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Reading, PA – The Foundation for RACC, Truist and Boscov’s hosted an “I am Career Ready” shopping event for 2022 Reading Area Community College graduates on Monday, April 11 at the Boscov's Exeter store.

The event was made possible by a $15,000 grant from the Truist Foundation; with Boscov’s adding an additional 10% toward the purchase of professional attire for RACC 2022 graduates entering the workforce.

“Truist is proud to partner with Reading Area Community College and Boscov’s in helping their students prepare for the next step in life. Our company’s purpose is to ‘Inspire and build better lives and communities’ and this event certainly gave us the opportunity to help fulfill that purpose here in Berks County. Thanks to RACC and Boscov’s for this opportunity and we wish the students all the best in the future!” says Truist Market President David Roland.

Boscov's employees helped students select clothing for an upcoming internship or new career at no cost to the graduates. Most graduates received up to $250 worth of clothing and accessories. 

“We’re delighted to partner with Reading Area Community College and help launch the careers of so many outstanding students.  We thank Truist for the investment they have made in the graduates and in our community. We are pleased and excited to help outfit these hard working students as they enter the workforce,” says CEO of Boscov’s Department Stores, Jim Boscov.

Additionally, Truist Bank representatives were on site to share money management tips with the graduates. 

“This is a wonderful collaboration between three leading Berks County organizations. Last fall, Dave Roland and I were exploring ways to best maximize the benefits of this grant, and after discussing with Jim Boscov, the “I am Career Ready” shopping event was born. As RACC graduates, they have the training to be successful in the workplace, and thanks to this grant, they will now have the professional attire to complement their skills,” says Foundation for RACC Executive Director Tony DeMarco.

To learn more about the Foundation for RACC, please contact foundation@racc.edu or 610-607-6239.

Fall in person classes start August 24. More information...

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges (PACCC) recently announced the 26th Annual All-Pennsylvania Academic Team. The honor recognizes an exceptional group of community college students who have achieved academic excellence and demonstrated a commitment to their colleges and communities. 

The 2020 awardees include three Reading Area Community College outstanding transfer scholars. Transfer students must have completed at least 36 credits at a community college and must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher to be considered for these awards. Workforce students must have a minimum of 12 college-level credit hours at a community college and a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. 

The three Reading Area Community College scholarship winners are Ms. Valerie Mackey, Ms. Afaf Maslah (Coca-Cola New Century Workforce Pathway Scholar), and Ms. Emma Wright.

“We at Reading Area Community College applaud these outstanding student scholars on their terrific academic achievements,” says Dr. Susan D. Looney, president of Reading Area Community College. “By enrolling in high-quality educational programs, these students are building a foundation for a successful career while furthering their postsecondary study.”  

Pennsylvania’s community colleges partner with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) universities to provide scholarships to eligible All-PA Transfer Team members at PASSHE institutions, providing two years of tuition at any PASSHE school. 

Students nominated to the national All-USA Community College Academic Team are automatically named to the All-State Community College Academic Teams. The programs share common eligibility criteria, which includes enrollment at a community college, a minimum 3.5 grade point average, completion of a minimum of 36 college-level credits and being on track to receive an associate or bachelor’s degree. 

In Berks County, a grassroots effort is providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to workers who can’t stay home during the COVID19 pandemic. The Berks PPE Resource Network is a consortium of people at area organizations including hobbyists and engineers working to 3D print face shields. Reading Area Community College (RACC) is one of the organizations participating.

Working closely with the PPE Resource Network and American Polarizers, a Reading-based precision engineered optics company, the Schmidt Training and Technology Center (STTC) on the RACC campus, has been transformed into a temporary face shield manufacturing and assembly hub. Led by STTC Director Bonnie Spayed, the facility has been producing full face protective shields and 3D printed face shield brackets as quickly as they can. “We will shortly have produced close to 3,000 face shields that will immediately be used in the field by police and emergency responders. I am so proud to be a part of this group of people who have come together to get this done for our community. Our STTC staff has been very creative and resourceful in pulling all the pieces together and producing and assembling this gear for our local heroes who are working hard to keep us safe during this pandemic,” says Spayd.

According to PPE Resource Network organizer Ellen Albright, director of talent and workforce development at Greater Reading Chamber Alliance, the partners were wondering how to harness existing 3D-printing resources to produce PPE for front-line workers.

 “Instead of getting stuck in those questions — ‘How do we do that?’ or ‘What happens next?’ — we kept tapping this ad hoc committee that we had,” says Albright. “Take your piece of this and let’s run. Build the plane while you’re flying, because it’s not anything any of us had done before.”

It’s not only hospital workers who need the shields, though their PPE needs have understandably gotten the spotlight. According to Adelle Schade, a Network organizer and founder of the nonprofit Albright Science Research Institute, people like police officers, firefighters, Game Commission staffers, postal workers, grocery-store clerks, and even private-practice physicians have been going without face-shields while doing their essential jobs. The PPE Resource Network is fixing that.

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