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At present, I continue to serve as a Head Usher for Church services at the Bryn Athyn Cathedral. I've been involved in this use for approximately 70 years, starting as a student usher while I was still in school, and as a head usher for the last 60 years. I juggle that schedule with singing in the Cathedral Choir twice a month.

I also serve on the Board of Governors of the Cairnwood Estate, the former home of John Pitcairn, which has been restored and is part of The Bryn Athyn Historic District. The mission of Cairnwood Estate, as a National Historic Landmark and independent member of the Academy of the New Church organization, is to restore, preserve and manage the home of John and Gertrude Pitcairn as an educational, cultural and hospitality center serving the local and national community. More information about the Cairnwood Estate can be found at www.cairnwood.org.

I continue to serve as an Associate Director on the Board of the Swedenborg Foundation from whose Board I retired in 2012 after 19 years, the last 4 of which I was President. The Swedenborg Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to help people learn about the eighteenth-century Swedish scientist, nobleman, civil engineer, and religious visionary Emanuel Swedenborg. More information about the Swedenborg Foundation can be found at www.swedenborg.com.

Having a son currently serving as a Gunnery Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, I have a special place in my heart for the military. In 2003 at the age of 17, my oldest son, Jeff, decided to join the military. On one hand, I was so proud of him for wanting to serve – on the other hand, there was that constant fear of “what if” that no parent ever wants to think about. Fast forward 11 years. After 4 deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Jeff was fortunate to come home safe, but many others were not. When I asked him how we could help, he said they had enough supplies over there and he alerted me to the Fisher House Foundation, which is a network of comfort homes where military and veterans’ families can stay at no cost while their loved one is receiving treatment.

A Fisher House is “a home away from home” for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers. The homes are normally located within walking distance of the treatment facility or have transportation available. There are 63 Fisher Houses located on 23 military installations and 24 VA medical centers close to the medical center or hospital they serve. Many more houses are under construction or in design.

Fisher House Foundation also operates the Hero Miles program, using donated frequent flyer miles to bring family members to the bedside of injured service members, as well as the Hotels for Heroes program using donated hotel points to allow family members to stay at hotels near medical centers without charge. The Foundation also manages a grant program that supports other military charities and scholarship funds for military children, spouses and children of fallen and disabled veterans. You can learn more at https://www.fisherhouse.org.

To honor the local military veterans who have served our country, High Swartz will be hand delivering cards and letters written and drawn by children and adults to the Veterans Administration in Spring City, PA. Many of these forgotten servicemen/women do not have family members, and we would like to let them know that they are not forgotten. The words “Thank You For Your Service” do not cost a penny.

Shirley is also involved at Bethany Baptist Church in Fox Chase, Philadelphia where she serves as a Sunday School teacher, hosts small group ministries at her home, teaches during Vacation Bible School, visits church members who are in the hospital and shut in, and speaks at Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission in Philadelphia once a month with members from her church. She also hosted a cancer patient who lived in Michigan during her treatment at Fox Chase Cancer Center for over a year while she came to Philadelphia for treatment.

There are plenty of charitable organizations out there that support cancer research and awareness, but the one that I’ve chosen to support is American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life.  At Relay For Life events, communities across the globe come together to honor cancer survivors, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against a disease that has already taken too much.  Relay For Life teams camp out overnight and take turns walking or running around a track or path at a local high school, park, or fairground.  Events are up to 24 hours long, and because cancer never sleeps, each team is asked to have at least one participant on the track at all times.  I formed a Relay team to make a difference in the progress of this horrible disease in the hopes that some day nobody and no family has to suffer (physically or emotionally) from cancer.

I Relay in memory of (too) many people, but first and foremost is my mom, Gladys Early, who we lost in 2004 after a short battle with lung cancer, at the age of 63.  That same year, I lost my dad's brother, Michael Early, and in 2006 lung cancer “struck” our family again, when we lost my mom’s brother, Thomas Dyer.  Although I have participated in my local Relay since 2004, I decided to start a team in early 2011.  My team name is "EARLY" Detection is Key.  When I registered my team in 2011, my husband's aunt, Louise Garrison, was battling a rare form of bladder cancer, and unfortunately has since lost her battle as well.

In addition to my personal family, this disease has also affected my "work family".  I have worked for my “boss” for over 25 years, and she is definitely more of a friend than a boss to me.  She has beaten a battle of her own and is a survivor as well.  Unfortunately, though, within the last 12 years, she has lost her brother, her sister, two close brothers-in law, and her loving husband to this horrible disease.  I greatly admire her strength.

If you are interested in supporting my relay team, please click here to make a donation.  To learn more about The American Cancer Society and Relay For Life, please click here.