Borough of Ellwood City Seeking Donations For Its Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) Mission

Ellwood City has been selected for an Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) mission through the Department of Defense.

The mission’s name is Operation Healthy Ellwood.

From July 23 to August 1, 2025, the borough will have approximately 200 reservists from all branches of the military present in our town. The reservists visiting us have everyday jobs in the medical field. Some are doctors, surgeons, and nurses. They will be providing NO COST HEALTH CARE to all of the members of our communities. There are no income, residency, or insurance restrictions. An ID is not necessary to utilize the services offered. Available services will include Medical Evaluations, Eye Exams (one pair of glasses provided if needed), Dental Exams, Behavioral Health evaluations, and Veterinary Care. Again, this is of no cost to any person visiting the clinic.

“We are honored to be working beside our treasured Reservists. This mission is a training exercise for all branches of Reserves,” says Borough Manager Kevin Swogger. “This teaches them clinic set up from start to finish, how to interact with members of new communities they may not be familiar with, and how to work efficiently with other branches of reservists to achieve a common goal.”

The Borough is currently in need of community assistance.

On July 31st, the borough will be hosting a Distinguished Visitor’s Day at Sunset Ranch on Heinz Camp Road. The event will host two groups of important visitors between the hours of 9 am-9 pm. It is expecting approximately 80 visitors for each meal.

• The morning hours will bring high-ranking officials from all levels of the government. It will also host local officials and organizers of the IRT Mission. We are currently seeking donations of breakfast items such as bagels and cream cheese, muffins, orange juice, and fresh fruit trays (donuts have been sponsored) for the morning hours.
• The evening hours will host high-ranking military officials from all over the world. We are seeking donations for dinner. If you have a restaurant or catering business, perhaps you are willing to donate trays of food. If you have a food truck, this is also a very welcome option!
• Lastly, if you are not able to donate towards the food portion of our mission, we will be seeking donations of the following items or gift cards from Costco, Sam’s Club, Giant Eagle, Shop and Save, Dunkin, Visa or Walmart for items to stock our clinic and complete our meal needs. The items currently needed include: Toilet Paper •General purpose cleaner (Mr. Clean, for example) • Hand Soap •Disinfecting Wipes • Paper Towels •Reams of copy Paper • Facial Tissue •Disinfecting Spray • Cleaning Supplies

If your business or organization is willing to host a collection box for office, toiletry, and cleaning supplies, please reach out to rschnell@ellwoodcityborough.com

“We would like to highlight the best that Ellwood City has to offer, as we have visitors coming here who have never seen our town,” adds Swogger. “We will do our absolute best to highlight all of the businesses that contribute to making this event a success as it will be covered by several news outlets!”

If you can donate food towards the breakfast or dinner portion of Distinguished Visitor’s Day, please reach out to rschnell@ellwoodcityborough.com with the items you would be willing to donate. If you can donate gift cards, you may drop them off at the Utility Billing Window or mail them to:

Rhiannon Schnell
Ellwood City Borough
525 Lawrence A venue
Ellwood City, PA 16117