Women2Women Magazine Fall 2018 by Hoffmann Publishing Group

Preferred Salon

CONNECT GROW LEAD

Karen Marsdale, Senior Editor Sara Frassinelli, Managing Editor

606 Court Street • Reading, PA 19601 berkswomen2women.com • 610.376.6766

Women2Women Council: Kelly Beaver, Vicki O Ebner, Toni Eckert, Lizette Epps, Wendy Kerschner, Bethany Kirkner, Kim Kowlakowski, Susan Looney, Karen Marsdale, Julia Nickey, Mary Jean Noon, Chiara Renninger, Regina Rinehimer, Rachael Romig, Trish Shermot, Alison Snyder, Vanessa Wanshop

Women2Women encourages women to create connections, gain knowledge, open doors and build strategic alliances, and much more. Our goal is to develop more women leaders in Berks County by providing a forum where women from diverse backgrounds can learn, share ideas and mentor each other. Membership is free and Women2Women Magazine is a publication of the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance.

CONNECT GROW LEAD 2

To join: W2W@greaterreading.org

Stay connected: BerksWomen2Women.com Facebook.com/BerksWomen2Women

Instagram www.instagram.com/berks_w2w

LinkedIn: Berks Women2Women

Twitter: @berksW2W

CELEBRATING

Voices for Change Award Winners

Koinos Community Church

The Power of the Purse of Berks County

Vision for Peace Honoree

Dr. Thomas F. Flynn, President, Alvernia University

HOST COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRS

Helen & Stephen Najarian

Susan & Michael Fromm

Reflections

It’s time to bid farewell to summer and welcome autumn to the party.

Between schedules filling up again after the lazy days of summer and the approach of some of the biggest holidays of the year, the autumn can be a time for re-adjustment and change.

In case you hadn’t noticed yet, we have reconstructed the Women2Women brand, including this magazine. Growth and change are crucial to the evolution of any organization and we felt it was time for a more modern look that truly encapsulates the current mission of Women2Women. Even more importantly, we have collected feedback and crafted a program year based on this input from YOU. Learn all about the new branding and program direction for Women2Women in our feature story.

Also, if you are heading to college after high school, have a child who will be, or are considering going back yourself later in life, you’ve come to the right place. This issue has details on financing, scholarships, tax benefits, and anything else you might need when enrolling in college. The information we have compiled can be applied to those entering a university for the first time, as well as adult learners going back to school. (Plus, a breakdown of back-to-school trends!)

In the upcoming pages, you can find a re-cap of our youth summer reading program. The topic of chronic illnesses and how they can be prevented is explored. And, as you’ve come to expect from Women2Women magazine, some stellar women are profiled, including a city council member and a professor.

Readers, I would love to hear from you. Please contact me at the email address below with your thoughts on the new look of the magazine or with any ideas you may have for a story.

Here’s to a stellar end to 2018!

Sara Frassinelli, Managing Editor sfrassinelli@greaterreading.org Pick up your copy

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EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

Jessica Bezler

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Lizette Epps

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Sara Frassinelli

Greater Reading Chamber Alliance

Kelly Hancock Community Volunteer

Tracy Hoffmann

Hoffmann Publishing Group

Sarah Hunter-Lascoskie

Greater Reading Chamber Alliance

Karen Klein

Fulcrum Information Resources

Karen Marsdale

Greater Reading Chamber Alliance

Rachael Romig

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If you own a business and want to receive copies of Women2Women magazine, please contact Rachael Romig at rromig@greaterreading.org.

Written by: Rachael Romig, Special Programs Coordinator – GRCA

The New Look of Women2Women

A LOOK AT THE PAST

It’s hard to believe that Women2Women is going to be in its eighth program year. Did you know the group of women who founded the program had been meeting years before the official founding of Women2Women? In those meetings, they were devising the best strategy to bring development opportunities for women in the community. Inception – Women2Women. While designing the look and feel of the logo for Women2Women, aspects of the Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce & Industry logo were incorporated, as we are a special program belonging to the chamber. You’ll see that the star was utilized but tailored to the new women’s organization. Over the past eight years, the tagline “Purpose Possibilities Potential” truly exemplified the mission of Women2Women. We met monthly with a purpose: to increase the number of possibilities each woman had in their personal and professional lives, and to realize and act intentionally to live up to our full potential.

• I have established contacts with people who provide me with support when I need it.

• I feel more confident to take a leadership role at work.

• I have better access to resources to be more effective at work.

• I have gained new knowledge & skills relevant to my professional goals.

• I have built new connections empowering me to take a leadership role in the community.

Mission accomplished! But we aren’t stopping there…

MOVING FORWARD

Following this past program year, we surveyed our membership on the impact of the Women2Women programming to see if we had followed our own mission. The results? 76% of respondents reported that they “Agreed” or “Strongly Agreed” with the statements below.

Because of Participating in W2W Programming:

• I have better access to resources and tools to be more professional.

A little over a year ago, what had formerly been known as the Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Greater Berks Development Fund and Greater Reading Economic Development Partnership individually merged under one umbrella to form the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance (GRCA). It was during this merge that a new logo surfaced to bring together the look and feel of the new organization. The logo for GRCA evokes the building blocks of what makes a community succeed and thrive: community engagement and partnership. And as we evaluated the Women2Women organization, we realized that now would be a good time for a new look to again match our parent, GRCA. But there was so much more to it than that.

As the workplace changes, so do the needs and wants of the workforce. While the Women2Women programming has been successful over the years (as our surveys and testimonials tell us),

we also have been attuned to what our members were saying. For the upcoming program year, we have ensured that:

• Events are spread out through all days of the week (except Friday)

• Breakfast, lunch and after-hours event timeslots are offered

• All events offer a takeaway, whether physical or not, that can apply to your daily life

• Our De Mujer a Mujer events now include professional development workshops

We will always meet with a purpose; we will always create new possibilities for our members; and we want all women in the community to find and realize their full potential. We will never falter from that mission. However, the women have told us what they wanted – they wanted to know that the CONNECTions they make within Women2Women will help them GROW From there, they wish to develop into our next women LEADers in Berks County.

• The female millennial is more confident than any female generation before her and considers opportunities for career progression the most attractive employer trait. They are the most likely to leave an employer because there aren’t enough of these opportunities. (The female millennial: A new era of talent, PwC)

Those statistics show you that it doesn’t matter your age, your race or where you work. We need to continue to push the needle in the right direction for women in the workplace. So, as we look to the next program year, with a new brand, I ask you to join us in what we’re doing here in Berks. Be bold with us. Be strong with us. Connect with us and grow with us. Let’s lead together. 2 FREE PARKINGShuttleservicethroughout thedayfromtheReading Fightin’Philslot atFirstEnergyStadium, 1900CentreAve. Onlyhandicapparking willbeavailableatthe DoubleTree.

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CONNECT GROW LEAD

Our new logo shouts these purposes. We were able to bring in bold new colors for Women2Women, along with a nod to GRCA’s hues and design. When I look at this logo, I see strength and purpose. I see an organization that is positively changing to meet the needs of its most important piece of itself: the members.

While women are advancing in the workplace, we know it isn’t fast enough. There are still visible differences for women and we will continue to bring these issues to light and offer professional development training, because:

• Women are promoted at a lower rate than men, the biggest gap at the entry level. If women were promoted at the same rate as male peers, the number of women senior vice-president and C-suite levels would be more than double.

(Women in the Workplace 2017, McKinsey & Company & LeanIn.org)

• One in five C-suite leaders is a woman, and fewer than one in thirty is a woman of color.

(Women in the Workplace 2017, McKinsey & Company & LeanIn.org)

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WOMEN2KNOW

Featuring notable inspiring women who want to share their life lessons and stories of hope and triumph. Gain insight from these incredible women!

Meet JANICE KAPLAN:

Women2Women’s 2018/19 Launch Speaker

On October 2nd we will be launching the new program year of Women2Women with its new branding, as well as proudly hosting Janice Kaplan at the Crowne Plaza Reading in partnership with the Junior League of Reading.

Janice Kaplan is widely known for her achievements as a writer, television producer and magazine editor. She is the author of fourteen books, including the New York Times bestseller The Gratitude Diaries and her latest hit, How Luck Happens.

In the New York Times bestseller The Gratitude Diaries, Janice spends a year living gratefully and transforms her marriage, family life, work and health. Her pioneering research was praised in People and Vanity Fair and hailed on TV shows including Today, The O’Reilly Factor, and CBS’s The Talk.

In How Luck Happens, Janice examines the phenomenon of luck – and discovers the exciting ways you can grab opportunities and make luck for yourself every day.

Together with coauthor Dr. Barnaby Marsh, a renowned academic who guides her exploration, they uncover the unexpected, littleunderstood science behind what we call “luck,” proving that many seemingly random events are under your – and everyone’s - control. They examine the factors that made stars like Harrison Ford and Jonathan Groff so successful and learn the real secrets that made Kate Spade and Warby Parker into global brands.

Using original research, fascinating studies, and engaging interviews, Kaplan and Marsh reveal the simple techniques to create luck in love and marriage, business and career, and health, happiness, and family relationships. Their breakthrough insights prove that all of us – from CEOs to stay-at-home moms – can tip the scales of fortune in our favor.

As the Editor-inChief of Parade, the most widely read publication in America, she attracted some of America’s best writers and biggest-name celebrities. Her own interviews with stars including Barbra Streisand, Clint Eastwood, Matt Damon, and Daniel Craig received international attention.

Janice was deputy editor of TV Guide magazine and executive producer of the TV Guide Television Group, where she created and produced more than 30 television shows that aired primetime on ABC, FOX, VH1 and other networks. She began her career as an on-air sports reporter for CBS Radio and went on to be an award-winning producer at ABC-TV’s Good Morning America.

In addition to her popular non-fiction, her bestselling novels have been translated and published in more than a dozen countries. She has written hundreds of articles for national magazines and appeared dozens of times on TV shows including Today, Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight and CBS This Morning. Janice graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and won Yale’s Murray Fellowship for writing.

We are excited for Janice to share her positive light, thoughts and actions with our membership! 2

Top: An afternoon with Morgan Freeman, Clint Eastwood and Matt Damon. Bottom: Chatting about books with George Stephanopoulus on Good Morning America

Meet DR. COLLEEN CLEMENS:

Teacher, Ally, & Advocate

Intro and Interview by

Alexis Williams, Kutztown University Honor Student

I recently ended my part-time role with Women2Women to head back to Kutztown University to finish my senior year. I am a Communication Studies Major/Public Relations Minor, a KU Office of Admissions Tour Guide and Honors Club President for the new year. I had the honor of interviewing Dr. Colleen Clemens, Director of Women, Gender, and Sexualities studies (WGS), and a professor that I’ve looked up to for years. She is an inspirational activist and has influenced each and every one of her students as well as the overall climate at KU. Interviewing her made me even more excited to take her Women and Violence in Contemporary World Texts class to spend more time talking to and learning from her.

Q: How did you get to where you are now?

Tell us your background!

I have been teaching for 20 years and my feminist track began when I was in high school. I didn’t know the word feminist; I didn’t know that’s what it was called, but when I was in high school a boy told me that girls couldn’t play tuba, so l learned how to play tuba in the band! I’m a first-generation college

student from the Lehigh Valley and when I got to college I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t have any classes that focused on gender studies at all as an undergrad, but it was when I became a rape and domestic violence counselor, that I started to see how much that work meant to me.

When I wasn’t in class I was in the women’s resource center. In the classroom, there wasn’t much going on for me (as a student) about gender so when I started teaching high school I brought feminism into my classroom. In 1998, things were very, very different. It’s been so cool to watch students today, because they are so different than 20 years ago.

I love WGS at Kutztown. It’s so cool to watch you all at 18-22 years old get to the place that took me 35 years to get to. My education is alongside my students. Even in 2011, when I was teaching Intro to WGS, we didn’t talk about trans issues at all. That’s now a huge part. My education is continuous. I didn’t have a professor like me, that was just like, “Well, have you ever thought that that might be wrong?” People weren’t taught to question things when I was in high school or undergrad. It’s awesome to have been a teacher for 20 years and see all the changes.

Q: What are your roles at Kutztown University?

I have a PhD in English and a certification in Gender Studies from Lehigh. I became the Director of Women, Gender, and Sexualities studies in my third year at KU. The name has been

changing over time [from Women’s Studies to Women and Gender Studies to Women, Gender, and Sexualities Studies] and it took a really long time for the current name change, partly because there isn’t any institutional support.

I am not paid to be the Director of WGS. It is my “service” to the university in addition to other things I do. The WGS minor is an “orphan” minor because we don’t belong to a department. I do all the paperwork that a department chair would do, but I am not a department chair. We also have no budget. I would love for that to change. That’s part of the reason why I changed the name – I wanted to make the program more visible. We have about 80 students who are WGS minors right now and I want that to grow. We are ahead of the curve overall, we are unique, and we are pushing PASSHE forward. As the program grows with more notoriety, hopefully we will get a budget and keep moving forward.

Q: What is your favorite class to teach?

The class that I developed when I got to KU was Women and Violence in Contemporary World Texts. I love teaching that class. That’s the class that comes out of my scholarship and brings together so many things that I want to talk about. This semester, I’m teaching two topics/books I’ve never taught before. Students love that class. It’s a mix of film and popular text and world text. If there is one class that fits my academic personality, it’s that one. I love Intro [to WGS] and I love students saying that I opened their eyes. I like getting students to cross the threshold where they can’t look back. I get to teach women writers around the world. I am in a really lucky place now that I can teach these students these topics.

Q: How does the WGS group help college women?

One thing, and one of the most important things, is validating people’s experiences. You learn how to be human in these classes more than anything else. People feel like their experience is marginalized because of race, sexuality, and gender. The most important thing that we do is help students be seen, even on the most philosophical level. On a practical level, if you have a WGS minor it gives you that extra thing to talk about in interviews. When Education majors interview for jobs, I’ve heard students saying that they got the job because of the minor. Because it is transdisciplinary, you can have a really academic experience or a practical one where you take an internship. It helps all students even if they don’t know what they’re doing yet. We have a lot of men/people who identify as men in the program now too, so that’s cool.

I think that WGS is one of the most innovative things Kutztown offers. When in a WGS class, you’re in a class with engaged students who care about social justice, which might mean something different to some people, but you’re the movers and shakers. I’ve only been doing this for a few years, but I see you all. I see you for who you are and what you want to be in the world…and it’s awesome.

Q: Did you have a mentor growing up that pushed you to be the strong woman you are today?

Annette Benert. When I was getting my masters, she was the first person who said to me, “Have you ever thought about getting a PhD?” I took a bunch of her classes, mostly English. They didn’t have gender in the title but that’s what we talked about. She planted the seed for my PhD. She must’ve written me a good [reference] letter because I got in at DeSales! I really hadn’t thought about her in that way until you asked me that, but she was a great human being. Now I want to find her and give her a hug.

Q: What is your advice for young women today as they navigate their personal and professional lives?

Trust your gut. If you feel something isn’t right, it’s not right. It’s happened to me. You think, “Am I being treated unfairly?” You talk to other women and find they are experiencing the same thing. I don’t want women to gaslight themselves. I know that not all women are in the position to speak up but don’t convince yourself that you are wrong. Also, in general, I wish all the women would read all the things. Stay engaged. Keep reading, women! Don’t be convinced that your experience makes you less. That’s what I love about WGS, intersectionality. Be a good ally and activist. 2

The Future Is So Bright …

At The Highlands, we’re ready for the next generation of seniors … and the future has never looked brighter. From exciting new residential living villas and the addition of a world-class memory care program, to an enhanced fitness and wellness center and new on-site specialty physician services, we’re setting new standards in retirement living to ensure our residents can – and do – thrive!

JLR: 95 YEARS of Volunteer Service!

The Junior League of Reading, PA, Inc. (JLR) was founded on August 6, 1923 and has been a nonprofit leader of volunteer service in Berks County for 95 years! The “original 10” met at the home of Mrs. John E. Barbey and the Reading Junior League was born. Mrs. Griggs Barbey was elected the first president.

JLR trains women to be effective leaders in the community through seminars, national conferences and hands-on training in personal and leadership development. Our focus is the emotional health of the youth in our community. We are an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Our purpose is exclusively educational and charitable, with women around the world acting as catalysts for lasting community change.

Legacy organizations and programs that were founded or substantially assisted by JLR and collaborative partners include: Leadership Berks, Opportunity House, Children’s Alliance Center, BEACON House, Emma’s Place, Second Street Learning Center, Safe Berks (formerly BWIC) and the Young Women’s Summit.

The key to our success is our members. They provide hundreds of hours of service every year improving the self-esteem of youth and empowering our youth to become community leaders. They do this by increasing access to leadership development programs; increasing awareness of issues affecting the development of positive self-esteem; and increasing opportunities for empowerment through youth volunteer service. The focal point of our initiative, the Young Women’s Summit, is a four-day summit designed to empower middle school-aged girls to be community leaders, and has educated more than 330 girls over the past seven years. We have mentored more than 150 sixth- and seventh-grade girls in the Reading and Muhlenberg middle schools through our Life Skills Luncheons, a lunch program engaging girls in conversations about meaningful topics. We have provided 50 scholarships for girls participating in the Berks Chapter of Girls on the Run and we provide financial and volunteer support for a local non-profit, VoiCEup, which has resulted in more than 1,200 hours of youth service to complete 44 volunteer projects, benefiting more than 21 different non-profit organizations. We also do community documentary screenings and panel discussions impacting more than 500 men, women and children. Our efforts over the last year alone have impacted more than 2,500 children and empowered more than 100 women leaders. 2

Written

by: Brittany Decker, President, Junior League of Reading, Inc.

WOMEN2KNOW

Meet

MARCIA GOODMAN-HINNERSHITZ:

Professional, Civic Leader, Volunteer

What is your current occupation and title, and what does your job entail?

I hold the position of the Director of Planning and Resource Development with the Council on Chemical Abuse, the coordinating agency for Berks County’s drug and alcohol services. I serve as the agency’s grant writer and planner as well as working on special initiatives such as the Berks County Opioid Coalition, the Pregnant and Parenting Substance Use Disorder Community Consortium, and the Kutztown Strong Prevention Coalition.

What occupational pursuits, if any, did you follow before entering the addictions field and what inspired you to travel this path?

After I received my bachelor’s degree in social work from Pennsylvania State University in 1975, I sought out a position where I could work with children and families. I started my professional career in the Child Protective Services Unit at Berks County Children and Youth Services. First as a caseworker and then as a supervisor, I learned the importance of collaboration and problem-solving to assist in the protection of children and the strengthening of families. During my twelve years in child welfare, as I sought the best paths to family healing, I recognized the cyclical nature of child abuse and neglect and that substance use disorders are often one of the contributing factors to family trauma. Securing my masters in social work at Temple University was invaluable in my professional growth. By moving into the field of addiction, specifically substance abuse prevention, I now directed my professional endeavors on how to best prevent and intervene with respect to the disease of addiction.

What is the biggest challenge in your career and industry, and how is that impacting our community?

The stigma of addiction continues to be the greatest challenge for those on the journey of recovery. The widely held belief that persons with substance use disorders are morally deficit is a significant barrier to the growth of much needed prevention, intervention, and treatment resources in a community.

What types of opportunities are available in the addictions or social service fields, and what are the educational requirements to work in the field?

The social services field offers extensive employment opportunities with most positions requiring, at minimum, a bachelor’s degree in the social sciences or a related discipline. Personal experience, when balanced with education, is an invaluable asset when serving the public.

You are also very civic-minded. Why did you pursue public service work, and did it begin as a city councilwoman in the City of Reading, or before that?

My mother placed a high value on volunteerism and civic involvement – I was a Red Cross volunteer in my early teens and assisted in local political campaigns as young as sixth grade. By engaging me in community volunteerism, my family set the foundation for my pursuit of public service. My first elected position was in 1993, as a Reading School Board director. As I gained insights into local politics, I found opportunities to balance my political endeavors with my professional career.

What’s the most challenging part of your job serving on City Council, and what advice would you offer women who may wish to enter the political or public service arena?

The ability to balance the needs of a diverse community with the fiscal realities of government operations has been an on-going challenge. I have learned that I make the best decisions when I take the time to listen, learn, always looking for common ground and opportunities for consensus-building.

What are some of your other public service commitments and volunteer activities?

My current public service commitments are varied from serving on the Reading Recreation Commission, the Foundation for the Reading Pagoda and the Mount Penn Preserve Council of Governments to representing my precinct as a Democratic Committeewoman. I have been fortunate throughout my career to have served on local, state, and national boards and through these experiences have brought back new ideas and perspective to our community.

Do you have any words of wisdom about career guidance or community involvement for young women just entering the workforce or in their early career stages?

Patience and listening are key to serving the community. Personal and professional growth can only come if you are willing to take risks and learn from mistakes. You cannot expect instant rewards or recognition for your efforts but small successes can build your confidence. And, most importantly, you must develop an ethical compass that can guide your decision-making.

If you could pull your professional, public service and volunteer connections together for one major initiative to improve our community, what would that be, and why? I have always been committed to improving the overall health and wellness of our community. We can live healthier lives if we have access to affordable health care, quality schools, stable housing, jobs with adequate pay, and well-maintained recreational and cultural areas. While this is a tall order, we have had many initiatives that have focused on one or more of these issues but many of these efforts are disconnected. The community deserves a concerted and coordinated effort to promote the health of its citizens.

When not working, how do you recharge your batteries? Connecting with nature has always been a source of renewal. The perfect respite after a long day is a leisurely walk through my neighborhood with my dog, Micky, followed by reading a good book. 2

Compiled by Tracy Hoffmann, Hoffmann Publishing Group

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GROWTH2GO

Part of growth is learning new skills at all ages. Different experts and professionals offer guidance on how to take advantage of new opportunities for your personal and professional life.

WSaving for College 101 (Plus Tax Benefits!)

hile driving through the hills of Southeastern Pennsylvania, my thoughts wandered through the journey of ten years while working with a dear friend planning for the higher education goal of her son. Today was the graduation party where friends and family members were gathering to celebrate the first twelve years of the young person’s educational accomplishments. Graduation from high school is a very special time that serves as a reflection point mixed with questions of how best to plan the next part of an educational journey. With college costs on the rise, the cost of an education to prepare one with life skills can become quite a task. Thankfully, this family had planned and saved for several years for this moment and were ready to set forth with college plans. They had worked with me while we planned and once we devised the plan we then worked with their financial accounting firm to help plan and save. Please do not take for granted that this was an easy feat. The parents still had the household to run while working and taking care of their family. They knew that they had the education goal before them and saved even when it was not easy to do so.

Their plan was a priority that became a reality. This is one of those great times in my professional career that is never taken for granted. To help people take great financial care of themselves and their families is what I hope to do, day after day, year after year.

The College Board Advocacy and Policy Center reported that over the past decade college tuition and fees have rapidly increased. Both public and private college costs will continue to increase at a faster rate than the national average annual inflation rates.

Fortunately, parents who intend to cover or contribute to their children’s education costs have more choices today than they have ever had. There are a variety of savings vehicles which include 529 plans, Educational Savings Accounts (ESAs), and custodial accounts.

529 Savings Plans have been offered in most states and the District of Columbia. Most are national plans and are available to residents of any state, although roughly half of the states’ plans offer in-state residents additional state-income-tax benefits. If

considering an out-of-state 529 plan, be sure to weigh the tax implications with your financial advisor and accounting firm.

529 plans allow annual tax deferrals on account earnings. As with ESAs, earnings withdrawn from the account may be federal-taxfree if used to pay for qualified higher-education expenses.

January 1, 2018 introduced the new rules as a result of the Tax Cuts and Job Act signed into law by President Trump on December 22, 2017. One of the most sweeping changes to the United States tax code in decades is the new plan of action. Qualified expenses also now include up to $10,000 annually per beneficiary for tuition at an elementary or secondary private, public, or religious school.

529 plans offer no guarantees on investment returns, but – similar to a 401(k) – they offer the owner of the plan an investment strategy from a particular plan’s options. Another consideration is that an out-of-state plan may offer advantages such as better investment performance, plan features, or the flexibility that could outweigh the tax benefits of participation in a specific state plan.

There are advanced college savings concepts that become very important if planned properly with your financial advisor and accounting advisors.

A contribution to a Section 529 College Savings Plan is considered a completed gift for federal gift tax and estate tax.

A contribution to a 529 plan qualifies for the $15,000 annual gift exclusion ($30,000 for couples) and a five-year front loading election.

Individuals may contribute up to $75,000 ($150,000 for couples) per beneficiary in a single year (2018) without gift tax consequences (this method counts as five years of gifting). This is the important part of working with your financial advisor and professional accounting firm when using the above strategy. The donor must elect that the gift be treated as having occurred over a five-year period in order for the gift to qualify for the federal gifttax exclusion. If additional gifts are made to the same beneficiary during this five-year period, a federal gift tax may apply. If the donor dies within this five-year period, a pro rata share will be included in the donor’s estate for federal estate tax purposes. State gift and estate tax laws may vary. Always consult your tax advisor.

Contributions must be in cash. Investment earnings are tax deferred and provide the potential for tax-free growth when earnings are used for qualified expense.

No age or modified adjusted gross income limits to contribute. Every distribution from a 529 plan is pro rata between return of principal and earnings (if applicable).

The withdrawal and payment of expenses need to occur in the same tax calendar year.

IRS publication 970 – great reference item to learn more about potential tax benefits for education!

Continued on page 18

GROWTH2GO

Continued from page 17

TAX CREDITS

The American Opportunity Credit provides a tax credit of up to $2500 of tuition and related expenses paid during any of the first four years of college. The credit is phased out starting at $80,000 modified adjusted gross income for single filers and $160,000 for single filers.

Lifetime Learning Credit – can be taken for any year of postsecondary schooling and does not require at least half-time enrollment or that the coursework lead to a degree. The Lifetime Learning Credit maximum is $2,000 per return, or 20% of qualified tuition and fees up to $10,000. Income limitations will reduce the credit for couples with MAGIs more than $57,000 for 2018.

Education tax credits are calculated on IRS Form 8863.

Whether your children or grandchildren are toddlers or teenagers, it’s only a matter

of time before they leave the family home, possibly heading off to college. The cost of sending one child to college for four years can be staggering. Tuition and fee hikes continue to regularly outpace inflation. Sending your children or grandchildren into the world with the burden of student loan debt can create severe financial situations as students are laden with insurmountable debt that takes years to pay off. By saving early and creating a plan, you will be able to cover at least a portion if not all of their higher education expenses.

This year my family welcomed our first grandchild. Once the social security number was issued for the child, the 529 college education fund account was opened and funded with a few gifts from friends and family. This is how the process works. Make it easy with small children and tell your friends and family members that you are making education a priority. Instead of adding piles of gifts for your small family members, it would be

wonderful to add the amount that would have been spent for unnecessary items, to an investment for education at a later date. Teachable moment!

So what happens when the student is considered a non-traditional student? How to navigate as an adult learner can be quite vexing if you have family duties that you must handle, you are also employed and now considering that return to further an education. The variables may be a bit different but the same financial advice would apply to the situation.

Adult education comes in many forms, from graduate school to English as a Second

Language classes. No matter what level of education you are seeking or why you need it, there are a number of tax benefits that can help you pay for your class. In addition to deductions, you may be eligible to claim credits and get tax-free reimbursements from your employer. However, to receive most of these benefits, you need to be attending an accredited college or university.

Adult learners may be handling daycare schedules among other issues surrounding the navigation to how the day, month and year will look as they plan how time will be used going forward with the study schedule.

Advice would be the same; create a plan that works for you, devise an investment plan with your significant other and include your financial advisory and accounting professionals in the process. Keep copies of all expenses for tax review. Keep a copy of your tax returns handy. They will be used many times if applying for college financial aid and scholarship awards. If you need to get a copy of your tax transcript you may obtain one from the IRS for free. Your tax transcript summarizes return information and includes adjusted gross income. The quickest way to get a copy of a tax transcript is to use the Get Transcript application through www.irs.gov. After verifying identity, taxpayers can view and print their transcript immediately online. The online application includes a robust identity verification process. Those who cannot pass the verification must request the transcript be mailed. This may take five to ten days to achieve; planning ahead and requesting the transcript early is in your best interest.

Education planning takes some work. Much more involved than selecting which classes you are taking, you will be making decisions on how your time will be spent until you have achieved your goal. It all begins with a goal and then the plan to work through. Start by doing what is necessary, next do what is possible and suddenly you are doing what seemed impossible! 2

Written by: Regina Rinehimer, Associate Vice President-Investment Officer, Wells Fargo Advisors

Please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing in a 529 savings plan. The official statement, which contains this and other information, can be obtained by calling your financial advisor. Read it carefully before you invest.

• 529 Plans are subject to enrollment, maintenance, administrative and management fees and expenses.

• Non-qualified withdrawals are subject to federal and state income tax and a 10% penalty.

• College savings plans offered by each state differ significantly in features and benefits. The optimal plan for each investor depends on his or her individual objectives and circumstances. In comparing plans, each investor should consider each plan’s investment options, fees and state tax implication.

• The investment return and principal value of the investment options are subject to market risk and will fluctuate, and when sold, may be worth more or less than the original cost.

Wells Fargo Advisors is not a legal or tax advisor. However, its Financial Advisors will be glad to work with you, your accountant, tax advisor and/or lawyer to help you meet your financial goals.

Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

GROWTH2GO

Quick Hits: College Finances

After spending hours contemplating going back to school, you finally made the decision to go back and work on that degree you have been thinking about. Maybe you are changing careers entirely, maybe finishing a degree that you put on hold earlier, or maybe you just know that NOW is your time.

In the United States, 16 million to 54 million workers may need to switch occupational groups by 2030, and they will need to learn new skills or increase their level of education in order to find work, according to a recent McKinsey Global Institute Report.

Depending on your situation, you may be able to cover tuition with personal savings or current employer assistance. It is important to think about resources available for adult learners, whether it by tax breaks, loans, tuition assistance or grants. Here are a number of things to review when contemplating heading back to school.

1. Consider Online Classes or Programs – There may be a cost differential for online classes versus attending on-site classes. However, if your life is already full of responsibilities and commitments an on-line program could help you juggle a long commute, childcare conflicts, business trips and/or an inconsistent work schedule.

2. Speak with your current employer regarding any financial assistance they might be willing to offer. Even if they do not have a formal policy on education, there is still a possibility that your employer could provide some financial benefits.

3. Financial Aid – Apply for federal student aid by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Make sure you get to know the financial aid staff at the school you will be attending since they can assist you with the preparation of applications and explain various types of aid that is available.

4. Scholarships – Scholarships are another great way to fund college and there are many opportunities for learners. Work with the financial aid office to learn about these additional resources available to you.

5. Student Loans – There are two types of student loans – federal student loans and private student loans. The federal student loans are funded by the federal government. These loans include many benefits including fixed interest rates and income-driven repayment plans. Private student loans are nonfederal loans, made by a lender, such as a bank, credit union, or school. Private loans are generally more expensive than federal student loans.

6. Individual Retirement Account (IRA) withdrawals – You can take an early distribution without the distribution being subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty if the funds distributed are used for qualified tuition expenses. Any early distribution is a distribution taken before you turn 59 1/2 years old.

While this is an option to fund your education expenses, you should consult with your financial advisor before making IRA withdrawals as this could negatively impact your retirement path.

7. Consider setting up a Qualified Tuition Program (QTP or Section 529 Plan) –You can set up a 529 plan for yourself, use the money for your qualified education expenses and then at a later date if you have money left over, you can change the beneficiary to your child and he or she can use the remainder of the money. If you are a Pennsylvania resident, a contribution to a 529 plan may be deductible.

8. You might be eligible to claim educational tax credits when you complete your tax return. Don’t forget to maintain a listing of all educational expenses including Tuition and Fees, Books and Supplies as those expenses might qualify for Tax Credits. Provide them to your tax accountant when you have your tax return prepared.

9. Interest paid on student loans may be tax deductible, therefore you want to ensure that you are providing the amount of interest expenses paid on your student loans to your tax advisor each year. 2

Sources: www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-oforganizations-and-work/Jobs-lost-jobs-gainedwhat-the-future-of-work-will-mean-for-jobsskills-and-wages

Written by: Elizabeth Hassler, CPA

Still in High School? THE SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH SIMPLIFIED

Looking for scholarships for higher education should be considered a part time job. Even though most scholarships are for seniors, students can start previewing what is available at any time. Many scholarships are offered yearly.

1. Start with free online searches: Locally, Berks County Community Foundation manages various charitable funds for Berks County individuals, families and businesses. Learn more on page 27. www.bccf.org

National Searches

www.collegescholarships.com www.gocollege.com www.fastweb.com

www.petersons.com www.college-scholarships.com/free-scholarship-searches www.thesalliemaefund.org

Websites for financial guidance www.mappingyourfuture.org/paying www.educationplanner.org/students/my-smart-borrowing

2. Look locally: Your parent’s employers: Many businesses offer scholarships for their employee’s children. Ask your parents to check with any professional organizations or unions to which they belong.

Your employer: Many employers offer scholarships to their high school seniors. Just ask!

Your organizations: Ask about scholarships at your clubs and organizations (e.g. YMCA, Girl/Boy Scouts).

Your library: Ask your librarian for scholarship search resources such as books, magazines, and newspapers.

Your community: Foundations, religious or community organizations, local businesses, banks, credit unions, etc.

Ethnicity-based organizations: e.g. the Italian Heritage club, Swiss Lodge, Polish-American Club.

3. High School Counseling Office: Your high school’s counseling office is an excellent resource for scholarships. Local and national scholarship information arrives on a regular basis. Ask where

GROWTH2GO

Miller Center for the Arts

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the scholarships are advertised. The announcements? Website? Be sure to check often.

4. Raise.me: Sign up for a free account and enter in your information. You can earn micro-scholarships from colleges for your achievements as early as 9th grade. https://www.raise.me

5. Colleges: When you visit colleges, ask about scholarships available and be sure to check their website.

Final Thoughts . . .

Pay attention to deadlines. Strict deadlines are enforced. Be aware if the deadline is “postmarked by” or “received by.” Allow plenty of time to gather all the information needed for the application. Information required varies for each application, so read the submission requirements closely.

Make sure that you are eligible for the scholarship. Do you have the required GPA? Are you going into the specific major required? Scholarships are very specific as to their eligibility. Do not hesitate to contact those offering the scholarship and ask your questions. Every scholarship helps regardless of the size! Don’t just apply for “large” scholarships. If you qualify…. apply! Remember, you have to apply in order to have a chance at receiving scholarships. Your efforts will pay off when that first semester bill arrives! 2

Written by: Kathy Schoenen, Governor Mifflin High School Counselor

Women2Women encourages women to create connections, gain knowledge, open doors, build strategic alliances, and much more. Our goal is to develop more women leaders in Berks County by providing a forum where women from diverse backgrounds can learn, share ideas and mentor one another.

CONNECT GROW LEAD 2 2018-2019 Launch Event

Keynote Speaker: Janice Kaplan How Luck Happens

DATE: Tuesday, October 2, 2018

TIME: 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

LOCATION: The Crowne Plaza Reading COST: $50/person (includes hors d’oeuvres)

Join Women2Women as we kick off our 8th year of programming! In partnership with the Junior League of Reading we will welcome Janice Kaplan, widely known for her achievements as a writer, television producer and magazine editor. She is the author of fourteen books, including the New York Times bestseller The Gratitude Diaries and her latest hit, How Luck Happens

Luck is more than random chance, and in this upbeat talk, Janice Kaplan reveals the principles that allow any of us to create more luck in our lives. She explains the three basic elements that go into creating luck and how optimism is the number one component in making a lucky life. This lively and inspiring talk is filled with examples from top executives and celebrities who Janice has interviewed and shows how we all have more control over our lives than we realize.

As the Editor-in-Chief of Parade, the most widely read publication in America, she attracted some of America’s best writers and biggestname celebrities. Her own interviews with stars including Barbra Streisand, Clint Eastwood, Matt Damon, and Daniel Craig got international attention. Janice was deputy editor of TV Guide magazine and executive producer of the TV Guide Television Group, where she created and produced more than 30 television shows that aired primetime on ABC, FOX, VH1 and other networks. She began her career as an on-air sports reporter for CBS Radio and went on to be an award-winning producer at ABC-TV’s Good Morning America.

Event Partner:

ELIZABETH KASE –

The Two Million Dollar Miracle

Elizabeth Rohrbach Kase, RN, is an ambassador athlete for the IM ABLE foundation and a certified Peer Visitor for the Amputee Coalition. We welcome an inspirational speaker who will share her life experience with us and how she came to triumph after a lifechanging disability.

Date: Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Time: 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Reading Hospital – Thun Janssen Auditorium

Cost: FREE but registration is required (includes light refreshments)

JULIE KNIGHT –

Eight Attributes of a Leader:

Learning & Living the ATHENA Model

Are you a female leader or a future female leader? Join Julie Knight, 2011 Young ATHENA Recipient from the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, for an interactive discussion on how to adopt the eight distinct attributes which comprise the ATHENA Leadership Model.

Date: Thursday, November 1, 2018

Time: 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

Location: Stokesay Castle

Cost: $25/person (includes breakfast)

CHRISTINE

MILES –

The 6 Questions to Understand People

Christine Miles, M.S. Ed, of Philadelphia-based CI Squared, will talk about the importance of listening and gathering a story from others. What you’ll walk away with will help you understand people on a deeper level and improve your emotional skills in both your personal and professional life.

Date: Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Location: Inn at Reading Cost: $25/person (includes lunch)

ROSA PARRA –

Only Take One Cookie

Women2Women/De Mujer a Mujer Crossover Event!

Rosa Parra is a creative leader with extensive experience educating the community and embracing cultural diversity with a monthly bilingual magazine, Palo. We welcome her as she shares her life story with us!

Date: Thursday, January 10, 2019

Time: 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Location: Penn State Health St. Joseph – Franciscan Room

Cost: FREE but registration is required (includes light refreshments)

COURTNEY COFFMAN –

Walking the Tightrope: Assertive vs Aggressive

Courtney is VP of Finance & CFO at Penn State Health St. Joseph, a mother and a millennial. Her journey to the hospital C-Suite was as unconventional as it was accelerated. Join us as she shares her experiences and recommendations on succeeding in the workplace.

Date: Thursday, February 7, 2019

Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Location: Crowne Plaza Reading Cost: $25/person (includes lunch)

VICKI FLOYD CLARK –

The 11 Commandments of Wildly Successful Women

The Eleven Commandments of Wildly Successful Women identifies attitudes and strategies that are crucial to a woman’s success in all areas of life, however she may define it. This session offers 11 areas of focus for women at all ages and stages of life. Vicki Floyd Clark has devoted the past 30 years of her life to building capacity in organizations and inspiring community and business leaders.

Date: Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Location: Inn at Reading Cost: $30/person (includes lunch)

Event Partners:

CAROLYN HOLLERAN & KATHERINE WILLIAMS –Women in the Workplace: Then & Now

Join us for a conversation with Carolyn Holleran, a pioneer for women in Berks, and granddaughter Katherine Williams to discuss the generational differences they see and experience in the workplace, facilitated by Julia Klein, CEO and Chairwoman of CH Briggs.

Date: Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Time: 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

Location: Crowne Plaza Reading

Cost: $25/person (includes breakfast)

KEDREN CROSBY, MPS –Emotionally Intelligent Leadership: The secret ingredient to winning

Join Kedren Crosby, President of Work Wisdom, for this interactive workshop to bolster Emotionally Intelligent Leadership, influence and impact through the four dimensions of Emotionally Intelligent Leadership, with their accompanying concrete behaviors and common EI Leadership Derailers.

Date: Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Location: Stokesay Castle

Cost: $25/person (includes lunch)

Save the Date!

WOMEN2WOMEN SPRING EXPO & ATHENA AWARD CEREMONY

Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Location: Crowne Plaza Reading

LEAN IN CIRCLES: INVEST IN YOURSELF!

Join a Lean In Circle!

ESTABLECIENDO

de mujer a mujer

CONEXIONES

A part of our Latina Women2Women Initiative, De Mujer a Mujer features a professional development workshop offering useful skills for the workplace and life or a guest speaker who will share an inspiring story of challenges and accomplishments.

Date: 2nd Thursday of every month

Time: 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Location: Crowne Plaza Reading

Cost: FREE to attend! (Registration Required)

Speaker Series

OLGA NEGRON, Councilwoman, Bethlehem City –Woman in Leadership Roles, it is our time!

Join us to hear Olga’s experience of being the first Latino woman ever elected as a member of City Council. We will talk about growing your base, getting engaged with your community, and not allowing anyone or anything to stop you.

Date: Thursday, September 13, 2018

LOURDES PERALTO, Owner, Sarai Variety Flower Shop –Passion, Success & Inspiration!

Lourdes Peralta is owner and florist of Sarai Flower Variety Flower Shop in the city of Reading, Pa. She is self-taught and found her inspiration to become a florist out of necessity. Join us to hear her story.

Date: Thursday, November 8, 2018

Continued on back page.

A Lean In Circle is an intentionally curated and professionally facilitated group of 12-14 women who come together to learn, grow and support each other in an atmosphere of confidentiality and trust. Circles meet monthly, alternating between Education and Exploration meetings with a curriculum designed by LeanIn.org. As you consider young women within your organization who you have identified as the next generation of leaders, we invite you to consider investing in their future and the future of your organization. Circles form in October. For more information please visit www.berkswomen2women.com.

CONEXIONES

Speaker Series

continued

Date: : 2nd Thursday of every month

Time: 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Location: Crowne Plaza Reading

Cost: FREE to attend! (Registration Required)

ROSA PARRA, CEO & Founder, Palo Magazine –Only Take One Cookie

Rosa Parra is a creative leader with extensive experience educating the community and embracing the cultural diversity with a monthly bilingual magazine, Palo. We welcome her as she shares her life story with us!

Date: Thursday, January 10, 2019

DATNILZA METZ, Honors Student, Alvernia University –Fostering Agents of Change

Join Datnilza in discussing how women in the Reading area have instilled characteristics in her that will truly aid in becoming not only a woman leader, but also an agent of change.

Date: Thursday, March 14, 2019

DESTINY PEREZ, Commercial Loan Research Operation Specialist, Santander Bank – Keep Going!

No matter how hard the road or how many doors close, you need to keep going. So she did. Destiny will share with us what she overcame, at a young age, to be where she is today.

Date: Thursday, May 9, 2019

Professional Development Series

Location: Crowne Plaza Reading

LIZETTE EPPS, Breadth of Hope Tools for your Toolbox

Resumes, Cover Letters, CVs & Social Media

Date: Thursday, October 11, 2018

Interview Etiquette: Shake it like you mean it

Date: Thursday, December 13, 2018

Dressing for success leads to success!

Date: Thursday, February 21, 2019

Mentors & Sponsors – What’s the difference & how to get one

Date: Thursday, April 11, 2019

Save the Date

LATINA EXPO

Latina Lifestyle Conference & Expo

Date: Saturday, July 6, 2019

2

A Stellar Local Scholarship Source

Women who plan to go back to school have many factors to consider, not the least of which is how to pay for classes. The amount and type of financial aid that is available depends on your income, credit, and where you go to school. One way to supplement your financial aid package is to seek out scholarships that aim to help people in your field or who are in your situation.

Berks County Community Foundation manages more than 100 scholarship funds that were created by local families and businesses to help Berks County residents further their education. This year the Community Foundation awarded $600,000 in scholarships to 250 students. While the majority of those students were high school seniors on their way to their first year of college, older students also received aid from some funds.

For example, the Community General Hospital Foundation/June A. Roedel Healthcare Scholarship Fund helps Berks

County residents pursuing careers in healthcare. Many adult students have benefited from scholarships from this fund over the years.

The Jim and Ruth B. Daley Family Fund is for Berks County residents who are continuing their education and covers expenses such as professional testing fees, books, childcare, and transportation.

The Helen M. Clymer Fund assists single mothers from Berks County who are continuing their education at a college or university in Berks County.

Other funds support students who have started, but not completed, their degree. For example, the Howard Fox Memorial Law Scholarship is awarded to graduates from Berks County high schools who are pursuing a law degree, while the Delta Kappa Gamma International Beta Chapter Scholarship Fund is for females from Berks County who are entering their senior year at Albright, Alvernia, Kutztown, or Penn State Berks and are pursuing a degree in education.

To see if the Community Foundation has a scholarship fund that may match your situation, log on to www.bccf.org and explore the list of scholarship funds there. The majority of the scholarship funds begin accepting applications through the website each year on January 15 with a deadline of March 15.

You can also log on to the website to learn more about creating a fund in your own name or in the name of a loved one. In addition to scholarships, the Community Foundation manages more than 250 funds that support nonprofit organizations and charitable fields of interest such as women’s issues, healthcare and the arts. 2

Written by: Heidi Williamson, Vice President of Programs and Initiatives, Berks County Community Foundation

Twins Nadine Lascoskie, left, and Molly Lascoskie, right, graduated from Governor Mifflin High School in 2009 and each received several scholarships from Berks County Community Foundation, including from the Community General Hospital Foundation/ June A. Roedel Healthcare Scholarship Fund. Molly recently began donating to the scholarship fund to show her thanks for the assistance she received.

P.E.O. Spells Financial Aid for Females GROWTH2

P.E.O. is a Philanthropic Educational Organization that supports and motivates women to achieve their highest aspirations by offering scholarships, loans, awards and grants.

The P.E.O. Sisterhood, founded January 21, 1869, at Iowa Wesleyan College, Mount Pleasant Iowa, is comprised of approximately 6,000 local chapters in the United States and Canada with nearly a quarter of a million active members. The educational and philanthropic purposes of P.E.O. are accomplished through international, state and local projects. It has given over $321 million in financial assistance to more than 105,000 recipients through the following six educational projects:

COTTEY COLLEGE

Cottey College, founded in 1884 and named as “one of the best in the Midwest” by US News and World Report, is a dynamic, independent fully accredited liberal arts college for women with two-year and selected four-year programs, providing its students with a quality education, leadership opportunities and a global perspective. Cottey is in Nevada, Missouri.

P.E.O. EDUCATIONAL LOAN FUND

P.E.O. Educational Loan Fund was established in 1907 as a revolving fund to lend money to qualified women students to assist them in securing a higher education. Applicants must be sponsored by a local chapter. On-line programs, internships and study abroad programs within an accredited program may be considered.

P.E.O. INTERNATIONAL PEACE SCHOLARSHIP

P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship Fund was established in 1949 to provide scholarships for international students to pursue graduate studies in the U.S. and Canada and to encourage peace through education and understanding.

P.E.O. PROGRAM FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION

Established in 1973, the PCE program is a “one-time only” need-based grant program providing financial assistance to women whose education has been interrupted and who find it necessary to resume studies due to changing demands in their lives. May be awarded for academic, technical or online courses.

SCHOLAR AWARDS

P.E.O. Scholar Awards is a highly competitive program which provides substantial awards to women of the U.S. and Canada who are pursuing a doctoral level degree or are engaged in postdoctoral research at an accredited college, university or institution.

P.E.O. STAR SCHOLARSHIP

This program provides scholarships to exceptional high school senior women in the U. S. and Canada who plan to attend an accredited post secondary educational institution in the U.S. or Canada in the next academic year.

P.E.O. FOUNDATION

The P.E.O. Foundation is a nonprofit corporation established in 1961 to encourage tax-deductible gifts to the educational and charitable projects of the P.E.O. Sisterhood. Because it qualifies as a charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, gifts and bequests made to and in the name of the P.E.O. Foundation are deductible for U.S. tax purposes. If you are interested in finding out more information about P.E.O. or the above projects, please check out their website at peointernational.org. 2

Written by: Kelly Hancock, Community Volunteer

CALLING ALL WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Are you looking to expand your business, build relationships and put more “dollars in your pocket”?

Join us for Breakfast at the Inn at Reading Hotel on Tuesdays at 7am.

LeTip of Reading is a professional organization of men and women dedicated to the highest professional standards of competence and service. Our purpose is the exchange of business tips. Members will at all times maintain the highest professional integrity.

WORK2LIFE

Finding the right balance between work and life can be difficult, but not if you have the right information and support. Gain insight on various topics to and be the best you, both professionally and personally.

The Adult Education Journey:

GOING BACK TO SCHOOL

Overwhelming is a good word to describe going back to school. While many students can move on to higher education directly after high school or undergraduate work, some of us take a rather indirect route instead. The route some of us take may involve starting and raising a family, focusing on career opportunities, or just feeling like we’re not ready to dedicate the time and money it takes to further our educations.

When I transferred into my current position in the School of Graduate & Adult Education at Alvernia University, I learned that almost everyone in my office had at least a master’s degree. I also learned that I was going to be enrolling undergraduate as well as graduate students. Many prospective graduate students asked me as their first question, “Did you finish your graduate degree here at Alvernia?” It became silly to not think about going back to school and earning a graduate degree as an enrollment coordinator for graduate students.

In Fall 2015, I embarked on a journey that is still unfolding before me. I was accepted into the Master of Arts in Leadership for Sustainable Communities (now called Master of Arts in Leadership) here at Alvernia University, and I loved it! I loved reading again. I loved writing again, and I loved talking through my ideas. As someone involved in my community, it was refreshing to learn about a whole world of ideas I hadn’t yet

considered in my work. I felt proud of my adult self, making such a huge decision, and I was glad to have Alvernia’s support and expertise to guide me.

But then I hit a roadblock…scheduling was about to become an issue. I was starting to take on caring for a sick parent three hours away. I wasn’t sure how it would work to do school and be so distracted with arguably more important work at home. Also, my position at Alvernia had changed, and I was heading to fairs and meetings at all hours of the day, which was going to start to compromise when I could physically be in the classroom. I had to make a change.

Through my research on different programs, I realized I wanted to help people understand how policy and government affected them daily, and why voting is so vitally important to the way we want to live our lives. This would be my challenge. But I didn’t understand policy and government as fully as I wanted. I needed a specific program to focus on to reach my goals. I stumbled upon West Chester University’s fully online Master in Public Administration (MPA) program, and applied and was accepted. I’m now working my way through the program and feeling like I’ve found my stride.

Continued on page 28

FOR ADULTS WHO WANT

Continued of page

If it wasn’t for the support Alvernia University gave me to help me understand my strengths, interest, and vision, I would never have pursued graduate work in the first place. I find myself pressing upon prospective students to make sure they have the proper supports in place. Another important aspect of going to back to school at Alvernia is our partnership with Women2Women. The preferred pricing for W2W members through discounted tuition prices at AU provides the extra support and push to help make going back to school just a bit easier!

I’m proud to be going back to school, and I’m happy to talk to prospective students about considering choosing Alvernia University. Here we understand the adult student and the many barriers it may take to do school. Even if it takes three years from our first conversation to registering for the first class, we think you’re a success! Every single person here at Alvernia University has supported my initial decision to go back to school, and my decision to switch programs. Here at Alvernia, we care about the person, and we try to offer the best advice and guidance to create life-long learners, regardless of which educational path is chosen. I hope that every day I can continue to help make the process of going back to school viable, exciting, and less overwhelming! 2

Written by: Hillary Saylor Schulze, Alvernia University Enrollment Coordinator School of Graduate & Adult Education

Better Outcomes. Quality Care.

LENDAHAND

Giving back to the community in which you live is crucial. Discover current volunteer opportunities and other ways to help.

Imagine inspiring Reading’s next generation to be financially capable, tenacious, creative problem-solvers who are ready for the future. We can. But only with your help.

At Junior Achievement of Southeastern Pennsylvania (JA), we believe that to truly inspire the region’s young people we must build a bridge from the classroom to the future. We also believe that any path to success is paved by a sound foundation of financial literacy, meaningful experiences, and real role models who can show kids how to harness the vision to excel.

Our dynamic, hands-on programs are delivered by volunteer mentors who have chosen meaningful career paths and have experiences to share with our students. To give kids the vision to excel in the future, they need to see real role models up close.

Junior Achievement’s unique delivery system provides the training, materials, and support necessary to bolster the chances for student success. Following

a brief training, volunteers present the scripted activities that equip students with the knowledge required to get and keep a job. Students explore crucial workplace skills employers seek but often find lacking in young employees. Students learn about valuable tools to find jobs, including resumes, cover letters and interviewing techniques – all in just 45 minutes a week for seven weeks. This year, the program will take place in January and February of 2019.

By entering the classroom at Reading High School you are joining Junior

Achievement’s national network of more than 274,000 volunteers and giving young people the tools to take the rudder, choose a direction, and choose the future. 2

BE THEIR INSPIRATION TODAY.

To find out how to get involved, or to learn more about Junior Achievement, visit japhiladelphia.org or contact Laura Yohe, Program Director, at 610-230-3379 or laura.yohe@ja.org.

HEALTH2WELLNESS

On the road to wellness, taking your health into your own hands is up to you, but can be navigated with ease when you know where to find important resources and information.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Chronic Affliction

More than 20 years ago, I was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Today, I am a rheumatologist who helps others manage their own chronic rheumatologic illnesses, including rheumatoid arthritis. While no one wishes to have a chronic disease, my diagnosis dramatically shaped my life choices as I experienced the medical system firsthand at an early age and decided to pursue a career in medicine. My experience has also given me perspective and a unique insight into the kind of obstacles my patients experience daily. While dealing with a chronic disease like rheumatoid arthritis can be enormously challenging, I believe that all things are possible when we work together, and I want to empower my patients to believe this, too.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes pain, swelling, and stiffness in joints. Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system, which is the body’s defense system, loses its ability to differentiate between what is part of its body and what is foreign. This results in the immune system attacking the body. It is believed that genetics and environmental factors both play a role in developing autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. While rheumatoid arthritis can develop in a person of any age group, it is most commonly diagnosed in

people between the ages of forty to sixty years of age, with a higher proportion of women as compared to men.

In rheumatoid arthritis, the body attacks the lining of the joint, which is called the synovium, causing swelling, redness, and pain of the affected joints. This is different than osteoarthritis, which is the wear and tear-related arthritis that we will all develop if we become old enough. Rheumatoid arthritis typically involves the small joints of the hands, wrists, and feet, but can progress to involve other joints. Although rheumatoid arthritis is primarily a joint disease, it can also involve other internal organs such as the eyes, heart, lungs, and kidneys. Rheumatoid arthritis can have other complications including osteoporosis – thinning of the bones which increases the risk of breaking a bone, rheumatoid nodules – lesions under the skin, dry eyes and mouth, carpal tunnel syndrome – numbness and tingling in the thumb, index, and middle fingers, and lymphoma – a blood cancer.

Patients usually present to their medical providers with complaints of pain and swelling. The patient’s history, physical exam, and additional data such as laboratory tests (rheumatoid factor and anti-cyclic citrinillated peptide antibodies) and x-rays can help to make this diagnosis. Many pieces of the puzzle have to fit together in order to be diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

Treatment usually involves medications, lifestyle modifications, and therapy. Medications are often required to control rheumatoid arthritis. Over time, inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis can cause joint deformity. Early aggressive treatment is required to help reduce the risk of irreversible joint damage which can cause pain, decreased mobility, and disability. There have been dramatic advancements in the medications for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis over the past twenty years, with many additional medications in the pipeline. The major classes of medications include Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs) and biologics. Many treatment options are available – but a treatment plan needs to be tailored to each patient’s specific needs. Working together with your healthcare provider is critical to obtaining successful treatment outcomes.

Tips for all patients:

• Be involved in your healthcare. Take the time to learn about your disease process, the treatments you’re on, and the natural course of the disease.

• Be your own advocate. Speak up about your symptoms and concerns.

• Ask questions. Medicine is a different language. If there’s something you don’t understand, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification.

• Have a positive attitude. Studies show that positive attitudes improve outcomes and life satisfaction. Not always seeing the glass half full? Try simple things like recognizing a positive event each day, recognize and practice small acts of kindness daily, and smile.

Additional treatments such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, exercise, adequate rest, and counseling may also be needed. As with any chronic illness, getting a new diagnosis can be challenging – both physically and emotionally. Addressing both the physical and emotional aspects of the disease is integral to any treatment plan. Unfortunately, the emotional and mental components of these illnesses are often overlooked in favor of more tangible treatment options. Often, consulting a psychologist to help discuss fears and concerns as well as develop coping skills is helpful in processing the diagnosis and managing the treatment of any chronic illness, including rheumatoid arthritis.

Overall, although having rheumatoid arthritis can be challenging, it is important to note that people with rheumatoid arthritis can still live productive, independent lives. 2

Written by: Amal Kebede, DO Physician, Penn State Health

Music

Enhancing the Health of Pediatric Patients at Reading Hospital as a Clinical Solution

Ihave been passionate about music my entire life. At age 12, after a classmate passed away from cancer, I discovered what would become my life’s purpose: using music therapy to reduce children’s pain and distress while being patients in the hospital.

After my classmate passed away, I was deeply affected by the loss of someone so vibrant and compassionate. To help me emotionally process this experience, I volunteered in a children’s hospital and was paired with its music therapist. It was my first introduction to the profession, and I knew then that I had found my passion. As a student at Penn State, I volunteered with families who had lost children to cancer. Multiple parents shared with me that many of their most treasured memories from before their child passed involved music therapy.

When I began to look for employment as a music therapist, I noticed there were very few opportunities in the Berks County area. Around that time that I was also visiting family members at Reading Hospital and was impressed with the incredible care they received. I saw an opportunity to build on the momentum of the amazing work being done at Reading Hospital.

After becoming a board-certified music therapist, I created a proposal towards the development of a music therapy program at Reading Hospital.

Administrators and clinicians were supportive of my project and after months of research and collaboration, the Reading Hospital Foundation agreed to fully fund a pilot program. The program — the first music therapy program in a medical setting in the area — provides music therapy to pediatric patients in Reading Hospital’s Emergency Department, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and pediatric inpatient unit.

Many people love music and understand its benefits, but are surprised to learn that music therapy is a clinical, evidence-based profession. I work collaboratively with the interdisciplinary team to complement and enhance care through interventions such as music-assisted relaxation, improvisation, songwriting, patientpreferred music listening, and active engagement in music-making.

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HEALTH2WELLNESS

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Studies have shown that music therapy can improve outcomes in treatment and healing processes, as well as reduce pain, distress, and length of stay in the hospital. Live music helps reduce patients’ heart rates and increases oxygen saturation. It can be used to help sedate patients or decrease pain during procedures, and it helps to release anxiety and tension that may come from fear of procedures and being separated from loved ones.

Most importantly, rather than relegating a child to being a passive recipient of care, music therapy provides children with a non-threatening way to voice fears, thoughts, and wishes. Music therapy promotes positive, playful, and supportive interactions, and offers unique opportunities for family engagement and involvement through musical interaction.

I travel throughout the hospital with a cart of instruments, including a guitar, keyboard, ukulele, percussion instruments, and more, to use in sessions with infants, children, and adolescents. Having a wide selection of instruments and music resources allows me to individualize and target music interactions to meet the unique needs of each patient through interactive and/or receptive music interventions.

Reading Hospital’s openness to my proposal speaks to its commitment to innovative, compassionate care. Today, it is an honor to be spearheading this innovative program at Reading Hospital because I believe it will have a real impact on the wellbeing and resiliency of the community that raised me. 2

Written by: Cara Wojciechowski, MT-BC

Therapist

Addressing Obesity and the Chronic Illnesses It Can Cause

In the 2016 Berks County Community Health Needs Assessment, Reading Hospital and local partners identified obesity as a top health priority in Berks County.

Why? Because obesity is a major contributor to chronic illness.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost 40 percent of Americans — about 93.3 million adults — are obese. Obesity can contribute to chronic illness and serious medical conditions such as heart disease, stroke, certain types of cancer and type 2 diabetes. Statistics show that 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight.

About two in three residents in Berks County — 200,000 adults — are overweight or obese. Reading Hospital is actively working with local partners to help address obesity, because it is committed to helping community members reduce the likelihood of developing chronic illness and serious medical conditions.

“If someone is concerned about their weight, I suggest they talk to a medical provider who they trust,” says Pamela Brandt, DO, a physician with Tower Health Medical Group. “It can be an uncomfortable conversation to have, but building that relationship and having that conversation is an important first step. After that, together, the physician and the individual can discuss the patient’s current weight compared to a healthy weight, talk about what is going on health-wise and create a plan to address it.”

Physicians will help set patients on a healthier path by providing diet information or by sending them to a service such as Reading Hospital’s Weight Management Center, where specialists provide supportive, comprehensive care that helps people address obesity. Physicians also talk with patients about sustainable exercise plans and healthy lifestyle choices, and they treat chronic illnesses that may already have developed. Dr. Brandt says she sometimes sends older patients to physical therapy so they can learn what exercises they can do safely.

“It is important for people to find resources in a safe way,” Dr. Brandt says. “There are products on the market that are advertised on television or online, and they may not be safe. That’s why it is important to have these discussions with a medical provider, because a provider will have evidence-based information and help individuals make decisions that are safe.”

From a community health standpoint, Reading Hospital is working to help reduce the number of overweight and obese people through programming and education, and it has convened a community coalition of diverse stakeholders to help address obesity. Doing so also helps reduce chronic illness across the region. Reading Hospital is committed to working with partners on these issues, because each organization brings special skills and expertise to the table, including knowledge on how to best reach underserved and minority populations.

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From a public health standpoint, addressing obesity means targeting ways to reduce it, including offering education on healthy eating, increasing community members’ access to healthy food, and promoting physical activity and exercise — outside the workplace and also through workplace wellness programs.

For example, Reading Hospital, along with Penn State Kinesiology Program and the Penn State Cooperative Extension, has initiated a program called F.I.T.T. (Fun ActIve healThy youTh) Nutrition and Fitness Program to provide education and promote healthy living for children and teens. Local pediatricians refer patients to F.I.T.T., which provides both fun activities and education to parents and children (ages 7 to 13) on healthy eating, exercise and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Initially, the program was held at the hospital, but today it is offered afterschool at a local school so it is more easily accessible for participating families.

“Partnerships are a key aspect of addressing health challenges such as obesity,” says Desha Dickson, Associate Vice President, Community Wellness, Reading Hospital. “Together with our partners, we are implementing programs that effect change. We owe it to the community to work hard and come together to meet people’s health needs.” 2

Dr. Natalie Parisi • Dr. Adina Jarosh-Wolfe

ASKEDANDANSWERED

What’s your favorite thing to do locally in early autumn?

Christy Sanders Girard: Brecknock Orchard Apple Fest.

Lisa Meredith Unrath: Hayrides, bonfires, and high school and college football with great friends.

Ruthann Gundersen Woll: Pioneer Evergeen Farms and Duncan’s Corn Maze with the kids.

Amanda Depena: Corn maze with the kiddos! They typically open late September or very early October. Country dancing, bonfires, bike rides, trail walks, pumpkin picking or camping. The possibilities are endless because the weather is just right!

Chris Spanier: A walk with the pup at the Museum, followed by a scoop of a “fall flavor” of ice cream at Sweet Ride.

Rachael Romig: A quick hike at Hawk Mountain is always an amazing pick me up. It’s not long and has an amazing view that reminds you you’re just a piece of something bigger!

Vali Heist: Sit on my screened-in porch, bundled up with a good book and watch the leaves change and fall from the trees.

Melissa Harris: Hike at Nolde!

Ann Dybalski: I like to hike to the Pinnacle in Hamburg to see the changing leaves in the valley.

Marie Trexler: Attend OktoberFest at the Reading Liederkranz!

Regina Rinehimer: Going to a pumpkin patch with the family for pictures, hayride, Apple cider/hot chocolate and fun in the beautiful autumn sun.

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A Simple Recipe: Consider Cooking Like a Grandma

There was a time—when the top of the stove seemed quite higher than it does now—that my memories of family centered mainly on food. Holidays, of course, were a huge source of yummy memories. But even more important to me was the old stainless saucepot full of pink applesauce on the stove: warm, homemade applesauce made even more special by the pink hue from the skins left on. The applesauce had no real recipe, it was just a thing that was always made, by my maternal grandmother, by her mother, and then maybe someone else before that.

These recipes, when cooked together or just prepared while I was in the vicinity, felt as though they were prepared specifically for me. My grandmother had a knack for creating dishes, whether the

simple applesauce, a soup, or something else entirely, that were seemingly created out of nothing, or at least, not very much. They were always and remain the most comforting of comfort foods.

Similarly, the summer weekends I spent as a child with my grandfather have a particular taste and smell: fresh tomatoes and bell peppers from a backyard garden, and a gargantuan vat of tomato sauce cooked all day on the stove. The bay leaf, my mom recalls, was always in her dish, no matter what. There was never any recipe, seemingly never any special ingredients (other than that magical bay leaf), but the taste was better than anything I could try to replicate.

There’s some difficulty in reconstructing some of the older family recipes I have access to. My great grandmother, a prolific baker

(like her own mother), sometimes leaves out baking instructions altogether. Then there are the measurements: measurements like “a little bit” or “small handful” require a bit more reliance on cooking instinctually, which, for baking, can be nerve-wracking. Even more nerve-wracking is the sheer lack of measurements, like in the attached cherry custard recipe.

In other parts of my family, there are recipes I waited years to get. Another grandmother was renowned for two desserts: butterscotch pie and apple cake. I waited approximately 25 years to be given these recipes, and my brain was jostled by the simplicity of the recipes once received. For the large space they take up in my memories, their recipes require little other magic than the ability to understand how ingredients work together or the memory of someone else’s preparation of a recipe.

And then there are those recipes that you wouldn’t try at all: not for a fear about technique or difficulty, but for a fear of what those ingredients together might taste like. Those of you who have a savory gelatin mold or two in the old recipe box may know what I mean.

continues to gain traction even as our lives become busier and more complicated.

It’s unsurprising that many of us in the millennial generation might find these old ways of cooking and baking both meaningful and satisfying. There’s been a lot of attention paid to the eating and cooking habits of millennials and the findings are somewhat bleak. Millennials can’t cook, are eating out way more often than previous generations, relying on Pinterest or Google to look up the details of a recipe they could be remembering by heart instead. Cooking with the sorts of generational recipes they remember might provide a connection and a pathway to food that has been lost. Learning these old recipes, or being brave enough to improvise on your own, could be the start of new passed-down traditions.

Especially with my maternal grandmother, there is a familiarity that these recipes provide, and a connection to stories she might tell me about her own memories of food, or the availability of certain ingredients. I’m not sure that her recipes would get five stars on any mass food rating site, and I’m not sure it would make for a good cooking video, but her techniques and passed-down recipes can show us just how significant what you prepared and how you prepared were to families generations ago.

Popular food/recipe blog Food52 published a thoughtful article last year on “Why We Should Be Cooking Like Our Grandmas.” The technique they call Grandma Cooking is having a moment. Grandma Cooking is “an approach to food preparation that is thrifty, intuitive, inherently seasonal, and delicious—the kind of food that nourishes and delights without unnecessary flash,” writes Leah Koenig. We know that cooking our own food is cheaper and healthier than eating out, but many millennials resist a process that was embraced. Maybe embracing what it means to cook like a grandma—thrift, creativity, simplicity—can help turn this tide. Like the popularity of slow cooking, this idea of cooking, baking, and generally preparing food intentionally

Cooking like a grandma is a good thing for your kitchen abilities and connection to the things you’re cooking, but cooking with a grandma (or mother, or father, or aunt, or any other family member), whether it’s the person or their recipes, is the real draw of these passed-down techniques for me. These generational recipes are truly about the things you keep: those scraps or leftovers or items from your garden bed that you know you can make into something better, and those memories that stay with you about your family, your friends, your past.

Years after those old memories of applesauce and tomato sauce and desserts of all fashions, my grandmother still calls to tell me about a soup she threw together from the things she had in the fridge or freezer. I never quite understand how it comes together, but it somehow always does. 2

Written by: Sarah Hunter-Lascoskie, Director of Communications & Marketing, GRCA

Grandmom Binkley’s

Cherry Custard

1 egg, separated

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon sugar

Milk

Tart cherries

Brown sugar

Pie shell

Beat egg yolk. Add flour and sugar. Add enough milk to fill custard. Mix. Beat egg white and fold in. Pour mixture over tart cherries placed in pie shell to which brown sugar has been added.

Bake 350 degrees until knife inserted in middle is clean.

MORE2KNOW

BACK-TO-SCHOOL Beautiful

With the first day of class fast approaching, books, binders and pencils aren’t the only thing you’re going to need to make this school year the best one yet! New makeup, new clothes, and a new hairstyle are on the shopping list. But how do you make the most of the new-found treasures you’ll come to adorn on day one of class, you ask? With a little preparation and a few tips from the varsity squad at Bell Tower, you’ll be looking and feeling your best in time for the first bell.

First things first: whether you spent the summer at the pool or the beach, clarifying your hair is necessary to bring your hair back to life. A Malibu treatment takes just 15 minutes and removes the damaging, dulling effects of chlorinated pool water. It will brighten your color, volumize your style, and eliminate the tangles. If your hair is stripped of color and dry from sun exposure, a glossing treatment will tame the color while adding moisture and shine.

Now that your hair is healthy again, let’s talk about that pesky alarm clock and making sure your hair looks chic and trendy with minimal time and effort. R+Co can give you that easy beachy texture you rocked all summer with their Rockaway salt spray. A few sprays and 10 minutes with your diffuser and you’ll

be set. Running late? Let it air dry for an extra boho vibe! If you’re feeling a tad more ambitious, use your curling iron to lightly curl your hair using Oribe’s soft lacquer to set the curls or with Apres Beach shine and wave spray. Follow that up the next morning with a half pony tail using Oribe’s dry texturizing spray at your roots. Now you’re set for a few days!

Let’s move on to your summer bod! A spray tan will help blend all those hardearned tan lines. And after months of sand and flip flops, your feet are in need of some TLC. A pedicure will rid you of dry skin and some creative nail polish color selections can really help you show your school spirit!

Next up is skin care. We want you to feel beautiful in your skin, so it’s important to keep it clean and hydrated, especially after the strong summer sun. Naturapathica Organic Skin Care will replenish dry skin with hydrating ingredients, including prickly pear cactus, hyaluronic acid and evening primrose oil. Finish up your look with our newest beauty tools from RMS and Kevyn Aucoin Beauty. Etherealist Skin Illuminating Foundation will keep your skin looking fresh and dewy. Use the Peach Luminizer to add subtle warm highlights on your cheeks and under your brow, followed by the Defining Mascara and Lip Shine in Bloom. 2

A Wrinkle in Time… A Huge Impact for Berks

In its second year, the W2W Youth Summer Reading Program has grown exponentially. A Wrinkle in Time was the book selected for this year – the story of a young girl’s journey to find her father and accept her flaws as the qualities that make her unique. We helped to curb the “summer slide of learning” by offering this book at no charge to kids around Berks County while also providing a discussion guide to get the groups talking about the book!

This year our goal was to distribute over 1000 books to at least 20 organizations, an increase in both books and organizations reached in 2017. Through generous donations from companies and individuals in the community, we successfully surpassed our 2017 numbers and reached 29 libraries and organizations and distributed 1,200 books!

Women2Women also provided the movie A Wrinkle in Time to all participating organizations so that each reading group could watch the movie and further discuss the themes. At the end of the program, the children were able to take the books home with them to start their own libraries and promote reading not only during the summer but through the entire year. We can’t wait to bring this program back in the summer of 2019!

Excerpt from a thank you note sent by a reader from the Reading Recreation Commission: “Thank you for sponsoring these wonderful books and movies. My favorite character in A Wrinkle in Time is Meg. She is brave and inspirational. The movie was great.” Sincerely, Nia

Written by: Rachael Romig, Special Programs Coordinator – GRCA

Oley Valley Community Library

Reading Recreation Commission

MORE2KNOW

Ihope this title gets your attention. What’s the catch – according to RAND Researchers, a recent study found that children of working professionals heard 30 million more words by age 3 than children of parents that were not regularly in an office setting. That fact is astounding, especially when research tells us by the time children turn five, they have already experienced the greatest developmental period in their lives.

I never gave too much thought to the impact of early childhood education until I joined the Berks Early Learning Coalition last year. As a mother of two and now a grandmother of four, I never realized just how blessed we’d been as a family. My mother saw more than 6 decades ago the value of that education, as

evidenced in my enrollment in Pittsfield Day Nursery School, Pittsfield, Mass. How forward thinking that this private school was founded for giving children of working moms an opportunity to be in an environment that was stimulating and well organized, providing moms assurance that their children were learning, playing and integrating with other children. My children and now grandchildren have had

FDR said: “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”

the privilege of attending top pre-schools as well.

The most recent report by RAND released in November 2017 studied 115 programs

in San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico. Like disadvantaged communities from inner-city Detroit to rural New York, it has focused especially on raising up its youngest generation. The programs ranged from parenting classes to pre-kindergarten to the home visiting curriculum used in San Felipe Pueblo. The study, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, sought to answer two questions: Do the programs work, and are they worth the investment? Yes, and yes, the researchers concluded. What does this have to do with Berks County? Plenty. Pockets of our community struggle, like New York, Detroit and New Mexico!

Are we providing children the basics to be successful? If not, the future for them will not be so wonderful. In order to see

children achieve their dreams and goals, investing in them from a young age is key to their ultimate life path. When we don’t invest in children, they simply cannot flourish.

Investing in early childhood education and learning is imperative to making a difference in children’s lives: it gives them a basis from which hopes and dreams, opportunities and potential, can be realized. We know that learning is a lifelong experience, one that starts at birth, and continues well into old age. It begins with the most basic human exchanges, a mother smiling at her newborn, and grows from there.

We also know that poor and at-risk children are least likely to be enrolled in good programs, or to even have access to them. For these children in particular, and for all children, we need to boost America’s investment in and commitment to early childhood education and learning. By investing now in these critical education programs – and therefore our children –our future and theirs will be greatly enriched.

Aside from the human returns on that investment, there are economic incentives, too. Every public dollar spent on preschool returns $7 through increased productivity and savings on public assistance and criminal justice (Children’s Learning Institute).

Have I piqued your interest in this topic? I certainly hope I have. Whether you are an employer, a parent, an educator, or a citizen of this community, we all are stakeholders in this issue.

Please join us on October 2nd, 2018, from 7:30–10:00 a.m. at the Berks

County Intermediate Unit when we will be hosting Lynn Karoly, Senior Economist at the RAND Corporation, who will be discussing “The Economic Impact of Investing Early. Learn how our business community can invest in tomorrow’s workforce today!”

To register, visit: http://bit.ly/BELCSummit

Lynn Karoly is a senior economist at the RAND Corporation and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Her research has examined human capital investments, social welfare policy, child and family well-being, and labor markets. Much of her recent child policy research has focused on early care and education (ECE) programs with studies of their use and quality.

“We have, really, a mountain of evidence now. And that gives us confidence that [early childhood] programs that are run well, are high-quality, can return more in benefits than they cost and can make a difference.” 2

Source: RAND Review

By Karen Marsdale, Sr VP –Programs, GRCA

BREAKTHROUGH ONCOLOGY

ASK US WHY

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