HAWLEY, PA — The founder of GAIT Equine Assisted Services, the family behind a historic Milford restaurant and a nonprofit organization that has improved and beautified the streets of Milford for the past 25 years have been honored by Greater Pike Community Foundation. 

GAIT’s founder, Martha Dubensky, the Jorgenson family of the Historic Dimmick Inn and the Milford Enhancement Committee will be recognized at Greater Pike’s ninth annual awards dinner on Sunday, September 8 at the Silver Birches Resort.

The event is open to all, and sponsorships are available at www.greaterpike.org/annual-dinner. 

As part of the awards, Greater Pike will provide a donation to the nonprofit organization of the honorees’ choosing. Those will be announced at the dinner.

The Barbara J. Buchanan Community Service Award goes to Martha Dubensky, founder of GAIT Equine Assisted Services. When Dubensky founded the program in 1995, she had a dream and a handful of volunteers who shared her vision to improve the quality of life of children and adults with special needs through equine activities and therapies. In the nearly 30 years since, GAIT has served innumerable children, families, veterans with PTSD and others. GAIT now has eight horses, a staff of six and more than 50 volunteers, and has earned a national reputation as a leader in therapeutic equine-assisted services. GAIT’s website is www.gaittrc.org. 

The Jorgenson family and their restaurant, the Historic Dimmick Inn, will receive the Richard L. Snyder Business Leadership Award. “The Jorgensons have shown a leadership commitment to community service and support since they opened their first Milford business, Jorgenson’s Deli and Bagels, in 2002,” a Greater Pike spokesperson said. After purchasing The Historic Dimmick Inn in 2008, the family began supporting a wide range of local charitable endeavors. The restaurant also hosts community events, such as the Brooklyn Day Street Fair, and the family helps to raise funds for the Milford Fire Department and other community organizations. 

Learn more at www.thehistoricdimmickinn.com. 

The Nonprofit Excellence Award will be presented to the Milford Enhancement Committee (MEC). For more than 25 years, the MEC has initiated, inspired and raised funds for improvements in Milford’s public spaces and streetscapes, securing more than $9 million in investment and helping to spark a renaissance in Milford’s business district. The MEC hosts an annual Welcome Party that has become the “point of entry” to community volunteerism for scores of new Pike County residents, the Greater Pike spokesperson said. 

Founded by the late Dick Snyder in 1997, the MEC’s initial goal was landscaping around what is today the Walgreen’s at the corner of Harford and Broad. Over the years, the scope has expanded to include the installation of new sidewalks, curbing, historic-style pedestrian lighting, benches and landscaping in Milford’s commercial district, making it safer, more accessible and more attractive. 

The MEC website is www.milfordenhancement.com. 

Greater Pike Community Foundation offers individuals, families and local businesses an opportunity to provide a permanent and personal way to give back to the community. For more information, call executive director Rick Little at 570/832-4686; email ricklittle@greaterpike.org; or visit www.greaterpike.org, www.Facebook.com/GreaterPike or www.Instagram.com/GreaterPikeCF.