We are very fortunate to have a wide array of members here at The Candy Factory who not only help to make a our coworking community great, but our local community as well. Here are some of the amazing nonprofits you can support at this years ExtraGive. Each of them just so happen to have a connection to The Candy Factory. Some were founded by TCF members, some have TCF members serving on their board, all help to make Lancaster a wonderful place to live and cowork. 

Servants Inc

Servants is a faith based non profit organization whose mission is building relationships, transforming lives, and building hope.

Home Helps is a ministry of Servants that was started in 2007 and focuses on serving the local community. Home Helps provides repair and maintenance services for low-income older adults, single parents, and disabled homeowners. This year’s Extra Give goal is to provide a new wheelchair ramp to a local Lancaster Veteran. Their stretch goal for 2021 is to provide an additional 3 wheelchair ramps to Lancaster individuals in need.

Please click the link to support their mission:
extragive.org/organizations/servants-inc

2 Seconds or Less

“Every 2 seconds, someone around the world dies of a hunger related cause” Cofounders Christie Heimbach and Kelsey Hare were stunned when they first stumbled upon this fact in 2011, which eventually drove them to research malnutrition and the impact of sustainable agriculture in marginalized communities. 

Since our founding, we’ve concentrated on four separate long term programs: Harvesting Manna (their gospel centered education program),  School Nutrition Garden Impact Sites,  Women’s Agro-scholarship Initiative, and their United States based student leadership program.   

At the heart of each of our Zimbabwean programs is local leadership, with a focus on sustainability, capacity building, and food production. 

Please click the link to support their mission:
extragive.org/organizations/2-seconds-or-less

LGBTQ+ Coalition

Our mission is to build supportive and enriching opportunities for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex and Asexual individuals, along with others who identify with the LGBTQ+ community. We have been creating community partnerships to tackle issues such as access to dignified healthcare, affirming and affordable shelters and retirement communities and spaces where all intersections of our community feel heard and at home.

Your gift will build the vision we’ve laid out here: to help LGBTQ+ people secure housing, medical services, therapy, and legal aid. Our work supports the whole individual–their needs for shelter, food, care, and housing–while uplifting and representing their identity and advocating for their interests.

Please click the link to support their mission:                  extragive.org/organizations/the-lancaster-lgbtq-coalition

Vocal Harmonix

Vocal Harmonix performs a variety of music in four-part harmony.  The sweet blend of a capella barbershop harmony is the heartbeat of our organization.  With more than 50 years of barbershop history, Vocal Harmonix provides a legacy of joy and passion for singing women who experience community and lifelong friendships formed on the risers..  

Vocal Harmonix continues to positively impact women’s lives, helping them build confidence and enhance their vocal abilities through musical, educational, and leadership opportunities while creating life-long support systems of caring and friendships.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have not been able to perform, therefore losing this vital means of raising funds.  We kindly ask that you consider a donation to Vocal Harmonix to support our musical and educational efforts. 

Please click the link to support their mission:
extragive.org/organizations/vocal-harmonix

Bench Mark Program

Bench Mark Program is a strength-based family of mentors who use exercise, goal setting, and leadership development to propel at-risk youth toward successful futures. We provide a free gym space where young women and men between the ages of 13-24 can blow off steam through exercise, get support from a trusted mentor, and work on both short-term and long-term goals. Our students all have a “membership for life,” and our consistent operation (Monday-Friday 5pm-8pm) brings youth into a supportive, family environment that they can depend on, no matter what else is going on in their lives.

In order to create lasting change in our community, Bench Mark Program focuses on building student leaders who take responsibility for the gym facility and its daily operation. The program’s sustainability depends on our ability to empower our students to lead and mentor. In the coming year, we hope to make five more part-time (paid) student-employee positions available to our participants. In the course of this next year, we will train and graduate these five students from our leadership program, making room for 5 more next year! If we show respect to our students by offering them ownership of the gym space, they pay it forward by investing their time and energy in serving others.

The next generation of leaders is waiting… will you help us lift them up?

Please click the link to support their mission:  extragive.org/organizations/bench-mark-program

Byrnes Health Education

Byrnes Health Education’s mission is to educate and inspire people of all ages to make healthy choices. Our organization has proudly been providing health education curriculum to students in Lancaster County for 26 years. We currently offer four delivery platforms, both in person and digitally, to ease access to our curriculum and erase all geographic barriers.

Our health education curriculum focuses on a variety of topics such as drug use and abuse prevention, vaping, digital citizenship, puberty, healthy relationships, hygiene and so much more.

Your support ensures that students can continue to access our health education curriculum and learn the skills to lead healthy, successful lives. Thank you for your generosity!

Please click the link to support their mission:  extragive.org/organizations/byrnes-health-education-center

Girls on the Run

GOTR serves as a shining light and additional layer of support for much of what our community is facing. The foundation of GOTR is based on our 5C’s +1: confidence, character, competence, care, connection, and contribution. The Girls on the Run 10-week, research-based, physical activity positive youth development program, integrates the standards of social-emotional learning (SEL) and has been named one of the top three after-school social-emotional learning programs in a study completed by Harvard University. The outcomes of the GOTR program tell a story that is full of promise, as illustrated through these words from a coach, “The girls don’t just learn skills like leadership, decision-making, problem solving and self-advocacy. They also use, teach and model those skills around their non-GOTR classmates. Our girls return to their classrooms and change the world.” In a longitudinal study, 97% of girls learned critical life skills such as resolving conflict, intentional decision-making, helping others and managing emotions at school, home and with friends. These skills are vital as children navigate the challenges of being socially distanced and will be crucial as we slowly return to a new sense of normal.

Please click the link to support their mission:  extragive.org/organizations/girls-on-the-run-of-lancaster

Planned Parenthood Keystone

Planned Parenthood Keystone has been Lancaster County’s most trusted reproductive health care provider since we came to the region in 1932. We have a long history with the people of Lancaster and are proud of the vital care we provide.

This year, in the face of tremendous uncertainty, we have seen numerous examples of our community uniting to help each other — neighbors shopping for neighbors, healthcare retirees returning to the field, and teams of crafters sewing masks to help address a nationwide shortage.

Unfortunately, we have also seen unprecedented attacks on reproductive freedom on both the federal and state level. Despite that, Planned Parenthood Keystone is expanding both its facilities and services.

By donating to this year’s Extraordinary Give, you are helping us bring the future of reproductive health care and sexuality education to the people of Lancaster County. No matter what.

Please click the link to support their mission:  extragive.org/organizations/planned-parenthood-keystone

Lancaster Improv Players

Comedy is important. Laughter is important, but Lancaster Improv Players is about more than comedy. We’re all about giving back to our community. We always seek ways to support the local community and make a difference. This support has been present since our early shows: we have performed at fundraisers for other local charities, donated workshops to other nonprofits, taught comedy after-school programs in schools. We also have our “Share a Laugh, Share a Meal” program where we donate a portion of our ticket sales to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank! LIP became an independent nonprofit organization in 2019. We opened up our theater at 16 S Prince St. in Downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania. LIP teams perform weekly on our stage; however you can also see our show virtually. We offer an entertaining mix of long- and short-form, crafting an unforgettable experience for the audience!​

Please click the link to support their mission:  extragive.org/organizations/lancaster-improv-players

Landis Communities

Landis Communities delivers an array of services and housing options throughout the Lancaster County area for adults age 55 and above. We provide caring, high-quality service to persons helping them live full lives with access to the services they need.

Our vision for a wider range of services and increased opportunities for strong community initiatives recently led to the creation of Landis HCBS (Home and Community Based Services). This brings focus and connections to the operations of existing community-based services: Adult Day Services, Landis at Home, Pathways Institute for Lifelong Learning® and our partnership with Lancaster Downtowners.

We are also working on additional partnerships designed to help people thrive where they chose to be. One of these is with the Quaker-based Friends Life Care, with whom we are offering Continuing Care at Home in Lancaster and Lebanon counties.

With your help, more people in Lancaster County will be served as we work to develop additional ways to provide Comforting Live at Home services and Feel at Home Communities® that help people age 55 plus thrive wherever they call home. All of the funds you share through ExtraGive will go toward this effort. Working together we will continue Enriching Lives across the county.

Please click the link to support their mission:  extragive.org/organizations/landis-communities

Revolution Lancaster

Revolution exists to provide supportive community and supplemental income to women experiencing homelessness in Lancaster. We do this through beautiful, handcrafted jewelry in a warm, welcoming workshop environment for these women — our Makers.

We came from humble beginnings; our founders simply showed up at a women’s emergency shelter at our local YWCA in 2014. They would braid hair, paint nails and listen. Many of the women at the shelter mentioned they had not had positive physical touch in a long time. It became apparent very quickly that as well as housing, food and other basic needs, these women needed community.

We saw the huge impact that showing up for our neighbors had. Not just for the women at the shelter, but for us as well, recognizing we are all women who experience joy, pain and everything in between. Regardless of status, we all have inherent worth.

From volunteering at the shelter, and seeing the need for community and transitional employment, we grew into a non-profit social enterprise to empower women — our makers by creating supportive community and a place for them to earn supplemental income.

Please click the link to support their mission:  extragive.org/organizations/revolution-lancaster

YWCA Lancaster

We know what justice looks like because every day, we get up and do the work. But we don’t do it alone. Our power comes from those we serve, and it comes from our bold, passionate donors and sponsors who are equally committed to the work of justice.  

We provide housing to women and families; 50 people live in our Kepler Hall residence.   

We help children have safe and bright futures: our sexual assault prevention programs reach hundreds every year and hundreds more individuals are supported with no cost counseling, therapy and our 24/7 hotline. 

Working families are supported with safe, affordable, and quality childcare in six locations. 

When you support YWCA Lancaster, you amplify our ability to serve this community and build equity, and with your support, we will get up and do the work until injustice is rooted out, until institutions are transformed, until the world sees women, girls, and people of color the way we do: Equal. Powerful. Unstoppable. 

Please click the link to support their mission:  extragive.org/organizations/ywca-lancaster

Pennsylvania College of Art & Design

Gifts made to PCA&D directly support the student experience and the combination of adaptive thinking techniques and effective making skills that result in a deliberate and influential artistic identity. Because visual, verbal, and virtual communication is increasingly valued in a global and diverse society, the PCA&D curriculum emphasizes the relationships among thinking, making, and communicating. We transform our students by challenging them to cultivate expansive points of view and create sophisticated visual output. The ability to continue to learn and create extends beyond the college experience.

Founded in 1982, PA College of Art & Design is Central Pennsylvania’s only professional art and design college and is a leading contributor to the region’s creative economy. PCA&D offers 250 undergraduate students a rigorous, practice-based learning environment in Fine Art, Animation & Game Art, Graphic Design, Illustration, Live Experience Design, and Photography & Video. Seventy-nine percent of PCA&D BFA degree-seeking students come from households in Central or Eastern Pennsylvania. The College also welcomes about 700 additional intergenerational students each year, through the Center for Creative Exploration, to share in its rich educational resources through classes for youth, high school students, professionals, and lifelong learners. PCA&D alumni are recognized as creative and influential leaders in their fields, expanding the possibilities of art and design throughout Pennsylvania and beyond.

Please click the link to support their mission:  extragive.org/organizations/pcad

Manos House / Creative Hope Studios

Manos House is partnering with Creative Hope Studios
for the ExtraGive.
Manos House provides the support and care adolescents and young men need to overcome their struggles with drug and/or alcohol addiction. We accomplish this through an array of therapeutic treatments in a safe, compassionate environment, run by a supportive and caring staff of counselors, educators, a psychologist, a chaplain, and mentors.

Creative Hope Studios builds music studios in youth treatment facilities, such as rehabilitation centers like Manos House, plus detention centers, mental health facilities, etc.

Our organizations agree with medical experts who assert that creative expression is a crucial factor in recovery from addiction and trauma — especially for youth. The recording arts — from music to podcasts — are a therapeutic outlet, in both group and individual settings.

Please click the link to support their mission:  extragive.org/organizations/manos-creativehope

Join our coworking community!

The Candy Factory is a coworking space established in 2010 and located in the heart of Downtown Lancaster PA. We are a community of professionals who have found a new way to work. Coworking and shared workspaces help promote business growth, creative thinking, shared brilliance and collaboration while offering an affordable office solution for small businesses, freelancers, remote workers, and non-profits.