Providing Promising Futures

Vision Article from the Tribune

Bethesda received a generous EITC donation of $10,000 from First National Bank this year.  This donation will help to support Bethesda’s Alternative Education program.  The goal of the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program is to promote involvement of local businesses in local educational programs. The EITC program paves the way for that involvement and provides a win-win situation for those organizations that are involved.  Thank you to First National Bank to your continued commitment to our mission of providing promising futures for the children and youth of our community!

Pictured - Left (Matt Schlosser FNB) Right (George Trauner - CEO Bethesda)

Look for Bethesda mentioned in the latest issue of the Wayfarer!

Erie Gives raises just shy of $2000

Crawford Gives raises shy of $2300

Thank you for your support!

Our 2nd Annual Luau on the Lake is scheduled for August 27th! 

Tickets Sold Out- Thank you for your support!

Please remember to support Bethesda during Crawford Gives this year - August 29th & 30th!

Our Daddy Daughter dance was a magical nigth! Thank you to all our community friends that joined us! The photos are up and available by contacting our Development Department or on our Facebook page!

Our 10th Annual Charity Golf Classic was a great success with over $25k raised for the care and continuation of programming for the over 2000 youth we serve daily! 

Save the Date for 2023's outing - June 5th 2023

We are so excited to be holding it again at the Hotel Conneaut at Conneaut Lake Park on Saturday, June 18th from 5:30-8 PM! 

Dinner, Dancing, Photos to Capture the memories, and more!

Tickets are on sale now at www.bethesda1919.org/dance 

Please share, and we can't wait to see you all! ❤ 

Wise Hall Ribbon Cutting & Dedication

Save the Date for our Golf Classic

Join our Partner the Erie Contemporary Ballet Theatre for their Nutty Night Out event on October 20th at Calamari's Squid Row in Erie to benefit the Nut Cracker!! 

Bethesda is excited to have founded a new partnership with the Erie Dance Conservatory.  

Bethesda Lutheran Services strongly supports the Erie Dance Conservancy. Their commitment to inspire, enrich and educate their dancers and their surrounding community is something that, we believe, falls in line with the mission of Bethesda Lutheran Services which is to work to provide promising futures to children, youth and families.

The positive effects of learning and participating in performing arts is something that cannot be denied. Discipline, commitment, determination and drive are all qualities that, regardless of when they are learned, can propel someone into a life they never thought possible. Teaching those qualities to children and youth is something that Bethesda Lutheran Services has been doing since 1919.

The Erie Dance Conservancy is truly a gift to our community. Bethesda Lutheran Services is proud to be promoting their 2021 performance of The Nutcracker on our website and our social media sites. We will also proudly be supporting them in person during this event. 

Bethesda treats our employees to a drink, and the best Sausage Sandwich at the Crawford County Fair, at the Rotary Booth! Stop by the Rotary Fair booth all week right behind the grandstands for the best sausage! Tell em Bethesda sent you! 

Support Bethesda on August 10th donating to our online profile.

This year donations will go towards funding the new youth recreation center we are building on our Meadville Campus! Due to COVID and restrictions, off-campus outings have been changed or in some cases suspended. Our goal is to create this amazing recreation center for our youth to be able to safely use daily, no matter what comes our way!

Our rec center will include a theater room and recreation area for many various games, and events!

Join us July 15th for a Hiring Event and Open House! We have many open positions in our Residential and school programs, and are also look for House Parents for our Petersen Home!

Stop by and Interview on the spot and tour our Petersen home to learn more about this unique opportunity!

We are looking for a couple to be house parents at our Petersen Home here in Meadville, PA.  This isn't just a job, or even a career, it is a lifestyle and a chance to make a difference in the lives of children right here in our community!

We are Hiring! 

- Find out more on the Career Tab

Charity Golf Outing - Tickets Available

- Find out more on the Events Tab

We need help with Wise Hall

- Find out more on the Donate Tab

Thank you cards from our youth! 

Check them out here!

Unfortunately due to the continued COVID-19 Pandemic and to ensure the safety of all our guests we have decided to Postpone our Gala for March.

We are looking into dates later in 2021 and hope that we will all be able to get together once more to celebrate and support Bethesda and the youth we serve!

Please keep this event on your radar, as we do look to bring it back as soon as we are safely able to do so! 

This year at Bethesda was one of the most magical to date. 

We can't begin to thank you, our caring donors for everything you did for the holiday this year. We had an overwhelming amount of presents donated, along with food baskets, gift cards, and cookie trays. 

In a year full of uncertainty, and fear, you made Christmas a day full of happiness and provided a sense of normalcy for our youth, and that we can never repay. 

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and will enjoy a safe, healthy, and blessed New Year! 

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

George R. Trauner - CEO

Bethesda Development Department - Amanda Shields

Bethesda Foundation for Children - Board of Directors

Bethesda Lutheran Services - Board of Directors

First National Bank donated $10,000 to Bethesda Lutheran Services through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program in support of our Horticulture and Alternative Education programs here at our Meadville Campus. Thank you so much for your continued support of our agency and mission! 

In an effort to make homelessness rare and in partnership with Bethesda Lutheran Services and Family Services of NW PA, EUMA’s Journey Home will begin welcoming youth (18-24) aging out of the foster care system and are at risk of entering the homeless system without an intervention.

We are excited to have broken ground on our new building, Wise Hall. Learn more about this new venture here. 

We are beyond excited to announce the opening of our Petersen Foster Care Home. Learn more about this great project which is the first of it's kind in the State! 

Support Bethesda and the over 1000 Children, youth and families we serve daily on August 10th & 11th. Your dollar will become more, when it is partially matched during each day! 

Learn More about Crawford Gives at www.crawfordgives.org/bethesda1919 or Erie Gives at https://www.eriegives.org/organizations/bethesda-lutheran-services 

Please see the link below for an official statement regarding the postponement of our Gala. 

Great night supporting the Chamber of Commerce at their annual Gala

Bethesda raises $1994.62 from the Inaugural Crawford Gives Day!

First National Bank donates $10,000 to Bethesda Lutheran Services through EITC Funds. 

Bethesda welcomed a group of supporters from St. Paul's Lutheran Church Corry, PA today on a tour of our Meadville campus and enjoyed a great fellowship!!

St. Paul's have been amazing supporters of Bethesda over the years providing Easter baskets for our children and Christmas gifts among other things. We are so appreciative that they wanted to come out today and learn more about what we do as an agency and meet some of those that they so graciously support!! We even had a resident from years past attend with the group, he lived here at Bethesda in the 50's.

Thank you all so much for coming and we hope you enjoyed the day!!

Congratulations are in order for one of our Development Coordinators, Victoria Soff and to Bethesda's Foundation for Children on their wins at the Meadville-Western Crawford County Chamber of Commerce Diamond Awards on April 25th! Victoria won Emerging Female Leader of the year, and the Foundation won Large Non-Profit of the Year!!

We celebrated a historic day yesterday, a groundbreaking ceremony for our newest innovative program - The Petersen Family Home. The house, which is the only of it's kind in the area will provide a family like setting for up to 6 children between 5-11, that are too young to be served currently by Bethesda's residential services. This home will utilize a couple, serving as foster parents to care for the children in the home environment and we at Bethesda will be able to wrap services around them so they are fully supported and the children are able to begin to heal from past trauma and other mental health issues while finally having a home!!

We plan to begin construction next month and hope to be able to reveal the home at our Alumi Reunion and Centennial celebration in the fall!!

Bethesda’s Cafeteria Staff entered the 9th Annual Chili, Chowder and Soup Cook-off that is put on by the Meadville-Western Crawford County Chamber of Commerce.

Our team entered White Chicken Chili & a Crab Bisque and they won the title for Most Unique Chili!! 

Congratulations to Kathy, Carrie, and Kat!!! 

George's Grand Leprechaun run ended with a 3rd place finish but with raising over $14,000 for our Right Start for Young Mothers Program! It was a great time, thank you to everyone for their support! 

Our second Vision article in the Meadville Tribune was published on Monday. In case you missed it, here it is!!

Our first of three Vision articles in the Meadville Tribune was published on Monday. In case you missed it, here it is!!

Bethesda Lutheran Services is proud to announce our collaboration with Corry Primary School to begin providing K-2 Community & School Based Behavioral Health Services (CSBBH). CSBBH provides voluntary mental health services for children and youth (up to age 21). CSBBH services strive to help children and youth that suffer from a serious behavioral or emotional problem that is affecting how they function at school, at home or in the community. 

Bethesda Lutheran Services and Catholic Charities Counseling & Adoption Services (CCCAS) are pleased to announce their partnership in the delivery of SWAN units of service throughout Northwestern Pennsylvania. Our agencies have a history of collaboration and we look forward to our joint efforts to help children and families achieve permanency in a safe and nurturing environment. The collaboration of the two agencies allows for expansion of services into the following counties; Erie, Crawford, Venango, Warren, Mckean, Potter, Mercer, Jefferson, Forest, Elk, Clearfield, Cameron and Clarion.

We believe our combined expertise in the areas of foster care, kinship care and child development make us an ideal choice when considering a SWAN affiliate agency.

Bethesda's Incorporation Day Celebration was a wonderful time! We as an agency are incredibly proud of our last 100 years and are extremely thankful for all of the support our community has shown us not only today but throughout out history. Our day included proclamations from local and state officials, words from our CEO with an exciting reveal of our new building coming this spring, a ribbon cutting by the Meadville Chamber and a rededication of our chapel of the Good Samaritan!

We are kicking off our Centennial with the cover story in the Erie Manufacturer & Business Association Magazine!

We are proud to be able to share our story of 100 years of Promising Futures!! We would appreciate any feedback!