East Norriton Fire Department is hoping to help our neighbors in need by collecting donations of money and supplies to send to these storm ravaged communities. According to Fire Captain Derek Thomas, area residents wishing to help can drop off donations of water, non-perishables, batteries, hand warmers, flashlights, toiletries and blankets at the Norriton Fire Engine Company, 2830 Swede Road in East Norriton, this Saturday, Nov. 3, from 2 to 8 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 4, from 8 a.m…

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ALS Beef and Beer Fundraiser at Molly's Saturday

The event benefits Joyce Dutton, a 63-year-old fighting ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease. For $35, you get apps and open bar on liquor, beer and draft

“Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." - Lou Gehrig Like Gehrig, Joyce Dutton also has a bad break. But there's no reason she should feel like the unluckiest gal on Earth. Come out and show support so Joyce can remain living with her grandchildren and daughter, Tracy Dutton Gaal. The 63-year-old is fighting ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Joyce's daughter has put on a benefit for her Saturday at 8 p.m. at Molly Maguire's in Lansdale. Proceeds go toward insurance costs for home care for Dutton and her family.  "Slowly, she has lost the ability to paint, a talent she just discovered she …

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Show Your Thanks with Giving

Check here for a number of ways to give to those in need this holiday season.

Cranberries? Check. Stuffing? Check. Turkey? Of course! Mashed potatoes? Check. Dog and cat food? What? As you gather the necessities for your Thanksgiving dinner, it is also a good time to take time out to think of others. This even includes others of a four-legged variety. Various locations throughout the Greater Philadelphia area have been designated as spots to drop off dog and cat food to help furry friends also be thankful this holiday season. For a full list of locations in Montgomery County, you can visit the Philadoptables website. Local sites are in need of dog or cat food. Contributions will be distributed to animal shelters in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. You can also donate to local animal shelters on the site by…

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$1 Million Just the Beginning

Impact Thrift Stores, Inc. continues supporting charities, looks to add another store

A self-described lifelong entrepreneur, Alan Chagan started an underwater construction company that made waves internationally, worked in residential construction for a decade and founded a family dry cleaning business. Yet, he was a bit "skeptical" about the thought of running a thrift store. “Here we are with nothing but a business plan and an application to the IRS,” Chagan recalled. “It sounded like a nice idea.”  By December 2001, that nice idea led Chagan and his friend Paul Baur to open Impact Thrift Stores in a 10,000-square-foot store on Moreland Avenue in Hatboro with just six employees. Today, the Hatboro-based nonprofit operates three Impact stores – also in Montgomeryville and Norristown – and employs 100 people. Last month …

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