Good morning, Lancaster County. Patchy fog before nine, then mostly sunny and 85 — the warmest day in a week, so the cool stretch is over for now. Today we start with sixteen people who stood up in front of judges, and the five who are still standing.
In today's Lancaster Local:
Sixteen Lancaster entrepreneurs pitched. Five made the final, and they're building some unexpected things
Ten percent of your tab at a Denver restaurant goes to a library today
Columbia's library is asking for an hour or two a week
Glassblowing in Mount Joy tomorrow, a fire hall breakfast Saturday, and a winery sending summer off
COMMUNITY NEWS
Sixteen entrepreneurs pitched. Five are still standing. One of them started her business because she had to.
ASSETS, the Lancaster nonprofit that helps people build businesses, has named the five finalists for this year's Great Social Enterprise Pitch — and the list is a decent snapshot of what people around here think is worth fixing.
They came out of the Idea Incubator, a ten-week program. Sixteen entrepreneurs presented at an event called Pitch & Brew. Five moved on.
Julia Morrell runs Custom Clean Commercial Cleaning Services. She started it out of necessity, and then demand outgrew her. What she's building now is deliberate: steady, dignified work at a living wage for women navigating hard circumstances — single mothers, immigrants, women rebuilding their lives. The bet is that investing in the people doing the work produces better results for the customer too.
Susanna Wurtz runs Mountain Laurel Sewing Company — lessons, garment design, alterations and fiber arts, with a real emphasis on vintage and recycled textiles. She's noticed that interest in sewing is climbing again, and she wants a storefront where people can come learn to make and mend their own clothes.
Sharon Allen-Spann spent more than forty years in education and human resources. Now, as Coach Sharon, she works with people who got promoted into more responsibility than their habits can carry. Her ninety-day program is aimed squarely at leaders who are over-functioning their way toward burnout.
Malia Burris is a licensed social worker, mental health therapist and artist. Through The Live Well Experience, she builds community wellness sessions for schools, nonprofits and community organizations — the premise being that the usual mental health resources don't feel accessible or welcoming to everyone.
Michael Bradley built Aftercare Compass, a web platform that helps behavioral health providers keep track of what happens to a client after discharge — appointments, housing referrals, follow-up — instead of scattering it across spreadsheets, email and paper. He's been on both sides of that handoff, and he's aiming it at the smaller providers who don't have the software the big ones do.
Five businesses, five problems somebody noticed and decided to work on.
They pitch for cash and prizes on Thursday, September 10, at Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse on North Water Street. That's two weeks out, so there's time to put it on the calendar.
EVENTS
Two things today, a busy Thursday, and a Saturday you can start at six in the morning.
🌮 Castañeda's Library Fundraiser — Castañeda's Mexican Restaurant, 323 Main Street, Denver, PA. Today, Wednesday, August 26, 11:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. On the last Wednesday of every month, 10% of everything the restaurant takes in — alcohol excluded — goes to the Adamstown Area Library. Dine in or take out; either counts. Nine hours, no ticket, just show up hungry.
📚 Columbia Public Library Friends Group — Columbia Public Library, 24 South 6th Street, Columbia, PA 17512. Tonight, Wednesday, August 26, 6:00–7:30 p.m. No registration. They're starting a Friends group, and the ask is refreshingly specific: "a spare hour or two a week." The library calls itself "the Little Library that Could," and it's trying to expand during Columbia's 300th anniversary year without burning out its staff.
🧶 Knitting and Crocheting Group — Quarryville Library, 357 Buck Road, Quarryville, PA 17566. Thursday, August 27, 1:00–3:00 p.m. No registration. Open to knitters, crocheters "and other needle or fabric crafters," which is a generous enough definition to cover most things you'd bring.
🔥 Glassblowing at Grandview Vineyard — 1489 Grandview Rd, Mount Joy, PA 17552. Thursday, August 27. Introductory class 4:30–6:30 p.m., date night 6:30–8:30 p.m. $65.75 through Eventbrite. Michael Peluso, who has been working glass for close to thirty years, walks you through making a plant waterer, a wine sampler or a seashell. No experience needed, and the thing you make goes home with you that night.
💼 Life Skills for Success — Lancaster Public Library, 151 North Queen Street, Lancaster, PA 17603. Friday, August 28, 9:00–11:00 a.m. No registration. Staff from Lancaster County Courts run these twice a week — computer skills, resume building, job searching, plus math, reading and writing. The library describes the setting as "a calm, neutral space," which is the point.
🍳 Breakfast Buffet — Strasburg Fire Company #1, 203 W Franklin St, Strasburg, PA 17579. Saturday, August 29, 6:00–10:00 a.m. An all-volunteer fire company putting on a buffet to fund itself. Four hours, starting at six, which is early enough to eat and still have your Saturday. The listing doesn't give a price — bring cash and ask at the door.
🍷 End of Summer Celebration — Glasshouse Wineworks, 8 S Charlotte St, Manheim, PA. Saturday, August 29. Food 5:00–8:00 p.m., music 6:00–8:00 p.m. Songsmith plays, the kitchen does smoked wings and pork mac and cheese, and there are specials on the PG13, the Riesling and the Citrine. The winery's own line: "Come hungry — we've got dinner covered."
🧵 Blanketeers — Lititz Public Library, 651 Kissel Hill Road, Lititz, PA 17543. Tuesday, September 1, 2:00–4:00 p.m. No registration. First and third Tuesday, they sit and make blankets for Project Linus, which gives them to children who are seriously ill or otherwise having a hard time. Bring yourself; they'll find you something to do.
☕ Young at Heart — Adamstown Area Library, 110 W. Main St, Adamstown, PA 19501. Wednesday, September 2, 9:00–11:00 a.m. Free, age 60 and up. REAL Life Community Services hosts coffee, conversation, games and crafts on the first and third Wednesday. Questions: 717-336-7797.
🏥 Health Insurance Q&A Table — Lancaster Public Library, 151 North Queen Street, Lancaster, PA 17603. Saturday, September 5, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. No registration. Someone from RN Insurance Navigators will sit down with you on health plans, Medicare, Medicaid and Pennie. Open enrollment questions get easier when a person is doing the explaining.
Wednesday, August 26 — Patchy fog before 9 a.m., then mostly sunny and warm with a high near 85. Calm early, with a south wind picking up to about 6 mph in the afternoon. Noticeably warmer than the last few days.
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