Jr. League of Reading

The Junior League of Reading has more than a 85-year history of successful partnerships and collaborations with community agencies that have positively affected the quality of life in Berks County.

Our focus is creating, improving, and expanding the resources available to all children to enhance opportunities available for their growth, development, and overall welfare. The League's main emphasis is to help impact the childcare crisis in Berks County.

Beginning in February 2008, a free weekly session was held for parents and caregivers o

f children age five and under to participate in fun, interactive activities with their children at Christ Lutheran Church in Glenside. The Play & Learn Center provides parents with a safe place to interact with other parents, while learning positive parenting skills and ways to stimulate the intellectual and emotional development of their children. Each session includes breakfast, story time, crafts and free play. The JLR’s new signature project is a collaboration of the JLR, Christ Lutheran Church in Glenside and the United Way of Berks County.

Once again from September to May, the JLR provided 8-10 volunteers per month to read to pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first graders at Northwest Elementary School in Reading. Wood to Wonderful’s literacy outreach program provides each student with their own copy of the book and a corresponding motivational toy to keep.

JLR members purchased and presented gifts for children through CONCERN’s annual holiday party and gift program. CONCERN is a community-based non-profit child welfare organization which is dedicated to the meeting the needs of abused, neglected, and delinquent children and youth.

The Junior League of Reading aims to provide children with the tools they need to make nutritious eating choices with the belief that the education of our children is the key to making a lasting change in the reversal of current childhood obesity statistics and its subsequent health issues.

Please join The Junior League of Reading, and Alvernia College at the Greater Reading Literary Festival for:

Family, Friends, Food and Fun!
Saturday, October 25, 2008 – 2:30 to 4:00 p.m.
Alvernia College – Student Center Cafeteria
Motivational talk, “Cooking with Kids” demo, sampling, book signing
by Chef George Stella
Food Network Host and Cookbook Author

This family oriented event is not only a fundraiser, it is also a community service event. While the general public pays to attend, 100 families from the at-risk community that the Junior League of Reading serves, attend for free. These families enjoy a carefree day of family fun at no cost to them. Children spend the day scrambling over vehicles of all sizes, participating in the sponsors’ derby race and enjoying a variety of foods. It is a priceless picture to watch the children dance with a team mascot, get their first balloon hat, or jump in the moon bounce. With your support, all families can continue to enjoy this Junior League of Reading event.

In addition to these projects listed above, the Junior League of Reading will take the lead in supplying books for an elementary school library, again read to elementary school children as part of Wood to Wonderful’s “Reading is Toyrific” reading program, and participate in “Angel Tree” the holiday gift project for children associated with CONCERN.

The Youth Volunteer Awards are awarded to Berks County youth who exemplify the spirit of voluntarism. This year the award for an individual was presented to Demetrius Lindsey from Reading High School. Demetrius is very active in the community, volunteering with multiple community agencies including Big Brothers, Special Olympics, and Coats for Kids. The award for a group was given to the Conrad Weiser Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. Approximately 40-45 high school students volunteer for this program each year. The program provides weekly one-on-one attention to at-risk kids in grades 1 to 4.


•Youth Volunteer Award Winner, Demetrius Lindsey is pictured with (from L to R) his father, Robert Newton, his mother, Devonne, Lindsey and JLR member Claire Gibney.	•Youth Volunteer Award Winners from Conrad Weiser Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Meg Stover and Rachel Loomis with Claire Gibney, and their advisor.

The Community Partner Award is presented to a business who demonstrates dedication and generosity to The Junior League of Reading, PA, Inc. and its mission. The Junior League was proud to present the award to Craigg Manufacturing for their support of our many programs. Past recipients of the award include Brenntag Northeast, Inc., White Star Travel, Signs & More in 24, and The Reading Neck & Spine Center.

•Craigg Manufacturing, winner of The Community Partner Award

Leadership Berks, originally co-founded by the Junior League of Reading, is a training program for new and emerging leaders in Berks County. The Leadership Berks Core Program requires a nine-month curriculum, a non-profit field project and placement on a committee or board of a community based organization. The Junior League of Reading is the only organization to have consistently supported Leadership Berks by sending representation yearly to its Core Program.

For the 2007-2008 Leadership Berks session, Christi Terefenko attended as the JLR representative, served as class president, worked on a team for Berks Counseling Center to develop a strategic plan for a work-training program, and took a board placement with Wood to Wonderful.

The Leadership Berks position is available for JLR members each year. Not only does it provide an opportunity to participate, but it also allows the League to continue to support one of its previous projects.

The Junior League of Reading, PA, Inc. approved funding towards the following community projects across Berks County:

Play and Learn Center

$3,500 to the Play & Learn Center, a collaboration among the JLR, Christ Lutheran Church in Glenside and the United Way of Berks County (see article above for more information).

CONCERN

$1,200 to CONCERN to purchase a Macintosh laptop computer required to run the necessary SPIN Video Home Training software to be used for their newly created Mother/Baby Independent Living Program. This program focuses on building both parenting and independent living skills.

Camp Fire USA Adahi Council

$200 was given to support the Send a Kid to Camp program to fund two Berks County children for one week. This program will send 2 Berks County children to day camp for one week. Camp Adahi serves 3,000 youths per year from Berks and surrounding counties. The Send a Kid to Camp program was created to expand the Camp's opportunities to the at-risk youth in Berks County whose families cannot provide them with the opportunity to experience friendships, lessons and fun that a summer camp can provide.

$1,000 was provided to fully fund BEACON HOUSE's "Respectful and Effective Parenting" initiative. This program serves as a parenting class for BEACON HOUSE residents. The class is designed to teach respectful and effective ways of parenting children. It provides on-going support, the ability to track the progress of participants and is based on the natural and logical consequences rather than corporal punishment. It is an excellent model for families with a history of domestic violence.

$2,750 was given to Berks Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services' Preschool Hearing Program. The hearing screening provides free testing to preschoolers throughout Berks County, with an emphasis on inner city children of Reading.

$1,250 to fully fund the American Red Cross' Berks County Chapter's Babysitter Training Scholarships. Participants learn the skills and knowledge to become safe and responsible babysitters. Funding will be used to pay for registration fees and material costs for 30 course participants, and instructor training fees for 5 instructor aides.

$1,000 was given to The Big Brothers Big Sisters of Berks County, PA COUL (Club of Unmatched Littles) Program. The program provides group mentoring services and supervised program activities, held weekly, for unmatched Little Brothers and Sisters, while they await a match in the One-to-One program. Funding will be used directly towards the mentoring activity expenses.

$1,000 was given to The Second Mile Berks County Chapter for the Summer Challenge Camp Program. The monies will support two scholarships for the camp program. The camp serves as an innovative early intervention program designed to help children who are at-risk succeed by building positive life skills and self-esteem.

$1,000 was given to the Reading-Berks Habitat for Humanity Homeownership Program. Funds will be used to support the construction of affordable housing for low and very-low income families in Reading and Berks County.

$500 to Reading Symphony Orchestra to purchase tickets for underpriviledged children and their families or guardians who otherwise could not attend the Kinderkonzert.

Salvation Army

$1,200 to Salvation Army for their back to school clothing program.