VISTA Today

The second annual Alzheimer’s Awareness Car Wash June 29 brought Freedom Village at Brandywine staff members together for an afternoon of service, raising $1,223 in support of a cause that affects families across the country. For two hours, Freedom Village employees volunteered to wash vehicles on the community’s campus in West Brandywine. Rather than charging a set price, the team invited drivers to make a donation of any amount, with every dollar collected benefiting the Alzheimer’s Association.

For half a century, Firstrust Bank’s Krewstown branch has been one of the most consistent success stories of the region’s largest family-owned financial institution. According to Executive Chairman and Owner Richard Green, that kind of sustained excellence is far more difficult than many people realize. “It’s hard to build a champion; it’s hard to be a champion,” said Green, who, as part-owner of the two-time Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, knows a thing or two about winning.

For six years, Gabby Nye pushed through grueling workouts, demanding academics, and countless sacrifices. The payoff: a perfect 4.0 GPA, a doctorate in physical therapy, and a place in Widener University history. “In distance running, 50 percent of the battle is mental,” said Nye. “How much can you push through the pain and be willing to suffer to achieve your goals? That’s a strong suit of mine. I can push through the suffering, and that also translates into everyday life.

Michelle Haskins isn’t just taking the helm of the Penn State Brandywine Alumni Society; she’s already mapping out a strategy to strengthen alumni connections, expand volunteer opportunities, and create more meaningful mentorship for future students. The Penn State alumna, Class of 2000, has been elected president of the Brandywine Alumni Society, effective July 1. “When I found out I was going to be Alumni Society president, I was excited and ready to get started.

A new initiative from Penn Medicine is reshaping how after-hours primary care works for both patients and Physicians across the greater Philadelphia region, Chester County, and central New Jersey. The program shifts overnight and weekend calls to a dedicated 24/7 virtual care service. Instead of being routed to an on-call Physician, patients calling after hours are now connected directly to a Penn Medicine OnDemand Clinician who is available around the clock.

Academic excellence was on full display this spring at Delaware County Community College, where nearly 2,900 students earned recognition for their outstanding classroom achievements. The College recently shared that 2,864 full- and part-time students were named to the President’s List or Dean’s List for the Spring 2026 semester, recognizing students who demonstrated exceptional academic performance while maintaining good academic standing.

Dick Wood Jr., the man who spent 34 years steering Wawa from a regional dairy business into a convenience-store powerhouse, died peacefully at his home on July 10, according to KYW Newsradio. He was 88. Wood carried his family’s legacy forward. His great-grandfather, George Wood, opened Wawa Dairy in 1902. The first Wawa Food Market opened in 1964 in Folsom, laying the groundwork for what Wood would later build into a household name across the region.

Behind the ornate facade of a 1928 hotel-turned-senior-home in West Philadelphia, a waitlist a year long tells you just about everything about the demand for affordable housing in this city. Walnut Park Plaza, the historic senior housing complex at 6232-50 Walnut St., is getting a major rehabilitation backed by $47 million in low-income housing tax credit equity, Paul Schwedelson reports for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Richard D. “Dick” Wood Jr. never set out to run convenience stores. He came to Wawa as a lawyer. Over the next five decades, he helped turn a small Delaware County dairy operation into one of the most beloved brands in the country. Wood, the longtime Wawa president, CEO, and chairman, died Friday at age 88. His fingerprints are on almost everything customers recognize about Wawa today. Employee ownership. A people-first culture. Made-to-order hoagies. Gas pumps. Round-the-clock hours.

New Hope has quietly become one of America’s most unlikely magnets for celebrities and billionaires. The town sits along the Delaware River in Bucks County, far from the glamour circuit of the Hamptons, Aspen, or Palm Beach. Yet the wealthy keep arriving. And its pull on the famous is nothing new.