Sam Bryant is a newly elected Constable in the city of Reading who believes community is important. Sam Bryant says we, “We believe there’s not enough community. We need more community involvement. “People don’t know each other”. The thing about Sam is he doesn’t just talk about it, he does it!

Sam, along with Carrissa Johnson, his cousin, started Bryant Johnson Community Fund to have community based events that generate electricity in the community. He is a teacher at an alternate education school and also an assistant football coach at Reading High School. He also heads up the youth organization, ‘Berks County Outsiderz’.

He recognizes transiency in the city is a factor in the lack of connectedness. In an effort to make sure people can stay connected the Fund was founded and a movement is formed. #2getherwecan is not just a hashtag, it’s a movement. Plans are made to enter all the schools and teach core values including respect, accountability, responsibility, community and commitment.

This community story features Aaron Menapace, Athletic Director at Hamburg Area School District. Aaron received the 2015 Award of Merit from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administration Association. each year the NIAAA gives this award to one Athletic Director from each state. Jo Painter talked with Aaron to find out how he came about receiving this award. While Aaron Menapace did some sleuthing of his own he never found it who nominated him or why.

Listen to his story and the answer is clear. Aaron is the President of the District 3 Athletic Directors and he is dedicated to going the extra mile. Aaron says an Athletic Director is responsible for coordinating details for coaches, teams, players, tournaments, regular season schedules and the community, but his priority is the students. He carries lessons he learned from Mom to his players and incorporates them into his mission. Two important lessons that are underscored with players is their accountability for their role on the team and pursuing victory with honor. Aaron says there are valuable lessons to be learned from victories and from losses.

Listen to the the story from the 2015 NIAAA Merit Award Winner from PA and it becomes very clear why Aaron Menapace from Hamburg Area School District is the winner. Thanks Aaron for your dedication to our youth.

Can a horse really help you through your problems? You bet, and the horse does that without judgement! It’s called equine therapy or Herd By A Horse, and there is only one in Berks County, PA. Listen to this community story about how a horse can help lead you through psychotherapy. David Rosenker is a mental health specialist and the facilitator/owner of Herd By A Horse in Bernville, PA.

David says we all have some sort of pre-conceived notions about therapy and about horses. Don’t let those notions stop you from finding peace and healing. You don’t ride the horse or even handle the horse. You simply share conversation with the therapist while you are in the arena with the horse.

The horse is almost a communication medium whereby the therapist can watch the horse and pick up on your emotions. A mental health specialist and an equine specialist will work with you and the horse. Therapy can be hard but this makes it somewhat fun in a non-threatening environment. You get to do activities with the horses and the process is gauged as are the ways in which the horses react to you. Problems and issues reveal themselves and you begin your journey to resolving issues in your life.

If you have hit a limit with your therapy or are anti-therapy …. This may be the avenue for you. If you are looking for a way to develop team building skills in the workforce, working on recovery from addictions, or want to improve your parenting skills, equine therapy works. Fun, adventure and a non-threatening environment all add up to equine assisted therapy for adults and adolescents.

David Rosenker says horses are herd animals with a pecking order. They are very sensitive, always paying attention to what is going on around them. David says equine assisted therapy is very effective, safe, and non-threatening no matter what issue you may be addressing in your life. You will enjoy David’s story. Find out more at www.herdbyahorse.com

I’m delighted to share this community story from Lauer’s Park Elementary School in the Reading School District. Kevin Concannon, the USDA Under Secretary for food, nutrition and consumer services, charged his staff with the task of finding a neighborhood school with all the components of a stellar food plan. The staff found the Reading School District to have one of the best food services departments in the state!

I caught up with Kevin Concannon at Lauer’s Park Elementary School. After touring the school with Gordon Hoodak, Principal, we enjoyed lunch in the library. We got to enjoy the same food that was served to the elementary and high school students. YUM is the word to describe lunch in the Reading School District.

Kevin Concannon took time to share his experience at Lauer’s Park and talks about the reasons The Reading School District’s stellar food service department is being celebrated during National School Lunch Week. Kevin was greatly impressed by the menu and by the creative environment of the Lauer’s Park Elementary School and the innovative ways that curriculum is incorporated and woven into the décor. Kevin Concannon is heading back to Washington DC with a full belly and a lingering smile from the warmth of the classrooms, administrations, teachers and students and with another bonus … a purple pepper grown in the student gardens at Lauer’s Park Elementary School!

Need a job? Pay as much as 55k plus benefits.

Oct 3 Berks Manufacturing Day

Starts at 8am at RACC's Schmidt Training and Technology Center. BE THERE!

Did you know there are 500 manufacturing companies in Berks County that employ over 30,000 people? The average wage for these employees is $55,000!

54% of those manufacturing workers are over 45 years old which means there will be a multitude of jobs available in this sector. Deb Heffner is the Economic Development Director at GREP (Greater Reading Economic Partnership). Deb Heffner's community story is all about opportunity for you and for business in Berks County. Manufacturing Day is a national event on October 3rd that celebrates manufacturing in the USA. GREP is staging a Berks Manufacturing Day to celebrate the manufacturers right here in our community.

On Saturday October 3rd you will have an opportunity to meet with 30 manufacturers in Berks County who are looking for employees. Find out what they do and how you can be part of 'Made in the USA'!

The day starts at 8am at the Schmidt Training and Technology Center at RACC.

At 9:30 buses will depart taking you to tour 5 different manufacturing facilities.

Choose your destination.

East Penn Manufacturing

American Crane

Cambridge-Lee

Brentwood

Remcon Plastics

At the end of the day you just may have a new career path with excellent pay and benefits!

Don't miss this opportunity to open a new door in your life. Berks Manufacturing Day is Oct 3

The event is FREE!

Register at www.careersin2years.com

Carrie Whitmoyer is the Mission Advancement Director for the MSC Sisters in Laureldale.   Carrie is equally excited to invite you to the Nun Run September 19 to raise money and awareness for the ongoing work of the MSC sisters.  She shares all the Nun Run details.  There’s a Youth Run, a 5K, and a one mile walk on September 19 at Sacred Heart Villa in Reading.  Join the fun in the 5k Run or the 1k Walk.

Dawn Heinbach is a non-traditional Kutztown University student  undertaking a literary journalism pilot project called ‘Writing Wrongs’. In this case the ‘Wrong’  is the community story of homelessness.   Rachel Lee is one of 15 area college students who hopes to better understand the issue of homelessness by spending Labor Day weekend entrenched in the world of the homeless at Opportunity House in Reading. Rachel Lee is a student at Millersville and she says she hopes to learn from people who have ‘lived’ life. Rachel is looking for their wisdom and wants to share it with others.

The goal of the project is to shed light on the homeless issue that exists in our own backyard yet is often invisible.  The hope is that by writing the stories of homeless men, women and children a shift in the way we connect with the homeless will occur.  That shift will be the beginning of change in the way we see and treat homeless individuals.

Writing Wrongs allows us to see homelessness through the eyes of the homeless and the volunteers that serve them at Opportunity House in Reading. At the end of Labor Day weekend the stories that are gathered will be shared in print and online.

This community story is about the symbiotic relationship between Mom and daughter and between golf and life.  Meet Georgina Lewis, a successful entrepreneur who sold her business in order to manage her daughter’s golf career and be her caddy.   Under Mom’s tutelage Amelia Lewis drew strong parallels between golf and life.   It didn’t take long for Mom to witness Amelia’s gifts on the golf course and then watch her translate those skills to her own life and business.

Georgina managed to open, run and then sell a successful business, manage her daughter’s career, and then begin a whole new venture in Shazaam Media.  She helps companies brand themselves with strong websites and social media connections.  She did all this while balancing the challenges of family and commitments of sports.

Walt Zawaski invites you to join him in the IHartHarvest, The Potato Project.  1 in 6 families are food distressed.  There’s not enough food on the table to feed the family. Listen to this community story about what Walt Zawaski and volunteers are doing to feed hungry families.

Walt Zawaski was watching TV one day and saw a news story about a couple in Denver with more crops on their farm than they could use or harvest.  They placed an ad in the paper inviting people to come harvest what they could eat, figuring they fields would be harvested over the course of 2 weekends.  Over 20,000 people showed up and the fields were harvested in 2 hours!  Walt Zawaski thought that’s a lot of hungry people, maybe I should plant potatoes and give them away… and so the IHartHarvest The Potato Project was born.

It was 2009 when Walt Zawaski tilled 1.3 acres in his backyard and harvested over 77-hundred pounds of potatoes.  Local churches and scout groups helped with the harvest and all the food was donated to local food pantries and the Greater Berks Food Bank touching over 1400 families in need with fresh food on the table.

The next year Zion Moselem Lutheran church offered over 6 acres to be tilled and planted increasing the harvest to over 28-thousand pounds and getting fresh food on the tables of about 2500.

IHartHarvest, The Potato Project is a miraculous community story and a unique ministry Addressing Local Hunger Issues.  Over 153-thousand pounds of potatoes were harvested last year, planted on 40 acres of land donated for the project.. This put fresh food on the table for an estimated 30,000 households and 84,0000 people including children, single parents, senior citizens, and all those in between.   Carrots have been added to the crops and they are hoping to plant beans as well.  Please join them.  Perhaps you can offer land to be tilled and planted, or volunteer to harvest in the fall, or donate funds for farm equipment. 

Call 484-648-0381 or email [email protected]

This four-term City Councilwoman remains passionate about doing all she can to keep the City of Reading vibrant as it changes over the years.   Doing all she can means many things including rolling up her sleeves and digging in the dirt with the Penn Street Posse.