Blog

August 17, 2022

Women from across the county gathered at The Chester County Single Mothers’ Conference on Saturday as the annual event celebrated 10 years and was honored by the Chester County Commissioners.

The Commissioners presented a citation to the Chester County Community Collaborative, which organizes the free conference each year to encourage, educate and empower single moms whose role is main provider for their families. Benchmark Federal Credit Union celebrated eight consecutive years as title sponsor.

The citation thanks “the many organizations and individual volunteers who have come together to form the Chester County Community Collaborative, and congratulates them on ten years of service to the 9,000-plus single mothers of Chester County, providing important resources and connections through events such as the Single Mothers’ Conference, and offering them opportunities to share experiences with, and learn from fellow single mothers.”

Debuting a new format and location this year, the Chester County Single Mothers’ Conference offered morning and afternoon sessions at Providence Church in downtown West Chester. Workshops were provided for moms in a spacious auditorium with exhibitor and vendor tables spread throughout the two-story venue and outdoor activities for children.

Kim Andrews, Executive Director of the Fund for Women and Girls, opened the conference as the featured guest speaker. Each workshop series kicked off with a presentation on Financial Literacy, hosted by Benchmark Federal Credit Union, with an option to register for a personal session to review individual credit reports.

About the Chester County Community Collaborative

The Chester County Community Collaborative is a 501c3 non-profit, created by a collection of non-profit agencies and independent interests working for the betterment of single mothers in our area. Individuals from the following organizations are part of the collaborative: Good Samaritan Services, Home of the Sparrow, North Star of Chester County, ACT in Faith of Greater West Chester, Open Hearth Inc., Chester County Intermediate Unit, Maternal and Child Health Consortium of Chester County, YMCA of Brandywine Valley, and volunteers from the community.

About Benchmark Federal Credit Union

Since 1940, Benchmark Federal Credit Union has evolved to provide its members with complete financial services including free checking accounts, vacation and holiday club accounts, loans, certificates, money market accounts, and individual retirement accounts. Benchmark also offers home banking, online bill payer, account‐to‐account transfers (A2A), remote deposit anywhere (RDA), mobile banking (FREE apps for iPhone & Android), direct deposit, and instant issue debit/ATM & credit cards. Loans for every need such as first mortgages, interest only HELOCs, 0% credit cards for 12 months, low payment auto loans, student loans, line of credit loans, and personal loans. Anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in Chester County, PA is eligible to join Benchmark Federal Credit Union. For more information, call (610) 429‐1600 or visit www.benchmarkfcu.org.

Due to the ongoing threat of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the organizers and sponsors of the Chester County Single Mothers’ Conference have made the decision to change the format of the event, making it a virtual experience, instead of an in-person conference. This year’s venue, Henderson High School, is currently closed and will most likely remain unavailable to outside organizations for the remainder of the school year. We plan to move forward with online programming, offering resources, presentations, podcasts, etc. through  our Facebook page, website, and more. These plans are currently a work-in-progress and we ask for your patience and understanding while we design new ways to encourage, educate, and empower our single moms while keeping our community safe.

The Belinda Harrison Award will continue as well. We have received several nominations and will announce a winner in the near future.

Benchmark Federal Credit Union will continue as Title Sponsor, supporting the Single Mothers’ Conference while we move to virtual platforms.

We will be reaching out to vendors, exhibitors, and presenters as soon as possible to discuss refunds and next steps. We apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you again for your patience and understanding.

Thank you Kelly Lynch, Planning Committee Member of the Chester County Community Collaborative for showcasing the Single Mothers’ Conference on Comcast Newsmakers.

Single Mothers’ Conference – Comcast Newsmakers

Comcast Newsmakers is a short-form news platform where leaders and innovators exchange ideas and tackle the issues facing communities across America. From a national edition produced in Washington, D.C., to regional production serving 46 broadcast markets, Comcast Newsmakers’ reach is as broad as its audience is diverse.

We’re happy to announce the launch of the new website for the Chester County Single Mothers’ Conference & Expo. We hope you’ll check back as we get closer to the day of the event and see the updated list of exhibitors, sponsors, and more. You can register as an attendee or sign up to volunteer for the conference. We want to hear from you too! Feel free to contact us with any questions or suggestions. Check back for more updates including photos and a whole lot more. See you next month!