We’d like to share another inspiring story that came together at our GVCO community organization. It is an outstanding story about a number of different community members, who didn’t know each other, coming together for the good of the community. It involved a local Great Valley student aspiring to complete his Eagle Scout designation, a lifelong resident & family of Malvern and a multi-generational small business with its roots in the district.

Owen Li, an outstanding student and young man in our community, came to GVCO last spring and asked if there was a project to complete at the new facility that would allow him to receive his Eagle Scout designation. Owen had been working in our GVCO internship program and to genuinely appreciate Owen you would have to meet him. However, read his bio for an incredibly good idea of the type of young man he is. We outlined to Owen the project’s vision and over the next 6 months he planned, designed, scheduled, and installed a wonderful retaining wall that is now the backdrop to our playing field at the new GVCO Community Center complex.

One of the Eagle Scout project's prerequisites is that the organization would provide the materials for it. In this case, the hardscaping block, mortar, & adhesives were needed which were a substantial cost. GVCO reached out to a potential donor that we felt might have an interest in helping GVCO and the wonderful young man putting in the time and effort. GVCO contacted the Zubyk family and set up a meeting with Owen. Within minutes the Zubyk’s were convinced that this would be a fantastic opportunity to do something outstanding that could support so many. Read here for the Zubyk Family Response to our funding request.

Lastly Owen needed a mentor for the project that could provide some technical experience and advice to complete the project. Todd Cappelli of Cappelli & Sons is a hardscaping expert who eagerly agreed to help as he has assisted in several Eagle Scout projects in the past. The Cappellis are long time participants and volunteers in our GVCO programs, and the business has been in the area for decades. Todd used his connections at Fizzano Bros. to secure the materials plus he and his sons assisted with much of the labor involved in getting the hardscaping in place.

This is a fantastic example of when many of the community's residents, organizations and businesses gather their resources combining for a powerful community outcome. We wanted to share this exceptional story as a testament to how Giving Tuesday is an impactful day, but GVCO and the community are so fortunate that the Giving occurs year-round here in Great Valley!