One reason to visit the Chester County Historical Society is an exhibition traveling around the country called “Seventeen Men.” It tells the story of Black soldiers from our area who fought in the 25th Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. Illustrator Shayne Davidson created these life-sized portraits after discovering old, faded tiny photos of the men while working on a genealogy project. She dug into their backgrounds and created these portraits to share their stories. It was an enlightening visit with beautiful portraits and made me proud of our home. It runs through July 1. I hope you can make it! 

One of the reasons I joined Congress was because I wanted to serve our community, and I pledged to hold at least one town hall every month so I can hear from all of you. So, this work period I held my 70th Town Hall since I took office. It was at Reading Area Community College and focused on community resources available to our community and the ways the state and federal collaborate to help our communities. While it was great to reach this milestone, I am looking forward to many more.  

Visiting Reading Community Service Organizations 

In Reading, I visited with the Berks Latino Workforce Development Corporation and the Reading Housing Authority. I was pleased to be able to secure federal funding for them through the Community Project Funding program, which enables members of Congress to direct funds to worthy community organizations. Click here to learn more about Community Project Funding. Click here to learn more about my visits to these sites. 

Just like last year, I celebrated Valentine’s Day by delivering Valentine cards, handmade by members of our community, to veterans at the Coatesville VA. I am grateful to everyone who made one. This year was extra special because of the work I did last Congress to protect the Coatesville VA from closure. One year later, it continues to serve those who served our nation and is opening a newly renovated mental health facility, which I got a sneak peak of (and can confirm it looks great).

I also visited Phoenixville Area Community Services, a local nonprofit that has been helping our community since 1972. They are now building out a food distribution hub with federal funding that will make their services more accessible. It will also expand their capacity so they can increase the number of people they can assist. 

Coming together for a Staff Retreat in the Community 

In February, my entire team gathered for our annual staff retreat. Our Washington, DC office staff drove to Pennsylvania and joined everyone here as we held workshops on communication styles and ways to deliver more services faster to our community. We also had the opportunity to tour Langston Hughes’ personal library on Lincoln University’s campus (the nation’s first degree granting HBCU), and see Underground Railroad stops in Chester County. Places like Bucktoe Cemetery and Hosanna African Union Methodist Church, that we visited, were stops in southern Chester County where enslaved people could find safety when seeking freedom.  

Last year was a big one for investing in America, as we approved the largest investment in our infrastructure in decades with the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. I met with the American Society of Civil Engineers to update them on implementation of these two bills. Here at home, that means more money for our local airports and highways, plus maintenance for the Schuykill River.  

There is a lot to unpack in these bills, which is why our next town hall will focus on infrastructure. We have not set the date yet, but if you have questions or comments about infrastructure keep them in mind, and we will let you know when we have details for that event. 

As always, I look forward to hearing from you – send us a message here. 

Be well and take care of one another,