Possibilities Issue 2

04 08

Bridging the Gap CONTRIBUTORS

LifeSherpa Supports Employment Growth

Editor-in-Chief

Marian Baldini, CEO & President

Executive Editor

Aurora Kripa, COO

Copy Editor

Lauren Tilghman, Director of Strategic Communication & Marketing

Contributing Writers

Aubrey Hoffert, Digital Media Manager

Sydney Kerelo, Creative Content Manager

KenCrest Centers Board of Directors

Steven F. Bell • Merri Brown • Mona Burke Kevin P. Dougher • Colin D. Dougherty

Rev. Alina Gayeuski • Charles W. Horn III

Scott McCloskey • Sean Outen • Eric Rahe

Stephen Van Osten

KenCrest Services Board of Directors

Sheila Bruce • Mona Burke • Patricia Bush

A

in the Park With State Farm

Hal Davidow • Ellen Kolodner • Mamta Maini

Sean Outen • Jim Van Horn • Stephen Van Osten

Design

Sydney Kerelo, Creative Content Manager

Photography

Aubrey Hoffert, Digital Media Manager Rae Hearts Design & Photography

Tessa Marie Images

Possibilities is published by KenCrest Services, 960A Harvest Drive, Suite 100, Blue Bell, PA 19422

How to Reach Us 610.825.9360 kencrest.communications@kencrest.org

KenCrest is a 501c3 non-profit human services provider throughout Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Delaware. www.kencrest.org

Our Mission

KenCrest’s mission is to support community development by exploring possibilities, mobilizing resources, and empowering dreams.

Published: September 2022

Cover photo by Aubrey Hoffert

LETTER FROM OUR EDITOR

Dear Friends,

I can hardly fathom that in a few short months— I’ll be marking my first year as Chief Operating Officer! Serving in my new role has made me more mindful of how building community with others outside of our Agency, opens the door to greater possibilities.

As you read the latest edition of our magazine, I hope you’ll find inspiration in the mentorship fostered through our collaboration with Phoenixville Hospital and KenCrest’s Project SEARCH program—leading to significant job skills and professional opportunities for high school students. Perhaps you’ll discover the ripple effect of the corporate investment into scholarships for before-and-after care expenses for KenCrest’s Early Learning Centers; and how it supports working families in giving their children a great start to their education. Or maybe you’ll be motivated by the connections over shared interests and volunteerism that

we’ve built with local businesses, opening the doors to new friendships for the many people with intellectual and developmental disabilities that we support.

Above all else, I hope you’ll see that it’s the community we’re building with YOU that is helping to propel our mission forward and create the true inclusion we envision every day for everyone. May those meaningful possibilities continue to manifest for us all. Happy reading!

Sincerely, Aurora Kripa Chief Operating Officer, KenCrest

Aurora Kripa, KenCrest COO

// Photo by Tessa Marie Images

By Sydney Kerelo

On the fifth floor of the Phoenixville Hospital lies KenCrest's Employment, Project SEARCH team, educating and instructing this year's interns—Lily, Jake, Vinny, and Sherry—each one transitioning from a school setting into the working world.

Project SEARCH helps its interns gain valuable job skills, professional responsibility, self-advocacy, and effective communication through a combination curriculum of classroom lessons and onsite training for the working world through hands-on teachings and a new tool, LifeSherpa. LifeSherpa is an integrated cloud-based platform that allows job coaches, instructors, and employers to deliver content, reminders, reinforcements, and resources to their employees.

"We use LifeSherpa at Project SEARCH to help our interns learn their roles and gain confidence in the working world," says Tyler MacReady, the Skills Trainer with KenCrest's Employment program. "One of our interns, Lily, uses the app to help her navigate the hospital, and the more she got to navigate the hospital, the more confident she felt, and that's a big thing. The more she does it, and the more repetition she gets in this environment, the more confident she feels; which will transfer to future experiences."

Now, she doesn't even have the navigational tasks downloaded on her phone because she doesn't need them anymore. She knows where she's going, and that's been part of the benefit.

Photo by Aubrey Hoffert

Project SEARCH helps its interns learn valuable job skills through onsite training, classroom curriculum, and the LifeSherpa app.

LifeSherpa Supports Employment Growth

Project SEARCH intern Lily holding up her phone to showcase the LifeSherpa app that helps her learn new job skills.

According to MacReady and the LifeSherpa website, this is the end goal for the app, to be a tool used if it's helpful, not as a lifeline.

The app began when CEO Doug Meeker's son was diagnosed with autism at age 3, according to the website. Meeker became determined to find a way to help his son live a meaningful life and face every challenge ahead of him headfirst. So, with a background in technology, Meeker created a virtual guide to help people with disabilities, like his son, to navigate their dayto-day lives.

The app allows the administrator to set reminders for specific tasks—like regulating bathroom time or reminding someone to grab their phone charger before leaving the house. The administrator can also create demonstration videos, navigational photo guides, and a script for those interested in becoming more social.

"One of our interns, Vinny, had a rotation in the kitchen, and he had trouble rolling wraps," says MacReady. "So, I recorded a video of one of the chefs rolling a wrap and created a step-by-step process to help him. Then, when he got better at it, we switched it to show the full video, and if he needs to, he can stop and pause it."

The app even has an inbuilt chat feature so that the person using it can text or video call the administrator if they need help with something. It even records every time the intern or the user reaches out for help, which is critical because the administrator can collect data on the user and see how far they've come and where they need a little more assistance.

The LifeSherpa app is compatible with Android and Apple devices, but it requires the company to purchase a license to be able to use it.

"The people we support are growing up in this world full of technology," says MacReady. "They've got phones, and they understand them, so it's time to meet them where they're at and engage with them in that world."

Interested in learning more about KenCrest's Employment program, Project SEARCH, and LifeSherpa? Visit kencrest.org/projectsearch

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Jake, Sherry and Vinny // Photo by Aubrey Hoffert

Community Champions recognizes outstanding people, businesses, community organizations, and advocates who through their everyday actions support the mission of KenCrest, and most importantly, make an impact on the people we serve.

kencrest.org/communitychampions

Photos by Rae Hearts Design & Photography

EARLY LEARNING

Photos by Aubrey Hoffert

BRIDGING THE GAP

By Aubrey Hoffert

Pennsylvania's EITC program helps little learners.

For students throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania—early June marked the end of the school year and the beginning of the summer, including the 900+ children of KenCrest’s Early Learning Centers (ELCs). For over 350 ‘Little Learners,’ June 8th also closed the first chapter of their educational journeys, each starting preschool amid a global pandemic. It’s hard to fathom what memories from the last two years will remain with them. Is it the ones attending school virtually over iPads and wearing masks with their favorite Disney characters? Or the ones sharing crayons with their new friends, getting high-fives from their teachers, and going down the big slides on the playground by themselves? No matter the memories, the past two years have impacted their growth and preparation for primary school. For many, their start to a remarkable lifetime of learning was made possible by the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program. Since 2012 funding received through the EITC program has supported over 400 working families at KenCrest’s Early Learning Centers. Quality Pre‐K programs in the Philadelphia community cost an average of nearly $15,000 per year. Through EITC donors like PNC, WSFS, AmerisourceBergen, Ray’s Appliances, and Primex Garden Center, KenCrest—as a Pre-K Scholarship Organization—can offset family tuition expenses for those who need assistance. In the fiscal year 2021, $290,000 in EITC donations funded scholarships for 61 students. “It made life simple. And it kept my son in school; if we didn’t get the scholarship, he probably

wouldn’t be able to attend KenCrest, let alone any school,” shares a Lehigh Center parent. “Life is just too expensive, especially for a single mom.” The EITC program isn’t just limited to businesses; as an individual taxpayer, you can participate through a Special Purpose Entity (SPE) if you have a minimum Pennsylvania tax liability of $3,500. Unlike the traditional business model, there are no strict deadlines to follow and a simple one-page application. The tax credit programs also support beforeand-after care expenses, summer programming,

“It made life simple. And it kept my son in school; if we didn’t get the scholarship, he probably wouldn’t be able to attend KenCrest, let alone any school,” shares a Lehigh Center parent. “Life is just too expensive, especially for a single mom.”

and the free-and-reduced lunches for students. “The scholarships helped cover before-andafter-care, and I could work a full-time schedule without worrying about the added costs. Education is important and having a KenCrest Early Learning Center right in our neighborhood made a difference not just for my children, but for me too,” says an Adams Center parent. As the 2022-23 school year begins to ramp up, a new generation of "Little Learners" is entering KenCrest Early Learning Centers. While their memories of the next two years are still to be determined, the impact that this opportunity for a great start at their education is promising.

For more information about KenCrest’s EITC-approved early learning programs, visit kencrest.org/eitc; or contact Dawn Warden, KenCrest’s Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations at Dawn.Warden@kencrest.org.

North Broad Early Learning students graduating // Photo by Aubrey Hoffert

DONORS

Affordable, Sustainable, Impactful

Your on-going support enables innovation and greater inclusive supports for the thousands of children, adults, and families in our programs.

Ready to be part of something bigger than yourself? Invest in the KenCrest community, and make a difference with a monthly, recurring gift!

Sign up today and receive a special token of our appreciation. kencrest.org/donate

LIFESHARING

Join a community of over 1,200 people throughout Pennsylvania who have built life-long bonds with people with intellectual disabilities through Lifesharing. It’s a great opportunity to welcome someone new into your family, your home, and the most meaningful parts of your life. Connect with a person with a disability today who shares your ideals, passions, and hobbies.

Learn more about how to become a Lifesharing provider through KenCrest, and more about our tax-free stipend at kencrest.org/lifesharing.

A Day in the Park State Farm

Justin Schilawski, Sydney Kerelo, Emma Eickman, Lauren Andrews, Barbara Kochard, MT PeÑa, William Garvin, Margo Turturja, Russell Stewart, Lauren Tilghman, Wendy Long, Christina Muntz // Photo by Aubrey Hoffert

By Sydney Kerelo

What started as a wet and dreary spring morning at East Goshen Park turned into a lively afternoon for KenCrest, the men and women of Chester/Delaware County Community Living, and our State Farm corporate volunteers.

Upon arrival, the people we support experienced a magical afternoon in May, with balloons, card games, corn hole, bingo, and ring toss galore. For hours, residents from the KenCrest program laughed, joked, and enjoyed quality time with their friends and support staff, thanks to State Farm's generosity.

And one thing KenCrest loves is the help from our volunteers.

"[Corporate volunteering] is important because it allows people to see our mission in action," says Barbara Kochard, Director of Developmental Operations at KenCrest. "It allows the people we support, especially in our adult programs, to interact face-to-face with volunteers from our community. Often our corporate volunteers reflect on the events and say, 'I know this person, I met this person, I know they can do exceptional things,' and it allows people to touch the mission in a way that you can't otherwise."

Our day in the park with State Farm kicked off KenCrest's return to in-person corporate volunteering, making it State Farms' second volunteering opportunity. Last year they helped KenCrest winterize our Pottstown greenhouse, which was once a storefront and greenhouse program that was running pre-pandemic and has since seized use. But it still needed to be protected, so State Farm helped us clean it.

"State Farm and its employees love to give back," says Justin Schilawski, an Agency Field Specialist Manager with State Farm.

Stephen J. Schuda, Olivia Riordan, Brenda L. McCabe,

KenCrest partnered with State Farm to bring together the people we support for a community day in East Goshen Park.

"I am fortunate enough to be a part of a team that tries to do corporate volunteer events every quarter, and thankfully, State Farm gives their employees a company benefit where we can use two paid days off a year to give back to the community."

In addition to two paid days off throughout the year, State Farm initiates a volunteer grant that accumulates each employee's volunteer hours for up to two years. Once they reach 40-hours, the corporate office will donate a $500 Good Neighbor Grant from State Farm Companies Foundation towards a nonprofit of their choosing. This year, KenCrest was the recipient of that grant.

"The Good Neighbor Grant is a wonderful opportunity for us to get back out into the community, working with people," says Agency Field Specialist Margo Turtureja. "Each year, State Farm supplies us with two days off, one on your own and one as a team, to get involved within our community. A Day in the Park was our team's effort."

State Farm isn't the only corporation that has volunteered with KenCrest. Other corporate volunteers include Pfizer, PNC, BB&T (now Truist), CBIZ, and numerous local churches and community groups.

"The one big [volunteer opportunity] we want to try to bring back this year is Giving Tuesday," says Kochard. "We used to have a day of service where volunteers could come out to different sites and do something meaningful with the people we support. We don't want them painting walls or cleaning; we want our corporate volunteers to interact with the people, we support and truly understand our mission."

Although KenCrest's corporate volunteering is shifting back to in-person, there are still numerous virtual opportunities through our Daysharing program, like bingo and online culture classes—where guests can virtually travel to a different country and engage in activities associated with that destination.

Want to learn more about how to get involved in our corporate volunteering?

Reach out to Barbara Kochard at Barbara.Kochard@kencrest.org or visit kencrest.org/getinvolved.

A few of the people we support enjoying their day at East Goshen Park with State Farm and KenCrest // Photos by Aubrey Hoffert

BOARD

KenCrest is seeking passionate and engaged community members to join our Board of Directors. Working alongside KenCrest as a board member is a great way to advocate for the equality and equity of people who are often marginalized in one way or another.

Members of the KenCrest board have a unique opportunity to be on the forefront of trends in the human service industry. Kencrest welcomes and encourages applicants of all backgrounds and abilities to apply for consideration. We are seeking specific expertise in government relations, financial and healthcare management.

For more information or to apply, submit your resume and cover letter to Joy Reiss, Chief of Staff, at JReiss@kencrest.org.

CONNECT WITH KENCREST