Pints for North Light raises funds for local community center

North Light Community Center hosted its seventh annual silent auction at Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant on Thursday night.

The event, Pints for North Light, drew huge crowds onto the second floor of the restaurant, packing the space while folks bid on baskets of various goodies and chugged beer and spirits from local breweries.

The organization hosts several events throughout the year, raising about 90 percent of their $1 million budget through charitable events, North Light director Dana Dabek said.

North Light Community Center focuses on providing services requested by the Northwest community. Childcare and emergency management, like utility services and groceries, are among the more popular needs discovered through surveys, focus groups and interviews with community leaders, Dabek said.

“We are one of the organizations that adapts to the needs of the community,” Father Kirk Berlenbach, who works with the organization, said. “One of the main focuses is working with children.”

The center, founded in 1936, began as a boys club and has since continued to work with youth and adolescents to provide programs to keep teens in a safe, stable and stimulating environment.

The 2015 Pints for North Light was the first year the event completely sold out, Debrek noted. “It’s a program that grew organically,” she said.

Going forward, the community center is planning to expand their network of services to include more members of the Northwest Philadelphia community.

“We have a program coming up called ‘Manayunk Meals’ to donate food and meals to homebound seniors,” Berlenbach said.