Lampeter-Strasburg
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NATIONAL NURSES WEEK MAY 6-12
/townlively
MAY 6, 2020
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
Thank you!
VOL LVII • NO 4
Input Sought For District Feasibility Study Lampeter-Strasburg School District school board members and administrators are seeking community members’ opinions. The district’s leaders have been engaged in a feasibility study with architectural firm Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates to develop a long-range plan for district buildings. The study’s intent is to determine how to best meet changing instructional needs while keeping safety and fiscal responsibility in sharp focus. Due to effective long-range planning and budgeting over the past several years, the school board and administrators consider it possible to implement all of the reccmmendations included in the feasibility study presentation in a fiscally responsible manner. The
leadership believes that the recommendations, as proposed, could be implemented without impacting the district’s existing millage rate for the purpose of any building renovations or projects. The community engagement nights scheduled for March 31 and April 1 were canceled due to COVID-19 and mandated school closures throughout the state. However, community feedback and input remains an essential component of the study process. For this reason, a recorded presentation, written summary, and feedback form have been made available for public review at https://bit.ly/LSFStudy2020. Interested residents are asked to complete the form and submit it by Thursday, May 14.
Students played on the playground at Lampeter Elementary School earlier this year. Input on the Lampeter-Strasburg School District’s feasibility study is due by May 14.
Bridge of Hope has been serving families experiencing or at risk of homelessness in Lancaster County for more than 30 years. The organization seeks long-term stability for its clients, so each family receives professional case management services along with tangible and emotional supports from a group of six to eight trained, church-based Neighboring Volunteers. The Neighboring Volunteers have been particularly important during the continuing shutdown, said
Anne Dunnenberger, director of outreach. Every family Bridge of Hope Lancaster serves has been impacted by recent events. As it is, families facing or at risk of homelessness - predominantly single mothers with two or three children often struggle to find sustainable employment and reliable transportation. Now, many adults have lost their jobs or had their hours reduced to below life-sustaining levels. Some parents have lost child care or access to transportation, jeopardizing their ability to work. The stress of the shutdown and the threat of the coronavirus has compounded the trauma and stress families facing homelessness already lived with. Dunnenberger shared the story of Carmen, who joined Bridge of Hope last fall after fleeing an abusive relationship.
Carmen began working at a local retirement community and was taking classes to become a certified nursing assistant when the stay-at-home orders were issued in March. Suddenly, Carmen was without child care and was forced to reduce her work hours. She is struggling with diminished income, accumulating bills, and taking care of her young daughter in the midst of isolation and despair. Thankfully, Carmen’s Neighboring Volunteers have rallied to provide support. They have made meals, dropped off groceries, and offered encouragement. Neighboring Volunteers for other families have helped to write resumes, assisted in the completion of essential paperwork, and gathered via Zoom for game nights. They are the helpers: standing on the sidewalk singing “Happy Birthday” to a 6-year-old, helping to find new housing, and calling regularly to make sure a family has what it needs and knows its members are cared for. Like a functional extended family, See Neighboring Volunteers pg 5
Neighboring Volunteers have served an important role in helping Bridge of Hope Lancaster clients get through the pandemic.
L-S Together Aims To Connect The Community By Dayna M. Reidenouer
The primary function of Lampeter-Strasburg (L-S) Together is to facilitate connections among organizations that serve the school district. The past seven weeks have underscored the necessity of those services. “We are trying to get churches, businesses, and others to work together,” said L-S Together founder and coordinator Jenice Weaver. “This has hit the whole community in different ways. We can love one another and help each other through this time.” Weaver said that based on the inquiries L-S Together has received, district residents are unaware what resources are available to them. She listed Tabor Community Services and United Way as examples of organizations that, while not physically located in the L-S community, are active there and able to serve residents. To spread the word about resources, See L-S Together pg 5
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Neighboring Volunteers Support Bridge Of Hope Clients