I’m heartbroken, John. 

On March 24, an explosion at the R.M. Palmer Company candy factory occurred, killing seven people and injuring more. The source of this explosion is under investigation.

When I first heard about the tragedy at the R.M. Palmer factory in West Reading, my heart shattered for our community. My thoughts go out to the victims and their families and the indelible legacies they leave behind. I am also profoundly grateful for the first responders and so many others who answered the call in our community for preventing this from being an even greater tragedy.

In times like this, we’ve already seen the many ways our community comes together. Here is one. If you’d like to support the victims of this tragedy, you can make a donation to the United Way of Berks County, which will distribute the funds to organizations assisting families who lost loved ones in the explosion or who lost their jobs because of the blast. Here’s a good link to give:

https://bccf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=2749

Thank you, 
Chrissy