About PVEN

PVEN was created in 1990 as a free clothing distribution program, housed in the small attic of a local church.

Over the last 35+ years, PVEN has blossomed into a major nonprofit organization in Monroe County. With our three building complex outside of Brodheadsville, two paid staff members, and team of more than fifty volunteers, PVEN now operates four year-round programs, as well as three seasonal programs, all developed to meet the unique needs of the residents of the West End.

Though we have grown in size and scope, we still have the same mission as we did in the beginning. We are neighbors helping neighbors to meet their basic needs by offering a hand up during difficult times. We are residents of the West End who love our community and who know that when one person does better, we all do better.

We are here to help!

Meet the Team at PVEN

Colleen

(she, her)

PVEN’s Director

Colleen started at PVEN in 2018 as a volunteer and slowly worked her way up, first becoming an Intern, then Summer Meals Coordinator, Operations Manager, and finally PVEN Director, her current role. Colleen was born and raised in Monroe County and is committed to making it a place where every individual has the opportunity to thrive.

Colleen’s real passion is volunteering. Since she was young, she was always looking for new ways to help her community. In high school, she logged over 1,000 hours as a hospital volunteer at Pocono Medical Center (now LVHN Pocono). She fell in love with PVEN as a volunteer while working on her Public Health degree at East Stroudsburg University and just never left! She is grateful to be living her dream as she “volunteers for a living.”

Colleen is also a dog sitter in her spare time and loves spending time with her favorite pups. If you see her wandering around PVEN, make sure to show her a picture of your dog, it would make her day!

Kat

(she, her)

PVEN’s Programs Manager

Kat joined PVEN’s team in 2023 as our Programs Manager. She has lived in the Poconos for 20 years, having spent her childhood living on the Jersey shore and her teens and twenties in NYC.

While Kat wears many hats at PVEN, her main focus is “benefits counseling” which allows her to match our clients with the programs and services that can help them live healthier, happier lives. If you need to find help in Monroe County, Kat should be your first call!

Kat is a lifelong fan of Mr. Rogers, and loves being “one of the helpers.” She began her helping journey as a licensed nurse and prided herself on gentle, compassionate care of her patients. Her current profession of social work is a natural match for her values of fairness, equality, justice, and fixing things that need repair.

As her name suggests, Kat adores cats (and many other types of furry friends)! She loves books, languages, international food, her family, and learning new things. She identifies as “sparkly on the inside” and “made of fun facts.”

Ella

(she, her)

PVEN’s Chief Furry Officer

Ella has been working at PVEN since the very first week she came to live with her mom in 2021, when she was just 9 weeks old. She has been an essential part of our organization ever since!

Ella leads our Volunteer Morale initiative and ensures quality control, occasionally performing “spot checks” on dropped snacks. Ella’s favorite day of the week is Distribution Day, when she gets to spend time with “her people,” aka PVEN’s volunteers. She is passionate about snacks of all types, but she especially loves frozen fruits, veggies, and cheese.

Ella can sometimes be found at the front desk of the food pantry, greeting clients as they come to shop. She delights in meeting new people, so be sure to wave to her if you see her out and about! You can also follow her on Instagram at @ellathepantrypup to see her many adventures at PVEN and beyond!

PVEN’s Volunteer Team

The heart of PVEN is the 50+ volunteers that make the organization run.

Our volunteers are your neighbors and friends, just trying to do good for their community. They come from all walks of life, hailing from fields such as education, mental health care, nursing, business, agriculture, industry, and more!

We have volunteers that work in our food and clothing pantries, manage our office and answer phones, and some that pick up and unload our products in our big PVEN box truck, Bertha! Volunteers do it all!

PVEN’s volunteers put in over 10,000 hours of service every year and without them, we would be nothing. As Colleen and Kat always say, “PVEN’s volunteers are our greatest asset.”