Our Story

Our History

Founded in 2002 by DeLight Jr. and Helen Breidegam, The Breidegam Family Foundation made contributions mostly to local public libraries, churches, and food banks in eastern Berks County. Growing up in rural Berks County during the Great Depression left a lasting impact on them. They developed a passion for making Berks a better place to live and raise a family than it was for their parents.

Fresh out of the Air Force following World War II, in October 1946 DeLight Jr. started rebuilding car batteries in an old Creamery in Bowers, PA. His father DeLight Sr. would join him soon after. Over the next several decades DeLight and his Father, with the support and service of many family members and countless members of the local community, grew east East Penn Manufacturing into the worlds largest single site battery manufacturer. With the success of the business, the Breidegam Family Foundation was afforded the opportunity to give back to the communities which helped turn DeLight’s dream into what it is today.

Throughout their lives, DeLight and Helen made several large grants including the Breidegam Family Birthing Center at Penn State St. Joe’s in Reading, the Breidegam Family Children’s Emergency Room at Lehigh Valley Hospital – Cedar Crest in Allentown, and the Timothy Breidegam Track and Fieldhouse and Sally Breidegam Miksiewicz Center for the Health Sciences Buildings at Moravian University in Bethlehem. They felt it was important that people have access to quality healthcare and education that they did not have growing up.

Since the passing of DeLight in 2015 and Helen in 2021 the Foundation has expanded its scope of giving and taken on a much larger role in the community as one of the largest private foundations in Berks County. In 2023 the Foundation hired its first President, Paula Barrett, to lead it into the future.