Democratic Club of Willow Valley

Hear from Three Local Candidates
2025-08-26 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York)
Meet our Democratic School Board candidates Sarah Cook and Kirk Williard, as well as West Lampeter Township Supervisor candidate Tracy Arnold.

Click this link to open. Dems Club General Meeting Slides 2025-08-26 V4
Click this link to open. Dems General Meeting Minutes 2025-08-26

Court Appointed Special Advocates
2025-08-19 10:00 - 11:30 | Cultural Center Education Room
Understanding Our Democracy: Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children; Tuesday, August 19th @10 am, Education Room at the Cultural Center
Erin Small is returning as our guest speaker. She will talk to us about CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children). Their Mission is to provide a qualified and compassionate court-appointed volunteer advocate to every child who is abused and neglected, to ensure the fundamental human right of having a safe, nurturing, and permanent home is met. To date, they have served over 1,200 children. Please join us; everyone is welcome.

August 2025 Newsletter
2025-08-01 08:00 - 2025-08-31 17:00
Dems Club Newsletter 2025 Aug V2

Field Trip to Milagro House Group Tour #2
2025-07-29 09:30 - 11:30
Join us for this second, identical tour of the impressive Milagro House to be held at 10 AM on Tuesday July 29th. This non-profit helps women with children achieve long-term success through education. Pre-registration is required: contact Ross Fairweather at rossfair63@gmail.com or 717-405-8447 to signup and schedule a ride to the event. (Allow two hours, door-to-door total duration.)
Click on this hotlink to learn more about Milagro House: Milagro House Field Trips

Field Trip to Milagro House Tour Group #1
2025-07-23 13:30 - 15:30 | 669 West Chestnut Street, 669 W Chestnut St, Lancaster, PA, 17603, United States
Join us for a tour of the impressive Milagro House to be held at 2 PM on Wednesday July 23rd. This non-profit helps women with children achieve long-term success through education. Pre-registration is required: contact Ross Fairweather at rossfair63@gmail.com or 717-405-8447 to signup and schedule a ride to the event. (Allow three hours, door-to-door total duration.)
To learn more about Milagro House, click on this hotlink: Milagro House Field Trips

Healthcare Challenges
2025-07-21 10:00 - 11:30
Nancy Mannion will be our speaker on Monday, July 21, 2025 from 10:00 – 11:30 AM. She is a nurse, advocate, humanitarian, and author who recently spoke at a local rally protesting federal budget cuts to healthcare and science. She is anticipating running for US Congress to challenge Representative Lloyd Smucker.
All are welcome to attend.

Housing and Homelessness
2025-07-15 10:00 - 11:30
We will look back at the origins of today’s crisis, the inadequate responses over the years, and how we can best address both housing & homelessness.
Please join us if you can; everyone is welcome. To see the slides from this event, click on this link: UoD Housing First Works

July 2025 Newsletter
2025-07-01 08:00 - 2025-07-31 17:00
Dems Club Newsletter 2025 July

Hear speaker PA Rep. Izzy Smith-Wade-El
2025-06-24 13:00 - 14:00
Come hear PA Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El talk about the current events underway in the legislative session with an emphasis on the housing crisis in PA and Lancaster County.
Click on this link to open the slides: Dems Club General Meeting Slides 2025 June
Click on this link to open the meeting minutes: Dems General Meeting Minutes 2025-06-24

Political Advocacy as Friendly Persuasion
2025-06-12 13:30 - 15:00
Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) is the oldest faith-based lobbying group in Washington. For decades it has been a successful vehicle in advocacy for causes Quakers hold dear: peace and justice.
The FCNL lobbying approach uses a format that emphasizes interactive dialogue, seeking common ground, and building long-term working relationships with legislators. During the past decade FCNL has built a grassroots network of Advocacy Teams in 49 states and D.C. These teams—composed of Quakers and non-Quakers allies–use the FCNL lobbying approach to engage with their representatives in Congress.
The local Lancaster FCNL Advocacy Team will share the FCNL method of advocacy and demonstrate it in a simulated lobby visit.
Please join us … everyone is welcome.
To see the material presented, click on these links: UoD Friends Cmte on Natl Legislation UpD Vote YES on HB1500

Billionaires Win! Families Lose!
2025-06-09 13:30 - 15:00 | Cultural Center Education Room
We will look at the Reconciliation Bill that just passed the US House of Representatives.

Click on this hotlink to see the slides used in this presentation: UoD Billionaires Win

June 2025 Newsletter
2025-06-01 08:00 - 2025-06-30 17:00
Dems Club Newsletter 2025 June

Hear Chris Baxter from SpotLightPA
2025-05-27 13:00 - 14:00
You have to hear Chris Baxter talk about the evolution of the publishing industry and its impact locally. As CEO of Spotlight PA, Chris knows everything that’s going on in Pennsylvania. Come join the Democratic Club of Willow Valley at its monthly meeting on Tuesday, May 27 at 1 pm. Everyone is welcome.
Click on this link to view the slides: Dems Club General Meeting Slides 2025 May
Click on this link to view the meeting minutes: Dems General Meeting Minutes 2025-05-27

Funding for Local School Districts
2025-05-22 10:00 - 11:30 | Cultural Center Education Room
Susan Spica (Education Voters PA) and Erin Small (candidate for Hempfield School Board) will update us about what is happening with federal and state education funding for local school districts. Pennsylvania’s state funding system for education was declared unconstitutional in 2023. Learn what steps have been taken to remedy this situation and what you can do to support a 2025-2026 state budget that will bring our public schools closer to constitutional school funding. Please join us … everyone is welcome.
For more information, click on one or more of the following links:
Cyber Charter Waste – front
Cyber Charter Waste – back
Lancaster County Lampeter-Strasburg SD
Lancaster County SD of Lancaster

May 2025 Newsletter
2025-05-01
Dems Club Newsletter 2025 May

Hear about Braver Angels
2025-04-29 13:00 - 14:00
Braver Angels is a non-profit that offers workshops, events and online conversations to help Americans across the political spectrum bridge their differences and find common ground. Presented by Ted Borek and Terry Webb. Everyone is welcome.
Dems Club General Meeting Slides 2025 April
Braver Angels Presentation
Dems General Meeting Minutes 2025-04-29

April 2025 Newsletter
2025-04-01
Dems Club Newsletter 2025 Apr

Hear Jamie Arroyo, Democratic candidate for mayor of Lancaster City
2025-03-25 10:00 - 17:00
Our guest speaker will be Jamie Arroyo, Democratic candidate for mayor of Lancaster City. While we don’t live within the boundaries of the City, its governance definitely impacts our way of life. Come join us and hear this effective speaker.
To see the PDF containing the slides of the event, click on this link: Dems Club General Meeting Slides 2025 Mar
To see the file containing the minutes from this meeting, click on this link: Dems General Meeting Minutes 2025-03-25

Minority Rule
2025-03-18 10:00 - 11:30
How Our Constitution Imperils Our Democracy. We will look at what scholars of democracy say about how our constitution enables minority rule, allowing partisan minorities to consistently thwart & even rule over popular majorities. And what can be done to address this.
To see the PDF containing the slides of the event, click on this hotlink: Minority Rules PDF, March 18th, 2025

March 2025 Newsletter
2025-03-01
Dems Club Newsletter 2025 Mar

Hear from Jon Heinly, Lancaster Public Library
2025-02-25 10:00 - 11:30
Our guest speaker will be Jon Heinly, Director of Donor Advertising of the Lancaster Public Library. She will discuss the issues surrounding censorship and withdrawal of funding in this contentious environment.
To see the PDF containing the slides of the event, click on this hotlink: General Meeting February 25, 2025
To see the file containing the minutes of this meeting, click on this hotlink: Dems General Meeting Minutes 2025-02-25

Panel Discussion - How The ILC is Polarizing Our Public Schools
2025-02-18 10:00 - 11:30
Join Public Education Advocates of Lancaster (PEAL) as they moderate a discussion with panelists from Etown Common Sense, Support Hempfield Schools, and Warwick United about the impact the Independence Law Center and PA Family Institute have had on districts across the county. They’ll talk about who the ILC is, what they do, and the divisions caused by their policies on LGBTQ+ students, library materials, and more.
To see the PDF containing the slides of the event, click on this hotlink: The ILC Polarizing Our Public Schools: February 18th, 2025

February 2025 Newsletter
2025-02-01
Dems Club Newsletter 2025 Feb

Hear Jen Porter talk about where we are headed
2025-01-28 13:00 - 14:00
No Speaker. Our president will discuss the issues surrounding censorship and withdrawal of funding in this contentious environment.
To see the PDF containing the slides of the event, click on this hotlink: General Meeting January 28, 2025
To see the file containing the meeting minutes, click on this hotlink: Dems General Meeting Minutes 2025-01-25

The State of American Democracy - Our Democracy At Risk
2025-01-21 10:00 - 23:00 | Cultural Center Education Room
We will look at what two scholars of democracy say about actions of elected leaders around the world that paved the way for democratic failures. Using their framework, we will review the history of our democracy. We will look at how the actions of our leaders over the last 30 years have put our democracy at risk … and what we should do to restore the guardrails of our democracy.
To see the PDF containing the slides of the event, click on this hotlink: Our Democracy At Risk: January 21st, 2025
