The community came together on Saturday, September 20, 2025, at Waynesborough Country Club to mark a milestone: the 20th anniversary of T&E Care. Guests enjoyed a lively evening filled with connection, generosity, and gratitude, all centered around the theme “Cheers to 20 Years!”

A Night of Connection and Celebration

The evening began with a cocktail hour that set the stage for camaraderie, followed by a delicious buffet dinner. Live entertainment from The Key Duo filled the room with energy as attendees mingled, laughed, and celebrated the lasting impact of T&E Care.

Guests also had the opportunity to participate in both a silent auction and several raffles with exciting prizes.

Honoring a Legacy of Service

A highlight of the evening was the recognition of Sandi Gorman, whose steadfast dedication over two decades has shaped T&E Care’s success and impact. In gratitude for her years of service, she was honored with a citation from State Senator Carolyn T. Comitta, a certificate of achievement from State Representative Melissa Shusterman, and a special gift from the T&E Care Board of Directors.

Impact that Lasts

The Fall Fest was more than just a celebration; it was a powerful fundraiser. Through ticket sales, sponsorships, raffles, the silent auction, and generous donations, an astounding $160,000 was raised. These funds will directly support the mission of T&E Care:

The mission of T&E Care is to maintain a network of people providing short-term financial and other material assistance to persons in need who live in and around the Tredyffrin and Easttown township areas.

Equally important is the heart behind this mission:

The goal of T&E Care is to offer dignity to our neighbors in times of stress.

Looking Ahead

For two decades, T&E Care has stood as a beacon of hope in the Tredyffrin and Easttown communities. This year’s Fall Fest not only honored the past but also set the stage for the future. Thanks to the incredible generosity of attendees, donors, and sponsors, T&E Care will continue to provide critical support to families in need, ensuring that dignity and compassion remain at the center of its work.

Cheers to 20 years for T&E Care and to many more ahead! When bad things happen to good people, T&E Care makes good things happen.

Sharing My Back Story and Gratitude as a T&E Care Recipient

Twenty years ago, after losing everything in a house fire, my daughters and I experienced blessings from T&E Care that brought us tears of joy. I remain deeply grateful for the kindness we received at such a devastating time.

In June 2015, I shared my ten-year fire survival story in an article called Father’s Day = Fire … and 7 Lessons Learned. Ten years later, in June 2025, I reflected again in What I Learned from Losing Everything in a House Fire on Father’s Day Twenty Years Ago.

If you’d like more of the backstory behind why T&E Care’s support was so meaningful, I invite you to read the commencement speech I delivered to the Lansdale School of Business on May 3, 2019, beginning with the words “My journey.”

My journey has indeed been one of resilience. On October 31, 1994, with just 13 hours’ notice, I moved back to Pennsylvania from California with my 1½- and 3-year-old daughters. The courts finally allowed me to bring them 3,000 miles away from their father, an abusive alcoholic. My older daughter, now 36, still recalls what she witnessed at age two. Their father later died of leukemia at just 54.

Before leaving California, my husband and I built a general contracting business from scratch into a $5-$7 million company with 24 employees. Yet, after the move, I was homeless on weekends due to court orders, dependent on food stamps, and struggling to rebuild.

By 2001, I had earned my teaching credentials and accepted a first-year teaching role at $35,543, a salary that made replacement-value homeowners’ insurance unaffordable.

Just four years later, in 2005, the fire struck. It took me seven long years to pay off the debt. Then came unemployment for nearly a year, forcing me to deplete my retirement savings, with penalties, to put my daughters through college.

Those hardships shaped my purpose. I often say I had to “put my own oxygen mask on first.” Only by repairing myself could I help my children and, later, others. That is why I do the work I do today: helping job seekers find stability, dignity, and hope.

Adults cannot fully give to children, veterans, pets, or nonprofit causes without first meeting their own basic needs, as Maslow’s hierarchy reminds us. That’s why kindness matters, and supporting adults with an “oxygen mask first” matters. We all carry baggage, some heavier than others. A little compassion goes a long way.

If you’d like to make a difference for local job seekers experiencing lengthy unemployment or homelessness, please contact me to discuss ways you can help or get involved, your support is greatly needed as board members, volunteers giving your time, talent, or treasure.

I’m also honored to serve on the board of the Paoli Business & Professional Association, where we support the Tredyffrin/Easttown (T/E) community through initiatives like the annual charity golf tournament.

As a 1976 Conestoga graduate and longtime T/E resident, I’m proud my daughters went through T/E schools, and yes, the cheerleader married the quarterback, giving me three wonderful grandsons.

Through it all, I remain grateful for the blessings received in Tredyffrin/Easttown since my family moved here from New Jersey in 1973.

It takes a village!

Did you read the previous article? Chester County Community Foundation Hosts Board of Directors Institute for Nonprofits

NEXT STEPS

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Join these upcoming events at our 501(c)3 Nonprofit Events Quick List Page

• Mon Sep 29 – When the Ladder Isn’t Enough: Redefining Success and Creating Your Own Table
• Wed Oct 1 – How to Develop Successful Job Search Strategies for MALT
• Thu Oct 2 – Your Words Have Power: what you say in your head is as powerful as what you say out loud
• Fri Oct 3 – Harnessing AI for Smarter Job Searches at PSG of Mercer County (in-person Princeton)
• Sat Oct 4 – Tredyffrin Community Day (in-person Chesterbrook, PA)
• Sun Oct 5 – LinkedIn Profile Reviews
• Mon Oct 6 – The Eight Elements of Leadership Transformation
• Mon Oct 6 – How to Gain Customers with a LinkedIn Company Page with SCORE Silicon Valley
• Tue Oct 7 – Stop Talking & Start Showing in Your Virtual Meetings
• Tue Oct 7 – Vision with Imagination: If your future is clear enough, why not live it in the here & now?
• Wed Oct 8 – Reclaim Your Career: Clarity, Confidence, and Your Next Opportunity
• Thu Oct 9 – LinkedIn for Nonprofits for SCORE Las Vegas
• Thu Oct 9 – Virtual Job Seeker Support Group
• Fri Oct 10 – The Layoff Journey
• Mon Oct 13 – Career Success Group Job Seeker Accountability & Networking
• Wed Oct 15  – Recruiter on Call with Jobs
• Tue Oct 21 – Tap into Action: Beat Procrastination with EFT Tapping
• Tue Oct 21  – Business Executives Networking Group & ChemPharma Lehigh Valley
• Wed Oct 22 – The Art of Networking in-person & Online hosted by OACETT
• Wed Oct 22 – LinkedIn for Nonprofits for SCORE Jacksonville
• Thu Oct 23 – Career Success Group Job Seeker Accountability & Networking
• Thu Oct 23 – An Evening of Ideas, Laughter & Networking
• Sat Oct 25 – Jump Start Your Job Search
• Mon Oct 27 – The Magic of Top Performance
• Mon Oct 27 – Immigrant Professionals Career Success Group: Navigating the U.S. Job Market
• Tue Oct 28 – How to Write Your First Book
• Tue Oct 28 – Business Executives Networking Group & ChemPharma
• Wed Oct 29 – Ethics in the Workplace Today – What You Don’t Know You Don’t Know
• Wed Oct 29 – Job Search Techniques
• Thu Oct 30 – Corporate to Entrepreneur – Leveraging AI to Reinvent Your LinkedIn Presence