Jeff Beard | The Influencer

Presented by BMS CAT

BY BRENDAN SALYARDS | MANAGER, ECONOMIC INITIATIVES

Jeff Beard currently serves as the Community Center Director for the York Corps of The Salvation Army. Foremost a church, The Salvation Army is a Protestant denomination distinctive for its use of a military- style organizational structure and for the monumental scale of its charitable operations. In 2022, the Salvation Army was the fourth-largest charitable organization in the United States.

A York native, Jeff graduated from York High School in 1981. Jeff attended Shippensburg University studying early childhood development before joining the United States Army. His military service took him overseas and Jeff returned to York, working for Crispus Attucks for a year, before taking a position with The Salvation Army in 2013. For the past ten years, Jeff Beard has been shaping York’s next generation by providing a fun, safe, and engaging place for students to complete their homework, socialize with friends, and develop skills to become good citizens in the community. Children and families are not required to be congregants at the Salvation Army, but they are offered an opportunity to learn more at weekly bible studies.

Jeff oversees an afterschool program that, when fully staffed, serves up to 80 kids ages six to seventeen, primarily from the surrounding neighborhood. The program provides a structured environment to complete their homework, a hot meal, and the opportunity to engage with a variety of recreational and educational programming. Jeff partners with the Penn State Extension to bring in their Master Gardeners Program and with Parliament Arts Organization to provide art classes.

“We have been fortunate to partner with The Salvation Army to offer free art classes for their after-school program,” said Delia Pabon, Executive Director of the Parliament Arts Organization. “This allows Mica Wallace, an artist in residence at The Parliament, the opportunity to educate and inspire through the arts. From affirmation classes to traditional art activities, we have been able to expose this group of children to the arts in creative and inspirational ways.”

IT IS BECAUSE OF MR. BEARD AND HIS YOUTH THAT CAMPUS PARKS CONTINUES TO BE AN INTRICATE PART OF THE OUTDOOR LIVES OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD AS WELL AS THE STUDENTS HE SERVES THROUGH HIS PROGRAMMING.

- Diaz Woodard

The students also have opportunities to give back to the community including via monthly clean-ups at Campus Park “Mr. Beard takes pride in the park and on several occasions, his youth and himself have assisted with maintaining its cleanliness,” said Diaz Woodard, Recreation Specialist with the City of York Parks & Recreation Department. “It is because of Mr. Beard and his youth that Campus Parks continues to be an intricate part of the outdoor lives of the neighborhood as well as the students he serves through his programming.”

In addition to the after-school program, Jeff runs the Salvation Army’s summer camp program each year in June and July. The summer program provides a variety of recreational opportunities and field trips. Older students have the opportunity to work as junior counselors to gain experience and explore careers in youth education and development.

The children in Jeff’s program have the opportunities to explore their passions, build a strong character, and develop spiritually within the program. Jeff Beard is truly embracing the definition of a Changemaker by helping the next generation to learn, grow, and thrive.