Weis Markets designates support for Penn State Altoona Enrichment Programs

      Members of the Weis Markets management team and store associates present a commemorative check to Penn State Altoona representatives in recognition of the company's participation in the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program. Penn State Altoona received $5,000 in support of two educational enrichment programs. The campus’s Mobile Outreach Program in the Physical Sciences and Summer Kids’ College will each receive $2,500. Representing Weis Markets (from left to right) are: Chris Fusco, Monte Strassburger, Charles Wyper, Mike Cavallo, Monica Milliron, and Terri Wagner. Accepting the check on behalf of Penn State Altoona (left to right) are Toni Marie Feret, assistant director of development; Jack Sinclair, director of Continuing Education and Training; Sherri McGregor, education and training specialist; and Richard Flarend, associate professor of physics.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

      Penn State Altoona's Mobile Outreach Program in the Physical Sciences and the Summer Kids’ College will each receive $2,500. The company’s overall $10,000 EITC contribution to Penn State also includes $5,000 designated for Penn State Schuylkill.

      “I extend heartfelt thanks to Weis Markets for a contribution that will enhance Penn State Altoona’s ability to educate school-age children across our region through two important enrichment programs,” said Penn State Altoona Chancellor and Dean Lori J. Bechtel-Wherry. “Weis’ support will enable us to provide greater access to our Mobile Science Outreach Program for students, parents, and educators. The contribution will also extend the reach of our Kids’ College program to more children who are taking their first steps along the exciting path of life-long learning.”

      Summer Kids’ College, administered by the campus’s Office of Continuing Education & Training, offers a structured, stimulating, and interactive environment in which children of varying ages learn through hands-on activities and explore their special interests in depth with nurturing instructors. The Mobile Science Outreach Program, directed by Dr. Richard Flarend, Penn State Altoona associate professor of physics, provides chemistry and physics demonstrations in a manner that is age-appropriate for both elementary and secondary school-age youth in the campus’s five-county service area.

      The EITC program, administered by Pennsylvania’s Department of Community & Economic Development, issues tax credits to eligible businesses contributing to a scholarship organization, an educational improvement organization, and/or a pre-kindergarten scholarship organization.

      Information on the commonwealth’s EITC program may be found at http://www.newpa.com/find-and-apply-for-funding/funding-and-program-finder/educational-improvement-tax-credit-program-eitc .

      Private support for Summer Kids’ College and the Mobile Science Outreach Program is especially vital because both programs are financially self-sustaining. Gifts and funding provided by individuals, businesses, and corporations help Penn State Altoona to meet the operating expenses of the Mobile Science Outreach Program and accommodate annual requests for financial assistance for families who cannot afford the full cost of Kids’ College tuition.

      Penn State alumni, friends, and corporate partners such as Weis Markets are invaluable partners in fulfilling the University’s land-grant mission of education, research and service. Private gifts from alumni and friends enrich the experiences of students both in and out of the classroom; expand the research and teaching capacity of our faculty; enhance the University’s ability to recruit and retain top students and faculty; and help to ensure that students from every economic background have access to a Penn State education. The University’s colleges and campuses are now enlisting the support of alumni and friends to advance a range of unit-specific initiatives.

      Last Updated February 9, 2015

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