East Allen EMS past president Michele Morrow presents a check of $13,480 to North Penn Goodwill Service, Inc. in Souderton. Photo by John Worthington | The Reporter.
Funds will go towards new shelter unit
The recently shuttered East Allen Township Volunteer Ambulance Corps (East Allen EMS) has donated over $13,000 of its final funds to North Penn Goodwill Service, Inc.
East Allen EMS past president and lifetime member Michele Morrow presented the check on Thursday, Sept. 26 at the North Penn Goodwill building in Souderton.
Founded in 1979, East Allen EMS provided emergency medical services to East Allen Township and the surrounding communities. Originally an all-volunteer organization, the EMS provider struggled financially in its final years, primarily due to a lack of sustainable call volumes.
“We were very happy and proud to say that we were the only all-volunteer group that lasted years, the last standing in Northampton County,” said Morrow. “But we were struggling with money for a while. It’s a small community. We only have 4,500 people, not enough to get sick, not enough accidents to keep an ambulance corps afloat.”
Following a review of the organization’s finances, East Allen Township in July 2023 made the decision to switch the township’s life support provider to Northampton Regional Emergency Medical Services Inc., forcing East Allen EMS to close its doors.
“In four hours’ notice, we had to clean house, let everybody go, shut out doors, sell our ambulances, sell our building, all of our stuff,” said Morrow. “It was like cleaning out my grandmother’s house.”
The liquidated assets amounted to $670,000. In honor of East Allen EMS’s legacy of community service, the board of directors decided to donate the funds to 37 EMS-related non-profit organizations, including Goodwill. Other beneficiaries include the Allentown Rescue Mission, Kutztown Fire & Rescue, Inc. and Shamrock Reins, an equine assisted therapy for first responders.
Goodwill plans to use the funds to help purchase a new modernized shelter unit. The organization currently has three canteen units and two shelter units.
Dating back to 1949, Goodwill is a non-profit organization that provides food, beverages, shelter and restrooms to emergency workers. An all-volunteer organization, Goodwill predominantly services Bucks and Montgomery counties but has also responded to emergencies in other counties throughout southeastern Pennsylvania.
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