Bucks County Nonprofits Team Up For Valentine's Day Project

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Over the past few weeks, members of The National Charity League have handcrafted, labeled, stamped and sealed 1,000 valentines bound for donors of "A Love for Life," a Newtown-based pancreatic cancer research non-profit.

The Central Bucks Chapter of NCL provides hands-on volunteer service for 20 local philanthropic organizations. Members are women and their daughters, grades 7-12, who also develop leadership skills and enjoy cultural experiences.

Each NCL, Inc. chapter promotes social awareness by considering the local community’s needs and selecting non-profit organizations to support through different volunteer activities. They currently support up to 30 charitable organizations including Kin, the VIA, Wreaths Across America, A Love For Life, Wesley Enhanced Living, the American Heart Association, Discover Doylestown and others.

The group partnered with A Love for Life just over nine years ago, and have helped at the group’s annual Oktoberfest fundraiser, its dragon boat races, and provided volunteers for its annual Newtown Shamrock Shuffle 5K, which will be held this year on Saturday, March 16.

Volunteers pour their hearts into Valentine's Day project in Bucks.

“The girls really enjoyed working on a fun project that holds a far deeper meaning than just cutting out doilies and stamping purple hearts," said Julianne Coleman, a Doylestown mom and coordinator of the 2024 Valentine project. "It was a chance to come together in the evenings and produce small works of art to share with donors, and to show gratitude for their support over the past year.”

“Valentine’s Day was never my favorite holiday,” admits A Love for Life’s president Christine Edmonds of Newtown, “and now that Kevin is not here, my Feb. 14 week is always spent at our local Clark’s Flower Shop. It is so busy and bustling there in the lead up to Valentine's Day. The people who work there are so kind and talented and it’s going to be absolutely crazy this Tuesday and Wednesday. There’s no time to be sad or think of what I would be doing if he was here."

Edmonds founded A Love For Life in memory of her husband, Kevin, who died from the disease in 2012 after a two year battle. She and her organization have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine where 100 percent of the money funds cutting edge research.

Edmonds adds, "Sending out our 'thank you' Valentines is also a nice reminder that not everyone has a romantic interest to focus on - we can just send something pink and purple in the mail that says, 'We appreciate you.'"

For more information about The National Charity League, click here. For information about A Love for Life, click here.

There are always a few dozen extra valentines left over, said Edmonds. Anyone who would like someone to get one, just email the name and address to christine@aloveforlife.us.

Volunteers with the Bucks County Chapter of the National Charity League show off their handmade valentines, which are being sent to donors to A Love For Life.