Fundraising effort to support West Chester and Liberty townships: How to help

The publisher of a local magazine has launched a West Chester & Liberty Strong initiative to raise funds for local charities and support the communities during the coronavirus pandemic.

Michelle Moody, publisher of West Chester & Liberty Lifestyle, introduced the initiative lask week because she wants to “help residents and local businesses display our community pride and strength during these unprecedented times by showing that we are all West Chester & Liberty Strong.”

The West Chester Twp. resident is selling T-shirts, tote bags, and rally towels featuring the heart-shaped, red, white and blue West Chester & Liberty Strong logo through May 11 at westchesterlibertystrong.spiritsale.com. The items range from $20 for a men’s T-shirt to $13 for a rally towel.

All proceeds will go to the Community Health Fund at the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty. The Community Health Fund supports the purchase of medical supplies (gloves & masks) for local hospitals, food for Reach Out Lakota’s pantry and cleaning supplies, bedding, and groceries for local fire stations.

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Moody hopes to sell 500 to 1,000 items.

“We added an up-charge to every shirt that’s definitely going to the charity, but then the more shirts we order the bigger savings in production, so more will go,” she said. “It really kind of depends on the number of orders but I’d love to see a nice big check when this done.”

She said she cut off the sales in mid-May so they can get the items produced and distributed. She will probably relaunch the effort in June. Moody said she hopes residents and businesses will display the logo to “spread the message of hope and show the strength of our townships.”

“We are honored to partner with West Chester & Liberty Lifestyle for the West Chester & Liberty Strong initiative,” Erin Clemons, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty said. “During these challenging times, it is more important than ever to come together in support of our community. We hope West Chester & Liberty Strong will be a rallying point for the community and allow us to continue to address local needs through grants from the Community Health Fund.”

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