PLEASANT VALLEY ECUMENICAL NETWORK
Don't let pride get in the way
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Monroe County's West End and surrounding townships (Chestnuthill, Eldred, Hamilton, Jackson, Ross and Polk) is a rural region with an agriculture history. Through the years, several manufacturers have come - and gone. Meanwhile, a quirk of the 2001-2008 economy raised housing and property tax prices forcing many families to spend more that 35% of their household income on housing. The net-net result is that a disproportionate number of West End households struggle to put food on the table while still keeping a roof overhead. PVEN's objective is to help families with their physical needs, primarily food and clothing, freeing up more of their remaining budget to live dignified lives, whether they working age, in school, or in their senior years. Equally important is that services are provided without judgement or pre-conceived expectations. All people, regardless of how they fell on a "run of bad luck" are worthy of respect and support.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Food Pantry
PVEN distributes grocery food to people in need Tuesdays and some Saturdays throughout the month. Recipients must complete a self-declaration of need and recertify annually.
PVEN provides its services without regard to background, ethnicity, nationality, beliefs, gender or gender identity, or anything other than financial need.
Clothing Closet
PVEN distributes free shoes, clothing, linens, and toiletries to people in need in Southern Monroe County, PA
Angel Tree (Holiday Gifts)
PVEN provides free winter holiday gifts to children in southern Monroe County. PVEN works with the US Marines Toys for Tots, the Pocono Record Toys for Joy and 16+ local churches and civic organizations to gather toys and make sure they get to families in need.
Summer Lunch
Every Summer, PVEN provides free breakfast and lunch to children in Monroe County by going to the parks, libraries, and summer school programs where kids congregate. PVEN works with the PA Dept of Education and the USDA to monitor the program, and receives additional funding for the program from local foundations.
Diaper Bank
PVEN provides diaper and skin products to parents of children in need across southern Monroe County.
PVEN also operates an incontenance product program, providing adult diapers and bed absorption pads to those in the community with need.
Aid Agency Facilities
PVEN opens its 18,500 square foot campus to aid agencies seeking to serve residents of Southern Monroe County. Offering reduced rate rental space for offices and/or service delivery, PVEN's campus is an ideal location to reach residents in need, particularly in conjunciton with its on-site food pantry and free clothing closet.
Where we work
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of meals served or provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Summer Lunch
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
The summer meals program exploded in size during 2020 and 2021 when COVID waivers allowed us to distribute grab-n-go meals instead of requiring sit-down meals.
Pounds of fresh produce distributed per year
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Food Pantry
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
2021 saw more community garden and fresh foods distributed due to a large EFSP grant received in the summer of 2021 that allowed for purchasing large amounts of fresh produce that year.
Total pounds of food distributed per year
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Food Pantry
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
2021 saw a significant contraction of donations and foods available through the federal (USDA) TEFAP program. 2022 is looking to be more like pre-covid years had been
Avg monthly households receiving food pantry groceries
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Food Pantry
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
New residency requirements in Jan 2020 resulted in about a 30% drop in eligible households. COVID hit immediately afterward pushing counts back up. Post Covid numbers should be about 200/mo
Monthly avg # of boxes of diapers distributed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Diaper Bank
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Program began in 2018, but figures not collected until 2020.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
At its core, PVEN strives to reduce suffering and provide life's necessities so that people can live dignified lives.
Since its inception 30 years ago, PVEN's objective has been to help families with their physical needs, primarily food and clothing, freeing up more of their remaining budget to live dignified lives, whether they working age, in school, or in their senior years. Equally important is that services are provided without judgement or pre-conceived expectations. All people, regardless of how they fell on a "run of bad luck" are worthy of respect and support.
In areas where PVEN cannot develop services to meet its target audience, PVEN strives to help develop peer agencies, and via its 18,500 square foot campus, provide low-cost office and operating space to help them provide their services to the local population
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Food. Clothing. Joy. Hope.
PVEN has five programs:
1. PVEN provides grocery foods to families within 150% of the poverty level using a Choice Pantry model with a strong focus on healthy foods. PVEN is consistently the largest or second largest food state-recognized pantry in the county each quarter.
2. PVEN runs the Summer Lunch program distributing meals at parks and other places kids congregate because the local school district does not run any comparable program.
3. Quality clothing is given to individuals and families in need, with a focus on work and school clothes to be sure people are safe at work and not bullied at school.
4. PVEN administers the Toys for Tots program for the region, bringing joy to families that would otherwise have little to share.
5. PVEN's new 3-building campus hosts synergistic agency services like Women's Resources and Developmental Educational Services.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
PVEN's organic support comes from the 16 area churches that founded the organization along with local businesses and civic organizations. Increasingly, grants support add-on programs.
PVEN is affiliated with several regional organizations that provide revenues, efficiency mechanisms, and collaboration opportunities:
United Way partner, Pocono Mountains Hunger Coalition (founder), Second Harvest partner, InterAgency Council (board), Monroe County Homeless Advisory Board, and others.
Lastly, with over 18,500 sf of office and warehouse space, PVEN now has facilities to effectively grow and complementary support agencies to the West End. PVEN's 3600 sf pantry can now receive truck shipments and provide a "Choice" pantry service. Its 3800 sf clothing area allows recipients to shop for clothes for their families, including shoes, undergarments, uniforms, and more. And with over 9000 sf remaining for other agencies, PVEN's service center can offer a full circle of support services.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
PVEN has been a fixture in Monroe County’s West End for 30 years, providing free food and clothing to those in need. Its deep support base has allowed it to continue providing services through strong and weak economies.
Over the past 4 years PVEN has undergone a renewal - building new alliances, adding new programs, expanding into a new facility, and taking on the role of social services hub for the region. These changes, particularly to food and clothing, will allow it to serve more people in need in a more dignified way.
More interesting and important is its new role as a social services hub. By providing space for complementary agencies to bring their services to the West End, PVEN can introduce its own clients to agencies that can help them solve the underlying problems that brought them to the pantry and clothing closet itself. This reaches all the way back to PVEN’s core objective: “..to reduce suffering and provide life’s necessities so that people can live dignified lives."
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
PLEASANT VALLEY ECUMENICAL NETWORK
Board of directorsas of 10/11/2022
Thomas Campbell
Self Employed
Term: 2017 - 2021
Edward Jones
Jean Transue
Kathleen Hinton
Mary Oxenrider
Barbara Souders
Jean Reiff
Bill Campbell
Robert O'conner
Robin Stier
Jennifer Herscap
Deborah Scheffey
Nick Hawkey
Dorothey Hepner
Carolyn Mansfield
Patrice Mulqueen
Fred Kraft
Suzanne Brooks-Cope
Pat Martin
Nancy Wicoff
John Williamson
Frank Wiezeoloski
Denise Richumi
Susan Sandman
Marissa Wagner
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as: