Maryknoll Sister, Sr. Mary Englerth M.M. has been selected by the YWCA Association of Gettysburg & Adams County and the United Way of Adams County as the recipient of the 2018 Living The Dream Award which will be presented to Mary on January 22nd at their annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. This will take place in the Gettysburg College.
Sister Mary is the Director of the Keystone Farmworker Health Program in Pennsylvania and has been with Keystone Health for more than 20 years. As a Physician Assistant, Sister Mary had regularly visited farm worker and migrant camps to administer healthcare, Currently she is overseeing the Keystone Farmworker Program. In the various counties throughout the State. The Keystone Rural Community Health Center is the sole Grantee in Pennsylvania to provide migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families health care in the Commonwealth.
The Living The Dream Award is sponsored by the YWCA of Gettysburg and Adams County and the United Way of Adams County, it is annually given to a local resident who exemplifies the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by ensuring that everyone in the community is treated equally. Sister Mary follows the footsteps of Martin Luther King, Jr. in her work; each day she perseveres for the rights of those who are less fortunate and need help the most.
“When we allow freedom to ring – when we allow it to ring from every city, hamlet and state we will be able to open up that day when all of God’s children Black and White, Jew and Gentile, Protestant and Catholic can join in and sing-Free at Last”-Sister Mary.
Under her leadership, the Keystone Farmworker Program has grown from one county, to now serving patients in 37 counties throughout Pennsylvania and 2 counties in Maryland. There are 61 camps in Adams County, Pennsylvania, and Sister Mary Lee, along with a nursing staff, during the picking season mid June througNovember goes out to the camps three nights a week. However during these past 3 years Sister Mary and nursing staff now do much more traveling around to the distant counties where migrant and seasonal workers are employed to evaluate health conditions and provide access to health care.She listens to their fears and discusses their problems in Spanish.
Sister Mary’s tireless efforts have made a lasting impact on countless lives.
Sister Mary was presented with the award on January 22nd during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration hosted at Gettysburg College’s Christ Chapel.