Benevolent Volunteer Helps Fund Renovation of Mother-Baby Room at Chester’s Cityteam Ministries

By

Pam Ervin
Volunteer Pam Ervin helped spark the renovation of the Mother-Baby Room at Cityteam Ministries in Chester. Photo courtesy of Peg DeGrassa, Digital First Media.

Funded totally with private donations, the newly renovated Mother-Baby Room at Cityteam Ministries in Chester now offers local families a helping hand during times of hardship, writes Peg DeGrassa for the Delaware County News Network.

Cityteam’s dedicated staff and volunteers offer hot meals, clothing and safe shelter, as well as a drug and alcohol recovery program for men. The organization also offers emergency food boxes to low-income families, as well as diapers, formula, and other baby items to mothers and mothers-to-be.

The renovations to the Mother-Baby Room include freshly painted walls, new shelving, racks, bins and signage, tasteful and meaningful artwork, and a more contemporary-looking front-desk area.

The updated look was volunteer Pam Ervin’s idea.

“Pam started volunteering here in January,” said Nancy Craskey, the development officer at Cityteam. “She has a heart for organization. One thing led to the next, and here we are today.”

Before she began volunteering at Cityteam, Ervin, a Malvern resident, was a social companion to Ruth Chisman of Chester Springs, who was battling Parkinson’s Disease. A very successful business woman, Chisman would engage Ervin in conversation during their time together.

When she passed away, having no children or close relatives, Chisman left Ervin a small sum of money.

“When I started volunteering in the Mother-Baby Room, it looked shabby,” Ervin said. “I thought what better way for Chisman to leave a legacy than to use the money she left to re-do this room in her memory, and give countless people a better experience when they come here.

“Also, the volunteers are so nice and dedicated here. I wanted to give them an easier and nicer place to work.”

Click here to read more about Cityteam from the Delaware County News Network.

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