Category: Education

Author of AMERICAN WASTELAND to speak at Hill School

Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland, journalist, and blogger, will speak on the topic of food waste at The Hill School on Thursday evening, April 12th.

Bloom is the author of American Wasteland, a book on food waste. He is also  journalist and the blogger who created WastedFood.com. Bloom comes to The Hill as the third in a series of speakers who visited campus this year as part of The Hill’s academic theme for the year: Community. He will raise awareness about the issue of food waste.

Bloom’s address will take place in The Hill School’s Center For The Arts Theatre at 7:30 p.m. It is free of charge and open to the general public.

Bloom’s blog examines “why we waste food, why it matters and what we can do about it.” His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Variety, The Philadelphia Inquirer, TimeOut New York and Boston Magazine, among others. He lives in Durham, N.C.

MCCC, Verizon Foundation to Present Domestic Violence Awareness Program

To help increase awareness of the signs of domestic abuse, Montgomery County Community College and the Verizon Foundation will be presenting the documentary film, “Telling Amy’s Story,” on Wednesday, April 4, from 12-1:30 p.m. in the South Hall Community Room, 101 College Drive, Pottstown.

The community is invited to attend this free, informative program. Refreshments/light lunch will be served. For more information and/or to register to attend, please contact dkhateeb@mc3.edu.

The film documents the domestic abuse of Amy Homan McGee, a Verizon Wireless employee and mother of two who was abused and then murdered by her husband in 2001. Detective Deirdri Feshel, of the State College, Pa., Police Department, narrates Amy’s story, highlighting the steps that could be taken to stop a similar situation.

Representatives from The Women’s Center of Montgomery County and Laurel House will have information tables and will be available to answer questions after the film presentation.

The College, through using this film, wants to inform students and the community about the warning signs of domestic violence and abuse, the importance of contacting authorities and the availability of support services and community resources.

For more information about domestic violence, visit the Women’s Center of Montgomery County’s website at http://www.wcmontco.org/index.html or the Laurel’s House website at http://laurel-house.org/.   If you or someone you know needs help, contact the Women’s Center of Montgomery’s 24/7 hotline at 1-800-773-2424 or the Laurel House’s hotline at 1-800-642-3150.

Pottstown Library celebrates Family Reading Month!

  Did you know that April is Family ReadingMonth? I did not know that. When my kids were little it was always family reading month! There’s nothing better than tuning out the noise of the rest of the world and settling into the world of a children’s book with your child on your lap or by your side, eager to turn the pages to find out what happens next.

The Pottstown Regional Public Library at 500 E. High Street is celebrating Family Reading Month with a chance for families to read together and win prizes! See details below. To learn more and become a library member, stop by in person, give a call (610-970-6551) or visit their website at http://ppl.mclinc.org.

Read with a family member for 20 minutes a day for 20 days until May 4, 2012. Registration opens April 1 and you must register by April 13, 2012 then… Read! Read! Read!

All books read for Family Reading Month must be borrowed from Pottstown Regional Public Library.

Read even MORE! Mark an “X” on each day you read for at least 20 minutes with a family member. Try to keep a list of titles—it’s fun to watch your list grow! You must bring your completed calendar into the library by May 4, 2012 to be eligible for prizes.

SPECIAL PRIZE DRAWING!

Each time you visit the library & check out books, you can fill out a prize drawing ticket for a chance to win a special prize.

Pottstown Family Center Offers Workshop for Fathers

The Pottstown Family Center is offering Dare To Be The Best, an interactive workshop for fathers.

Participants in Dare To Be The Best will be supported in being the best parent they can be through father-child interaction, case management, education, and advocacy. Information about community resources, services and programs will be available.

Dare To Be The Best will be held on six Wednesday evenings beginning April 11. Each session will run from 6:30-8 p.m. at Rupert Elementary School, 1230 South Street, Pottstown.  Free child care is available.

Pre-registration is required. Registration deadline is Thursday, April 5. For more information or to register, contact Rob Gaskill at 610-326-1610 ext. 239 or rgaskill@fsmontco.org.

Established in 1993, the Pottstown Family Center offers support programs and services that help families learn, grow and achieve self-sufficiency. Family Services has served as the lead agency of the Pottstown Family Center for nearly 10 years. For more information on the Pottstown Family Center, contact Family Services’ Pottstown Office at 610-326-1610 or visit www.fsmontco.org.

Creative MontCo wants your input!

Are the arts important in your life and the life of your family? Do you spend time and money to learn how to paint or play an instrument or knit a sweater? Do you enjoy going to galleries, performances, or outdoor festivals? Would you like to see a few cafes with open mics in your downtown? Does the perfect nut roll or shoo-fly pie make you want to write poetry? Does a surprising piece of whimsical art in a public place bring a smile to your face?

Car Art!

These are just some of the ways that arts and culture touch our lives, and Montgomery County would like to hear from you about what specific places and activities are important to you in your town and throughout the region. Check out the survey here.Last fall Montgomery County launched a large-scale planning process called Creative MontCo. Their website bills Creative Montco as “a bold partnership of community members and organizations developing a comprehensive cultural and creative economy plan for communities throughout the county. Creative MontCo is dedicated to making Montgomery County a more vibrant place to live, work and play.”

The beautiful thing about the arts – besides just being, well, beautiful – is that arts and culture can be an economic engine for a local economy. All over the country, there are towns, small cities and even neighborhoods within larger cities, that have discovered their identities as centers of art, culture, and history and they have generated jobs and stabilized their tax base by understanding, expanding, and promoting their assets.

The Creative MontCo Steering Committee is being led by Montgomery County Community College president Dr. Karen Stout. The County has hired some really knowledgeable planners – The Cultural Planning Group – who understand how arts and culture can be good for residents and visitors alike and can stimulate economic growth.  They have have been surveying and meeting with artists, organizations, and groups ever since to find out what residents like, what they want more of, and what they envision for their towns in the way of arts, and culture, which I take to include historic and heritage resources as well as the natural environment (i.e., parks). 

To me, the term “culture” gets at the history of a place and how that is reflected today in the people that live there, the work they do, the traditions that live on, and the natural and built environments that are tied to all of that. For me, “the arts” includes any creative endeavor, including, say, beautiful cupcakes or the really old mosaic tiles in many of the entryways of the stores in downtown Pottstown.

So… what arts and cultural activities and events are important to you? Please take a few moments NOW to respond to their survey here.  And feel free to spend some time at Creative MontCo’s website, reading what others have to say and sharing your vision for the creative future of your county. 

 

 

Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation article: Exercise proven to be a stimulus to learning

 Editor’s note: This is the latest article from the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation. More evidence that not only does exercise make us feel better physically and mentally, but it’s good for our brains too!

Teaching all kids, not just athletes, the importance of fitness and wellness, was the topic of conversation recently in Pottstown and Boyertown.  Dr. John Ratey, author, researcher and Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, traveled to the area recently to talk about the “brain-body connection.”

Dr. John Ratey, author of the book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, began the day speaking to a group of 33 at the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation. Representatives from local school districts and organizations attended this small group discussion to learn the importance of incorporating activity and fitness into the daily routines of local school children.

“We were very excited to have Dr. Ratey visit Pottstown,” stated Dave Kraybill, Executive Director of the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation. “His research is very exciting and supports the Foundation’s goal of promoting exercise and active lifestyles.”

New brain cells are generated every day. According to Ratey, exercise promotes new brain cell growth and acts as a “brain fertilizer”, which optimizes learning.  In addition to the increased learning ability, exercise can help control aggression, stress and depression.

Later that day, Dr. Ratey traveled to Boyertown to address a group of more than 150 faculty, staff and Board members from the Boyertown School District. Neighboring school districts were also represented, in addition to local organizations.

Those in attendance learned about the relationship of the human brain development and movement, and how it directly relates to our ability to learn and process new information. Questions and answers focused around the connection between student’s physical activity, test results, depression and incidences of discipline.

According to Stephanie Petri, K-12 Health and Physical Education Lead Teacher, “The faculty and staff in the Boyertown School District found this information very exciting and are planning to incorporate 20 minutes of physical activity prior to the junior’s PSSA reading and math exams. Our goal is to increase student focus, decrease test anxiety, and improve student success. We believe the connection between exercise and learning will provide this outcome.”

The Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation’s mission is to enhance the health and wellness of area residents, providing education, funding and programs that motivate people to adopt healthy lifestyles. Visit www.pottstownfoundation.org for more information about the Foundation. Discover Pottstown area’s online community at www.missionhealthyliving.org to learn and share great information on how to lead a healthier life. You can also follow Mission Healthy Living on Facebook and Twitter.

Girl Talk Series continues at YWCA this Saturday: Body Image & Self-Esteem

When you look in the mirror, do you like what you see? Developing a positive body image and a healthy mental attitude is crucial to a woman’s happiness and wellness.

IMAGINE STARTING your day facing just one of these challenges: Depression, an eating
disorder, relentless unrealistic and hyper-sexualized media images, mean girl tactics at school
and online, or a boyfriend who belittles you. Ugh! Yet for our teen girls, these are just some of the many issues confronting them every day, taking a toll on their confidence, self esteem and physical health.

This workshop offers a safe, girls-only environment to make connections, embrace who they are
and talk about issues important to them. Discussions will include self esteem, healthy living,
exercise and proper eating. The goal is for girls to take away information and resources to give
them a strong foundation and the tools to develop into empowered, confident young women.
Join us for girl talk!

Saturday, March 24, 2012
1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Free with reservation
YWCA Tri-County Area
315 King Street, Pottstown
610-323-1888

Girl Talk Series:

May 2012
Non-Traditional Careers

July 2012
Cyber Bullying and Stalking

September 2012
Go Green!

November 2012
Advocacy

Happy Hour at Ranieri’s nets support for two worthy causes

More than 60 people attended last Friday’s Positively!Pottstown Happy Hour at Rich Ranieri’s Flooring & Carpeting center at 218 E. High Street. In addition to introducing the fine products and services offered by Rich and his staff for over 30 years in Pottstown, we also wanted to raise awareness of  The Mercury‘s Fill the Media Lab food drive going on now and a fundraising campaign for Lindsey Havyer, a Pottstown High School student headed to Utah for a national DECA competition to showcase her 2011 downtown cleanup project.

Thanks to the generosity of our guests and the generosity of Craig & Sue Bolinger of The Ice House, who donated food to the event, we were able to collect 50 food items, $50 for the Grumpy’s collection/food match, and an anonymous donation for The Pottstown Cluster. We were also able to raise a whopping $400 toward the $1,200 cost for Lindsey’s trip! PDIDA is helping to raise funds for Lindsey and for a scholarship for future students who undertake projects that directly benefit downtown businesses. Contact Sheila Dugan of PDIDA to learn more or to make a donation (610-323-5400).

Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate a local business and to support these local causes. It always astounds me the way that people in Pottstown do not hesitate to help out and then dig a little deeper. It’s awesome.

What do today’s Happy Hour, Food Drive & DECA all have in common?

The answer is simple: bringing people together.

Today’s Happy Hour is from 5-7 pm at Rich Ranieri’s Flooring and Carpeting at 218 E. High Street. Check out what this 30-year-old business has to offer in the way of quality flooring and paints! But before you head out the door, or while you’re on the way over, please consider picking up a jar of peanut butter, a can of tuna, a box of cereal, a canned good, or a bottle of laundry detergent for the “Fill the Media Lab” food drive, spearheaded by The Mercury, and being supported by the entire region. There will be a collection box at the Happy Hour for your items. Let’s make a decent showing!

Now, you might be wondering: What does this have to do with DECA? You might also be wondering: What the heck is DECA?? Evan Brandt’s blog post this morning at his awesome blog, Digital Notebook, will give you that answer. Lindsey Havyer, a Pottstown High School student, placed 6th in the 61st Annual State Career Development Conference held recently in Hershey. Her winning project was a community service project, where she organized a group of students to clean up downtown Pottstown on weekends between May and July 2011. Her strong finish earned her a chance to compete at the national competition in Utah this spring. But she needs $1200 to get there. She’s already cutting costs by traveling with a team from Pottsgrove.

Because Lindsey brought her classmates together in service to their town, the Pottstown Downtown District Authority (PDIDA) is taking up a collection from the downtown merchants so they can give back, not only to Lindsey, but to future students who focus their efforts on the downtown. PDIDA would like to establish an annual scholarship that recognizes those students.

What does this have to do with today’s Happy Hour? Because I got an awesome deal on the food for today’s event from Craig and Susan Bolinger of The Ice House, Positively Pottstown will be donating the difference to PDIDA to support Lindsey, who must raise her travel funds by March 28th. Donations can also be sent to the PDIDA Office at 17 N Hanover St. There’s no time to waste!

So… in addition to collecting food items for the food drive, we’ll also take donations for Lindsey Havyer’s travel fund. 

Thanks to everyone in advance for coming together to support each other and what’s best about our community. All of this, by the way, is a perfect example of the spirit of the Buy Local philosophy of our very own local radio station, WBZH, The Buzz, 1370 AM. More on that in an upcoming post… stay tuned!

* From Evan’s Digital Notebook: “If in the midst of this, you’ve been asking yourself, “just what the heck is DECA anyway?” You’re not alone.

It is apparently an acronym for  Distributive Education Clubs of America, although finding that information on the organization’s web site proved nigh impossible (thank you Google).”

Thank you, Evan!

 

Gallery School needs your online vote!

Dear friends,

The Gallery School of Pottstown and The Pottstown Memorial Regional Cancer Center, a division of Fox Chase Cancer Center, have applied for a grant from the LiveStrong Foundation to expand their Healing Arts program. THEY NEED YOUR VOTE TO GET THE FUNDS TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN!

The Gallery School has teamed up with The Pottstown Memorial Regional Cancer Center to offer a Healing Arts Program that uses different art forms, group discussions, and creative workshops to help patients explore the person they want to be or used to be in the context of their cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. The Artist in Residence program will expand on what is currently being offered and would improve patient perception of their own well-being. But they need your vote. It’s easy to do.

Online voting began on March 7th and runs through March 23rd. Just as the Pottstown area kicks cancer’s butt in fundraising for Relay for Life, let’s rally for this Healing Arts Program, lead the way, and click away. That’s all it takes – a few clicks – to cast your vote.

Here’s the link: http://vote.livestrong.org/vote2012/regions/5/

Please don’t hesitate to forward this to spread the word, and thank you in advance for supporting the healing power of the arts for those who are battling cancer in our community.

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