Community Services for Children, Inc.

The Donley Children’s Campus

1520 Hanover AvenueAllentown, PA 18109

Preparing children and their families to succeed in learning and in life.

NoN-ProfITorgANIzATIoN

U.S. PoSTAge PAIDBeTHleHem, PAPermIT No. 67

editor – Sara george Design and layout by Klunk & millan Advertising

fall 2009 • Volume 6, Issue 3

On Friday, September 11, CSC continued a 14-year tradition of honoring individuals and organizations who have made outstanding contributions to children’s welfare. Mrs. Ardath Rodale and St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network received The Inez and Edward Donley Award for Children’s Advocacy at The Eastonian, Palmer Township.

Sensational hors d’oeuvres were provided by The Gala Gourmet Chef while the auction raged on. During dinner, Tom Sparough, a nationally known juggler, wove the story of families “juggling” responsibilities and managing crises — the tale of children “on the edge.” Amy Burkett, host of PBS 39’s award-winning Tempo programs, was mistress of ceremonies. Mike Hilton, senior VP of Air Products, presented the organizational award to Dr. Leo Heitlinger, chief of pediatrics at St. Luke’s. The indomitable Linny Fowler presented the individual award to Shelbie Gourniak, Ardath Rodale’s granddaughter.

Among those present were The Honorable and Mrs. Charlie Dent, The Honorable and Mrs. Ed Pawlowski, Mrs. and Mrs. Lee Butz, Dr. and Mrs. Sandy Lovett, Mr. and Mrs. David Leber, Dr. Arthur Scott and Ms. Susan Kubick, Mr. and Mrs. David Shaffer, Mr. and Mrs. Matt Petronio, Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Kennedy, Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm Gross, and Mr. Paul McGinley.

Members of the Champions for Children Gala Committee were Amanda Buss, David Ellowitch, Jane Ervin, Sara George, Donna Haggerty, Margot Hillman, Valerie Holt, Colby J. Kent, Kathy Leber, Helena Lindquist, Shirley Miller, Linda Nabb, Peter Schurman, and Jared Steckel.

The event grossed $67,000 to benefit CSC’s programs via the Annual Fund.

At left: Shelbie Gourniak and husband Jim accept grandmother Ardath Rodale’s award. Below: Jane Ervin and Lisa Palowski take their turns at plate spinning. At right: Air Product Executive Vice President Mike Hilton presents award to Dr. Leo Heitlinger.

Champs for Children Honored

TiTLE: Beall and Marlene “Linny” Fowler

PRESEnTinG: Air Products Foundation

GoLD: PPL

MEDiA: The Morning Call

SiLVER: St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network;USI Insurance Services

PERfoRMAncE: Computer Management & Marketing Associates

BRonzE: Alvin H. Butz, Inc; Capital Blue Cross; Concannon Miller PC; Gene & Jane Ervin; Steve

Flood & Sara George; France, Anderson, Basile & Co, Inc; Chuck & Barbara Fraust;

Highmark Blue Shield; Klunk & Millan; KNBT; Lehigh Valley Health Network; NAI Summit Management & Realty Co; Wachovia: A Wells Fargo Company

TABLE: Gross McGinley; Northampton Community College; St. Luke’s Hospital

& Health Network

fRiEnD: C.F. Martin Guitar & Co, Inc; Tom & Claire DeFazio; Ellowitch 3, LLC; Just Born, Inc; KSA&D; Lehigh Valley IronPigs; Mohr Management Resources; Schultz & Williams; The Warko Group

AwARDS: Rich & Desiree Lake; Leber Financial Group, Inc

HoRS D’oEuVRES: ASAP Mailing Service; Corporate Environments; George & Dorothy Folk; Information Supply; TW Cooper Insurance

thanks to our generous event sponsors

BoarD oF DIreCtors coMMuniTY SERVicES foR cHiLDREn, inc.

Diane Scott, EdD – ChairRetired, Allentown School District

Ray L. Federici, CPA – Vice ChairAlvin H. Butz, Inc.

Keith L. Boroch – TreasurerVNA, St. Luke’s Hospital and Health Network

Barbara Fraust – SecretaryCarol C. Dorey Real Estate

Jane R. Ervin – CEO/PresidentCommunity Services for Children, Inc.

Gerald R. BeaverRetired, St. Luke’s Hospital and

Health Network

Donald M. BernhardPPL, Inc.

Andrea Brady, CPAConcannon Miller, PC

Elizabeth Bugaighis, PhDNorthampton Community College

Thomas DaubBrown/Daub, Inc.

Pamela DentCommunity Child Advocate

Edward Donley — Member Emeritus

Former Chairman, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Marlene “Linny” FowlerCommunity Child Advocate

Glenn Guanowsky, Esq.Lehigh Valley Health Network

Elsbeth HaymonAllentown Art Museum

Heather HeldHead Start Policy Council

Representative

Michana Johnson, MBAAir Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Henry U. Odi, PhD Lehigh University

Jarret Patton, MD Lehigh Valley Health Network

Michelle PowersCrayola

David Rabaut, PhD Retired, United Way of the

Greater Lehigh Valley

Patricia SimonPBS 39 WLVT-TV

Frank T. SmithNAI Summit Company

Tina ThompsonHead Start Policy Council

Representative

Julianna Timmcke Performance Testing Council, Inc.

Melanie Wursta, MEd Lehigh Carbon Community College

federal Recovery funds Aid Head Start Allentown Expansion

Good news for preschool children of low-income families in Allentown came from the federal government granting American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds to CSC for 20 additional Head Start slots. The grant is for $193,045.

CSC’s successful grant will provide a 12-month, 6-hour a day Head Start classroom experience for 20 children and family support programs in Allentown’s new Youth Success Zone. The new classroom will be located in the former St. Michael’s Church, 9th and Turner Streets in Allentown, where three other Head Start classrooms are located. This location is in the heart of the Youth Success Zone.

This will bring the total number of Head Start classrooms in Allentown to 24. With the addition of this fund-ing about 67% of the most vulnerable preschool children in Allentown will be enrolled.

The Youth Success Zone in Allentown is patterned after the successful Harlem Children’s Zone founded by Geoffrey Canada. Allentown leaders have forged a powerful team to organize and coordinate activities to fight poverty. The model focuses primarily and intensively on the social, health, and educational development of children.

The Founder’s Team includes Susan Gilmore, CEO, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley; Alicia Ruiz Orbin, Director of the Zone, United Way; Dr. Karen Angello, Superintendent, Allentown School District; The Honorable Ed Pawlowski, Mayor, City of Allentown; Bob Wood, Executive, Sodexo; Alan Jennings, Executive Director, Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley; Ed Meehan, Executive Director, The Dorothy Rider Pool Health Care Trust; Lou Liebhaber, Chair, Fundamental Success Consulting; Tim Holt, Community Relations, Air Products; and Vicky Kistler, Director, Allentown Health Bureau.

Lee Butz contributed $20,000 via the Lehigh Valley chamber foundation to support the development of an innovative literacy improvement program for Head Start/PreK counts children in Allentown. in total, members of Education 2010 have given or pledged over $100,000 for the project. other contributors are Air Products, PPL, computer Aid, and Elliot Sussman, MD.

Sandy christman, Leah wenhold and claire Defazio came to sudden death in the Putt u mini golf tournament. Sandy won with a hole in one.

BIts -n- pIeCesHead Start families persevere against

the oddsThe federal Head Start agency recently approved CSC to expand the number of children and families enrolled in Early Head Start from 114 to 177. Early Head Start is a home-based program for extremely poor families – no more than $21,000 approximately for a family of four. Ideally the child is enrolled prenatally to promote a healthy birth and remains enrolled until age 3, when he is eligible for Head Start preschool.

Early Head Start provides comprehensive prenatal, child development and health services, disability and mental health services, family involvement and support services. The program provides weekly home visits at two hours each for 48 weeks a year and 24 group socialization experiences annually.

CSC estimates that even with the expansion, funding per-mits enrollment of less that 6% of eligible families. Children ages zero to three make up 55% of children under age 6 living in poverty in the Lehigh Valley (esti-mated at 6564 children). Almost half reside in Allentown.

Research indicates the following:

• The average 4-year-old child hears 30 million words addressed to them

• Children in low-language, lower income families hear only 13 million words addressed to them by age 4.

• A strong relationship exists between the total amount of family talk a child hears and the child’s vocabulary size. And there is a strong link between vocabulary size at age 3 and 4 with reading comprehension scores in third grade.

CSC has provided Early Head Start since 1997. The Early Head Start expansion represents a shift in dollars from CSC’s Head Start preschool program to Early Head Start while continuing to enroll the same number of preschoolers (982).

cSc was invited to participate in the Barnes & noble celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month at the Lifestyle center at the Lehigh Valley Mall in october. cSc staff read bilingual stories to the children who participate in the regularly scheduled storytimes at Barnes & noble. cSc staff members who participated were Early Head Start Staff ofelia Romero, cciS Staff carolyn zapata, and family Service Staff Gladys Rodriguez.

Steve Bulger of Pnc Bank brought two huge bins of school supplies for Head Start and Early Head Start families donated by Pnc employees in the Lehigh Valley. Pictured with cSc VP of Development Sara George. Students from The Swain School helped Head

Start students with reading and library duties in the spring as the result of an innovative auction

item the school sponsored. They returned in october delivering 1,000 diapers!

cedar crest Students spent part of their summer volunteering at cSc.

Early Head Start Expands

Head Start of the Lehigh Valley Center Based Outcomes 2008-2009Percentage of children demonstrating proficiency

CSC’s Pre-K Counts Domain Outcomes 2008-2009Percentage of children demonstrating proficiency

Cpa JoIns BoarD

Andrea L. Brady, CPA,CVA, recently

joined the CSC board. She is a

Manager and Audit Niche Leader

with Concannon, Miller & Co., P.C.

in Allentown, PA where she has been

employed for the past 7 years.

Her experience consists of working with numerous

nonprofits in the Lehigh Valley. Some are: Ronald

McDonald House Charities, Pinebrook Services for Children

and Youth, Jewish Community Center of Allentown, WLVT-

TV Channel 39 Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications

Corporation, Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce

and Allentown Economic Development Corporation. Ms.

Brady is also involved with American Institute of Certified

Public Accountants, Pennsylvania Institute of Certified

Public Accountants, and the National Association of

Certified Valuation Analysts

nCC Dean JoIns BoarD

The CSC Board of Directors recently

welcomed Elizabeth Tyler Bugaighis,

PhD, for an initial three-year term. Dr.

Bugaighis is the new Dean of Education

& Academic Success at Northampton

Community College. She heads the Education,

Early Childhood Education, Special Education, and ESL

departments. Her additional responsibilities college-wide

include student retention and persistence initiatives, devel-

opmental education, tutoring services, and an NEH grant.

Dr. Bugaighis earned her doctorate in educational theory

and policy from The Pennsylvania State University.

She holds an MPA from Kutztown and a BA from

Moravian College.

heaD start DIreCtors present at natIonal ConFerenCe

Lora Lesak, Director of Developmental Health Services,

and Rebecca Fenerty, Director of Program Operations,

were invited presenters at the 13th Annual Birth to

Three Institute in Washington, DC, this summer. Their

presentation, “Promote Infant Mental Heath Through

Innovative practices and Collaboration,” defined infant men-

tal health, identified potential threats to mental wellness,

and discussed CSC’s innovative collaborative approach

knows as Early Head Start-SafeStart. Professionals across

the country have been contacting the pair ever since

requesting additional assistance and information related to

CSC’s premier infant/toddler mental health program.

FIrst MInI golF tourney hole In one!

Putt U in Center Valley hosted CSC’s inaugural “Putt for

Children” tournament in August. Proceeds benefited CSC’s

various program via the annual fund. Thanks to

the following: Catering by Karen Hunter, Deiter Brothers

Fuel and Company, Kraemer Schurman Advertising and

Design, Olympus, and Yocco’s were presenting sponsors.

Hole sponsors were Haggerty Services, LLC, Lafayette

Ambassador Bank, Rich Mar Florist, Jacobsburg Historical

Society, Sage, and Wilson Black Photography. Prizes donat-

ed by Target, Moose and Bug Florist, Fuzziwigs Candy

Factory, and Marblehead Grille and Chowder House.

Snacks provided by Just Born, Chiquita Banana, Deer Park,

Giant and A-treat.

shop onlIne & help CsC

Use this search tool www.iSearchiGive.com to find coupons,

products and stores where a portion of each purchase

helps Community Services for Children. Doing online shop-

ping? Visit www.igive.com. A portion of your purchases will

help the children here!

BuDget IMpasse at 100 Days

The PA budget impasse forced CSC to keep 12 classrooms

closed affecting 233 children and reduce payments for sub-

sidized childcare, affecting about 2000 families. The

impasse affected state-funded Head Start, PreK Counts pre-

school, Child Care Information Services, and Northeast

Regional Key quality improvement programs. Classes finally

opened October 29.

“ lA has three children, ages 4, 5 and 11. She has

grown tremendously last year as obstacles did not

break her spirit.

“ When I first meet her she was a certified nurses

aide and a student enrolled in the Career link pro-

gram working towards her geD. During this year

she lost her job, her car broke down and her land-

lord was being very difficult.

“ She continued to pursue her geD and passed with

flying colors. She was in the process of getting

another car through the transportation program

with Career link but that fell through. She persisted

by taking the bus as her means of transportation to

the daycare, school and to search for employment

for months.

“ She finally obtained a car by saving her money and

putting her income tax return to good use. She then

decided that she would enroll in Northampton

Community College to further her education. She

wants to be in the nursing field.

“ After obtaining new transportation, lA continued

the hunt for employment and found a job at Phoebe

Nursing Home. Some time back she stated that she

always wanted to work for them because she heard

that they were a terrific place to work for.

“ After being hired there, she continued with school

and the nursing home worked around her schedule.

She stated that she wanted to be a good role model

for her children. If they saw that she was doing well

at school they would want to do the same.

“ lA is a very determined young lady and will not let

anything get in the way of what she wants for her

children as well as for herself.”

KF, Family Partner

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