Selfless love, Empower, Equity, Deliberate partnership, Stewardship (SEEDS) isn't in its infancy any longer. It's exploring, expanding, evolving.

SEEDS is sprouting.

The local nonprofit is hosting an informative breakfast to update the community it serves on the progress of its process. Specifically, SEEDS of Conestoga Valley will be addressing how it has grown, what that growth looks like and where it needs to grow in the future.

"Even though we might still be young, we've been working on this for close to six years now," said Kristen Hershey, one of SEEDS' directors. "We're immersing ourselves in the community. We don't want to assume people know who we are. We may be new to some people. We see it as our mission to keep informing people who we are."

SEEDS of Conestoga Valley's second annual community breakfast will be served on Thursday, Oct. 3, beginning at 7 a.m. at the Inn at Leola Village, 38 Deborah Drive, Leola. Doors will open at 6:45 a.m. and the breakfast presentation will conclude by 8:30 a.m.

SEEDS' community breakfast is free to attend, but guests are requested to make reservations by Monday, Sept. 23, at http://www.seedscv.com.

"The purpose of the breakfast is to provide the community with an update on our programs, how the past year has gone and the new partnerships we've established," said Michelle Kime, one of SEEDS' directors. "We are going to be showcasing a new video created for us. We're going to have a panel of participants and volunteers sharing personally what they've learned from SEEDS and how they've benefited from SEEDS. It'll be more than just us standing there talking. We'd love to raise awareness about SEEDS and gain new partnerships."

SEEDS, which is located at 2124 Old Philadelphia Pike, Lancaster, was formally organized in 2022. SEEDS seeks to cultivate a healthy and thriving Conestoga Valley community through physical and mental health, education, housing resources and programs like English as a second language (ESL).

"We liked the timing of having a breakfast early in the morning before the workday starts," said Hershey. "We just want to continue to get the word out. We want to get it to people we don't know."

The need for the services that SEEDS provides is significant in the Conestoga Valley community. The Conestoga Valley School District has the second-highest homelessness rate in Lancaster County, and 41% of its students receive free or reduced-price meals.

"There's an incredible need," said Kime. "This past school year, 157 CV students qualified as homeless. With homelessness comes a lot of other things. The homelessness is due to a lack of affordable housing, not a lack of hard work."

To achieve its mission, SEEDS works alongside and cooperates with the Conestoga Valley School District and Conestoga Valley Christian Community Services (CVCCS), as well as other local nonprofits.

"CVCCS is involved with the food bank, the clothing bank and mentorship," said Hershey. "We only exist because of the other needs in the community. We're trying to holistically serve our clients. We're really trying to meet all the needs. Our hearts desire to be the hands and feet of Jesus and to love people. We want to hear back from our community."

"We love our community," said Kime. "We're hosting this breakfast to know more of our community members."