Outdoor 1-8 - Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce

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6Williamsport Sun-Gazette, July 2013 SMALL BUSINESS Pitter-Patter: A place for learning, child care By MIKE REUTHER mreuther@sungazette.com Pitter-Patter Day Schools operate in three locations in the area, including one at 112 E. Penn St., Muncy. Bobbi-jo Lundy, day care owner, said 57 children from six months to 12 years old are enrolled at the Muncy location. The day care, located in a former home in a residential area of Muncy, provides a good location for children, she said. Trips to the nearby public swimming pool are a common activity. There are also journeys for the children in the community to the public library, the nearby elementary school, the Ritz Theatre for a children’s film, and even Muncy Bank & Trust Co. For many parents, choosing a day care for their children is a very big decision to make. Barbie Peck, day care director, said Pitter-Patter children come there for both child care and to learn. MIKE REUTHER/Sun-Gazette Two unidentified girls from Pitter-Patter Day Schools in Muncy hang out at the playground at the 112 E. Penn St. site. Children from six months to 12 years old are enrolled at the day care. “We aren’t just watching them. We are teaching them,” said Peck. Pitter-Patter includes six classrooms with children separated with respect to ages. The ages are: Infants, six weeks to 12 months; Toddlers, 1 to 3 years; Pre-School, 3 to 5 years; AM/PM School Age, 5 to 12 years. Children 5 to 12 are eligible to attend the Pitter-Patter summer school program. The day care has two playgrounds on the premises. Children are fed two meals a day as well as a snack. Lundy noted that the years from newborn to 5 are crucial in a child’s development, and that’s one big reason they take their jobs seriously at Pitter-Patter. “In some cases we spend more time with them than their families,” she said. She noted that unlike many day care centers where personnel come and go, Pitter-Patter manages to retain a good number of employees. “You have to love the kids and what you do,” she added. A number of the employees are graduates of Pennsylvania College of Technology and that allows for consistency of staff and philosophy, she said. Peck said Pitter-Patter is a family-focused day care. As an example, she noted that family nights are scheduled to get parents more involved with the day care and the activities of their children there. “We try to bring in guest speakers to talk to parents,” Peck said. Lundy said Pitter-Patter continues to grow. Pitter-Patter also operates day cares in Williamsport and Watsontown. “Our new location will be opening in Loyalsock,” she added. “We are hoping for July 15.” MIKE REUTHER/Sun-Gazette Children from Pitter-Patter Day School, Muncy listen in during story time. Story time is among the many activities for children there. The mission of Pitter-Patter is “to provide excellent, affordable care in a clean, and friendly environment for families in the Loyalsock. Muncy, Watsontown, and Williamsport areas.” HOURS: Monday - Saturday 10:00 am to Close Sunday Noon to Close 1225 River Ave. Williamsport • faxonbowling.com 323-0273
Leadership Lycoming Presents Community Projects continued from page 3 The Salvation Army Each year, Leadership Lycoming classes are broken down into groups of !ve or six members, and each is assigned to help meet a goal or need of a local community service organization. Leadership Lycoming classmates worked with the Salvation Army for the past several months to relaunch and revitalize one of their longstanding programs — Project Break Through. Project Break Through enables families to break through barriers that are holding them back from achieving stability and economic self-suf!ciency. This Salvation Army program encourages personal growth by helping participants to set realistic but life-changing goals, offers classes to help them meet their goals and provides a mentor for consistent support and encouragement in reaching those goals. Leadership Lycoming members Susie Bigger, Melissa Magargle, Jonathan Nichols, Julie Reppert, Brent Stahlnecker and Laura Templeton worked with Amy McGovern, Project Break Through coordinator, to clarify the organization’s program needs. They concluded that obtaining more mentors to meet client demand and raising overall community awareness about the program were the main points of focus. To help achieve these goals, the group enlisted the talents of Lorena Beniquez of the Central PA Film Of!ce and Beniquez Productions; Karisa Calvitti, a Lycoming College intern with the !lm of!ce, and local blues artist Sean Farley to create a video to highlight how actual mentees and mentors have bene!ted from Project Break Through. They also created a Facebook page to generate more awareness of the program and its activities, developed an elevator speech for Salvation Army representatives to use when talking about the program, created a rack card/bookmark for marketing purposes, encouraged the Salvation Army to cross-market Project Break Through by integrating it into all of their speaking engagements or events and also provided them with a targeted list of contact information for local churches and community service organizations whose members may be inclined to volunteer as mentors. The Leadership Lycoming group also recommended a wide array of other marketing and mentor-recruiting strategies for future implementation. The Salvation Army, in conjunction with Leadership Lycoming, went live with the new Facebook page in February. They also piloted a number of the recommended tools and techniques and débuted the video in conjunction with the celebration of National Salvation Army Week in mid- May. Measurable results from the program improvements to date include 35+ “likes” of the new Facebook page, recruitment of four new potential mentors enrolled for training this month, recruitment of one new mentee family and one community service organization request for the Salvation Army to make a Project Break Through presentation to their members. The video was slated to be shown at the next Project Break Through graduation on June 18 and at the next Project Break Through mentor training held June 20 at the Salvation Army, 457 Market St. For more information about Project Break Through, call McGovern at 326-9187 or search Project Break Through on Facebook. STEP, Inc./Ameri- Corps Leadership Lycoming partnered with STEP, Inc./ AmeriCorps to assist with its annual tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. STEP was interested in turning what has typically been a mile-long walk into a Community Day of Service. Leadership Lycoming project members included Jeannine Feigles, CRS Advanced Technology; Matt McLaughlin, Susquehanna Health; Josh Rogers, Rogers Uniforms; Anne Tiberia, M&T Bank; Adrian Temple, Roche Financial; and Adrienne Wertz, Lycoming County United Way. The group worked with Daryl Kern and Rachelle Abbott, both employees of STEP, to plan the community service event, which would include the packing of Family Fun Packs for all sixth-grade students in the Williamsport Area School District, as well as some in Clinton County. The project included creating a marketing plan, logo, "yers, a Facebook page, billboards, a press release, and an event survey, as well as volunteering at the January 19 event. Leadership members secured the funds to purchase many of the items provided to the 600 students, including hats, gloves, toothbrushes, games, and snack foods. The group received positive feedback from volunteers, the community, and the students who received the packs. Sponsors for the project included Cascade Financial, Lamar Advertising Co., Rogers Uniforms, Susquehanna Health, M&T Bank, Kellogg Co., Frito-Lay Inc., Bastian Tire and Auto Centers, Roche Financial and Overhead Door. Leadership Lycoming Announces 2013-2014 Operating Committee and Committee Members Operating Committee: Chair - Mike Drawbaugh, Select Security Vice-Chair - Sherry Watts, Susquehanna Health Immediate Past Chair - Matt Henderson, Penn State Marcellus Outreach Center Treasurer & Chair, Finance Committee - Sherry Watts Donna Bastian, Community Representative Dennis Hosey, Keystone Advertising Specialties Gina Kennedy, Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce Brandy Kift, Community Representative Tony Lisi, Blue Cross of NEPA Sheri Lozak, Community Representative Cori McLaughlin, Susquehanna Health Debbie Miller, Pennsylvania College of Technology Lauri Moon, IMC-Innovative Manufacturers’ Center Nicole Nardi, Susquehanna Health Rosann Pelleschi, Ex-Officio Mike Pontious, The Hartman Agency Karen Retorick, Community Services Group Rene Rhine, Residence Inn Brad Shoemaker, Lycoming County Ryan Tira, McNerney, Page, Vanderlin & Hall Kathy Zakarian, Pennsylvania College of Technology Committee Chairs: Alumni Committee - Cori McLaughlin Community Project Committee - Ryan Tira Curriculum Committee - Michael Pontious Final 3 Committee - Heather Baldwin Fundraising Committee - Gina Kennedy Marketing Committee - Sheri Lozak Selection Committee - Tony Lisi President/CEO - Vince Matteo, Williamsport/ Lycoming Chamber of Commerce First Vice Chair, Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce - Rick Dill Leadership Lycoming Coordinator - Sharon Jones, Wlliamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce 7 Williamsport Sun-Gazette, July 2013
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Outdoor 1-8 - Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce

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