The Friends of Valley Forge is now the
Valley Forge Park Alliance
In 1976, Valley Forge became a national park and a group of visionary citizens united as “Friends” to support it. Over forty years later, we have grown into a national alliance of corporations, organizations and individual who share the goals of supporting and protecting the hallowed grounds of Valley Forge but also recognize an ever growing community that extends beyond the boundaries of the Park. To celebrate this milestone, we are now the Valley Forge Park Alliance.
Our mission is to advocate for Valley Forge National Historical Park, to enhance the visitor experience and to promote public appreciation of the Park’s historic, environmental and recreational resources. We welcome you to join the Alliance and help us to support and preserve Valley Forge National Historical Park!
Trail Tuesdays: Weekly Walks in the Park!
| Tuesdays 10 am – 11 am walk starts at Alliance table in Visitor Center lower lot | Free Event |
Join us for Trail Tuesdays as we walk, talk, get healthy, and be happy! Walk is for all fitness levels. Dogs and strollers welcome. In case of inclement weather, the walk will be canceled. Contact Molly Duffy for any questions at molly@vfparkalliance.org or call 484-886-5853.
NEW! Prescribe-a-Trail Events
Prescribe-A-Trail allows you to walk and talk with a health care professional on a range of different healthy living topics each week.
| Tuesday, Sept. 26 | Jen DiLella, PA-C, MPH, PAPHS and founder of Radnor Steps, will focus on "Debunking Common Physical Activity Myths" |
| Tuesday, Oct. 3 | Janet Wendle, MLHS Diabetes Program Manager at Paoli Hospital will discuss pre-diabetes and diabetes - the benefits of exercise |
| Tuesday, Oct. 17 | Dr. William N. Duffy, Penn Personalized Care Physician |
Email info@vfparkalliance.org to add your name to our walkers list so that we can keep you informed about upcoming walks, schedule changes, and cancellations due to weather.
Whole Foods “Nickels for Non-Profits”
We are thrilled to announce that Whole Foods Market in Devon has selected the Alliance to participate in their Nickels for Non-Profits program, whereby shoppers have the option of receiving a five-cent credit (per bag) or donating five cents to the Alliance. This is a great way to not only generate funds but also expand awareness as our name, logo, and mission will be promoted at every cash register from October through January 2018. Recycle, raise funds and build awareness... it’s all in the bag!
National Public Lands Day
| Saturday, September 30 8:45 am – noon | Bring work gloves |
National Public Lands Day (NPLD) is the nation’s largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands. Join park staff, partners, and your neighbors on this day set aside each year to educate and engage the public in caring for their beloved public lands. Lend a hand on a wide variety of projects for all ages and abilities, visit the Environmental Expo, and enjoy special programs and activities.
The Alliance will be hosting a team of volunteers to assist with trail work. For more information or to volunteer, email info@vfparkalliance.org.
To learn more about National Public Lands Day visit publiclandsday.org or nps.gov/vafo.
Speaker Series
| Tuesday, October 3 7 pm Washington Memorial Chapel | Free Event |
The story of Pennsylvania and the American Revolution is usually told from the English perspective. Germans, Swedes, and the Dutch are often considered irrelevant. Yet, at the time of the American Revolution, Pennsylvania’s German population numbered 100,000 or 33% of the total. Germans at Valley Forge provides an overview of the German experience, before and during the war. It examines the reasons that prompted them to leave the German territories and explores their life in the Delaware Valley. The lecture features a PowerPoint presentation with maps, pictures of churches, and portraits of the leaders within the Pennsylvania German community.
About the Speaker
Dr. Karl Krueger, whose academic interest was and remains the role of religion in the migration experience of Germans and Poles to the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries, received his doctorate in history from the University of Michigan. After working in the Rare Book Room of the University of Michigan and at the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, he administered the Krauth Memorial Library and taught at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, where he earned his Master of Divinity. Dr. Krueger attended the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia and, in 2007, participated in the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Reformation of the Book Seminar. He has published in the Lutheran Quarterly, Church History, and ALTA Proceeding and presented at the Sixteenth Century Society Conference and at the International Symposium on Henry Muhlenberg in Halle, Germany. Karl Krueger, a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has pastored a German/English congregation in Philadelphia, and a Slovak/English congregation in Windsor, Ontario. Dr. Krueger is currently the Associate Priest at Washington Memorial Chapel.
610-783-1777