Author: Tom

Adult Winter Reading Program

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There’s still time to participate in the Chester County Library and Henrietta Hankin Branch Adult Winter Reading Program!

The Adult Winter Reading Program, Snow is falling… books are calling, is designed for adults age 18 & up to encourage life-long reading habits. Earn 100 points for every book, e-book, or audiobook you read/listen to. You can also earn points by completing missions (10 points for every activity in the mission), attending virtual programs (50 points each), and playing minigames (25 points each). Earn 800 points and you’ll automatically be entered in the drawing for a prize! Once you’ve earned 1000 points you’ll receive a completion certificate you can print and share! The reading programs runs from December 15, 2020 to February 14, 2021. The Adult Reading Programs are made possible by generous donations from the Friends of the Chester County Library and the Friends of the Henrietta Hankin Branch Library.

Chester County WIC Program

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The Chester County WIC Program has an important update about their operations during the COVID-19 crisis:

To help slow the spread of Coronavirus the Chester County WIC Program will be operating on a limited basis until further notice. At this time our Coatesville, Toughkenamon and West Chester WIC clinics will be open on a limited basis as eWIC loading stations ONLY via curbside service. The Oxford, Phoenixville and Spring City satellite clinics have been canceled until further notice. WIC staff are reaching out via telephone to ALL WIC participants with appointments scheduled during this time to discuss their options for receiving benefits. Participants MUST have an appointment to have benefits loaded via curbside service and should not attempt to walk-in to receive benefits. Please note, no participants are allowed inside WIC clinics at this time. eWIC cards and photo ID are required to receive benefits. When contacting a WIC clinic, PLEASE leave a message. Staff are monitoring messages and your call will be returned ASAP.

Thank you for your patience and flexibility. Please know that our top priority is the health and wellbeing of our participants and employees, their families and the larger community.

Please call your WIC clinic if you need to talk to a nutritionist about any breastfeeding or nutrition questions you may have.

Coatesville: (610) 383-3824
Toughkenamon: (610) 268-5153
West Chester: (610) 344-6240

If you need to apply to the WIC program for the first time or need to be re-instated onto the program after a lapse in participation, please contact your closest WIC clinic and leave a voicemail with your contact information. You may also submit a pre-application online. Staff will follow up with all applicants in the order that their information was received to set up phone appointments with a nutritionist. If you are having any problems with using your eWIC card at the stores please consult the Pennsylvania Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) website before contacting your clinic to troubleshoot common problems. The site includes resources such as  a WIC store locator, Shopping with eWIC video, and WIC FAQ’s.

WIC operational updates are also shared via the Chester County Health Department Facebook page.

Free access to Foundation Directory Online Essential

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Nonprofit organizations can still search for funding opportunities while the Chester County Library is closed. Candid, the parent company of the Foundation Center, has provided us with temporary, free access to Foundation Directory Online Essential. This valuable resource includes:

  • 103,000+ expanded grantmaker profiles
  • 300,000+ key decision makers and leaders
  • Searchable 990s and 990-PDFs
  • FDO Workspace

If you need more in-depth information on a foundation than FDO Essential can provide, please email us at ref@ccls.org and one of our librarians can send you the full Funder Profile from Foundation Directory Online Professional.

Free Philadephia Inquirer!

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Are you missing reading the Philly Inquirer while you’re stuck at home? Do you want to find out what is happening in our region? The Chester County Library offers free access to the full-color Philadelphia Inquirer online with your library card! Once you log in with your library card, choose 2018 – current (the bottom option) and then click on today’s date to go to the front page. You can easily zoom in and out as well as navigate to the next page using the on-screen buttons. You can even read back issues!