Community Interest
Nominate an everyday connector for the Lancaster County Weaver Awards
Nominations are open now through July 24, 2026.
The Lancaster County Community Foundation and Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund are inviting residents to nominate the people who make Lancaster County stronger, more connected, and more welcoming through the inaugural Weaver Awards, open now through July 24, 2026.
As Community Hosts in partnership with Weave: The Social Fabric at the Aspen Institute, The Lancaster County Community Foundation and Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund are launching a four-year effort to find, support, and celebrate everyday neighbors who are building trust, nurturing belonging, and weaving the social fabric in our community.
What are the Weaver Awards?
People across the community are strengthening the connections that make Lancaster County a better place to live each day. They bring neighbors together, create spaces for belonging, and are a reminder that meaningful change often starts close to home.
These individuals are weavers. They see a need and invite others to be part of the solution, build trust in their neighborhoods, foster new relationships, and create opportunities for people to connect across differences. Once you start looking, you’ll find weavers everywhere—quietly and consistently helping to strengthen the social fabric that holds our community together.
The Weaver Awards are one way to amplify and support the everyday people in our neighborhoods, schools, places of worship, and jobs who are weaving threads of connection through our community, so it doesn’t come apart at the seams. The Lancaster County Community Foundation and Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund were selected as Community Hosts through a competitive national process, joining 25 communities across the United States participating in the program.
In 2026, 20 local individuals or small organizations throughout Lancaster County will receive awards of $2,500 to grow their local impact and spark new connections.
Who do you see weaving in your neighborhood?
The Weaver Awards are open to residents of Lancaster County 18 years and older. While many people in Lancaster County are serving their neighbors, the Weaver Awards look for those who projects also create lasting relationships and build trust as people work together to strengthen their community and weave a tighter social fabric.
You might know a Weaver if they:
- Weavers see a need and invite their neighbors to pitch in and find a solution.
- Weavers create opportunities to build strong, lasting relationships.
- Weavers know that deep connection happens in everyday places.
- Weavers are the folks planning community meals, crafting clubs, hiking groups,
community gardens, neighborhood environmental initiatives, and more!
Help recognize the people who are strengthening relationships, building trust, and fostering belonging across Lancaster County by submitting a nomination.
“We know that no matter the size of their platform or influence, weavers are the ones seeing needs and inviting their neighbors to pitch in and find a solution. They’re the ones creating opportunities to build strong, lasting relationships in their own backyards, on their blocks, at the park, or in a coffee shop.
-Tracy Cutler, Executive Vice President of the Lancaster County Community Foundation
Nominations are open through July 24, 2026. Twenty award recipients will be selected and celebrated at a public event on October 1, 2026.
To learn more or submit a nomination, visit WeaveLancasterCounty.org.
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