STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL
CANCELLED
Please read below
It is with great sadness that the Rotary Club of Coatesville must bring an end to the Strawberry Festival. This would have been the 50th year for this event. Although the Rotary Club took responsibility of the festival in 2019, they had been involved with the festival since it began.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the world has changed in many ways. Although the steering committee has been working on the 2023 festival since October, it has become impossible to find a security firm that would ensure proper safety for all concerned. In the past, we had fire companies help with parking and traffic control and they no longer have the volunteers to assist us.
It is unfortunate that the non-profits in the Coatesville area will be the ones that will lose out. Last year’s festival enabled the Rotary Foundation to give grants totaling $100,000. This is money the non-profits will surely miss.
The Rotary Club of Coatesville is looking at other opportunities to fundraise in the future. However, the strawberry festival as we know it is no longer possible due to the reasons listed above and the uncertain future of the former hospital grounds.
We want to thank all of our community partners, hundreds of volunteers and vendors for their years of commitment to the strawberry festival.

Beneficiaries
The proceeds from the Strawberry Festival directly supported the greater Coatesville community through grants and programs.
The following organizations received grants from the proceeds of the 2022 Rotary Club of Coatesville Strawberry Festival.
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Thorndale Volunteer Fire Company - $20,000. In addition to providing volunteers to handle the parking for the Strawberry Festival in 2022, the Fire Company has responded to 478 incidents in 2022.
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Chester County Food Bank - $15,000. The Chester County Food Bank annually distributes over 3 million pounds of food to those in need in Chester County with a significant amount distributed in the Coatesville area.
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Coatesville Youth Initiative - $15,000. The Coatesville Youth Initiative sets the standard for positive youth development, family engagement, substance abuse prevention, and community collaborations.
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Rotary Club of Coatesville - $13,000. The Rotary Club supports numerous activities directed toward students in the Coatesville School District including scholarships, dictionaries distributed to all 3rd grade students, youth development activities, and youth community engagement activities.
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Coatesville Area Public Library - $5,000. The Coatesville Area Public Library provides information, programming and technology to the residents of the Coatesville area that promote literacy, build community and enrich lives. Coatesville Area Public Library seeks to build an informed and engaged community by connecting people with information, ideas and each other.
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Good Works, Inc. - $5,000. Good Works provides services to families living in substandard housing by working with them to make their homes warmer, safer and drier. The repairs they provide include roof repair, plumbing installation and repair, electrical rewiring and code compliance, heating installation and upgrades, insulation and drywall work, window and floor repair.
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Handi-Crafters, Inc. - $5,000. Handi-Crafters provides outsourcing solutions that empower individuals with employment barriers by helping their participants enhance their skills to participate in their community. Handi-Crafters programs open up a world of opportunity for businesses, participants, and the community.
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Community, Youth & Women’s Alliance - $3,000. The mission of the Community, Youth and Women’s Alliance, Inc. (CYWA) is to improve the spiritual, mental, social and physical condition of Men, Women and Children within the Coatesville community by providing full family services with a special emphasis on serving Pregnant Women and Children. Our goal is to build strong, resilient families and promote healthy lifestyles.
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Brandywine Valley Active Aging - $2,500. The mission of Brandywine Active Aging is to enrich the lives of aging adults living within the Coatesville community by providing services that enhance the dignity and quality of their lives.
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W. C. Atkinson Resource Center - $2,500. The W. C. Atkinson Resource Center’s purpose is to enhance neighborhood revitalization by providing community resources, referrals and housing for low income families, and shelter homeless men in the greater Coatesville area.
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Revival Productions, Inc. - $2,500. The purpose of Revival Productions is to provide the Coatesville, area with excellent, professional, and affordable live entertainment and arts education for all ages.
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David’s Drive 832, Inc. - $2,500. David’s Drive is devoted to improving the lives of homeless and hospitalized veterans. They also help people in the community who are in need of support to get through life’s tough challenges.
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Chester County Connect Care - $2,000. Chester County Connect Care is a Pregnancy Care Medical Center that exists to educate and empower individuals and their families to make life-affirming choices.
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Chester County Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired - $2,000. The mission of the Chester County Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired is to prevent blindness and vision impairment where possible through public education and improve the quality of life for those experiencing blindness or vision loss through direct service or referral.
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Arts Holding Hands and Hearts - $1,500. Arts Holding Hands and Hearts mission is to empower youth, strengthening families, and mobilizing communities through literacy, mindfulness, and expressive arts for social and racial equity and justice.
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Women’s League for Minority Education - $1,000. The Women's League for Minority Education’s mission is to strengthen historically black colleges or universities and to provide scholarships to deserving students.
Total Grant Awards - $97,500
We are making a difference in this community and so are you, with your support of the Strawberry Festival.
Thank you!