Cuts For A Cause
This past August, one of our residents, Monica, told our Marketing and Development Coordinator, Kristen Orgera, that they would most enjoy it if we could plan a spa day for the women in our shelter. This planted a seed that has since sprouted thanks to Orgera and the...
Knitting Together Friendships, Volunteer Spotlight: Bev Sanders
Bev Sanders, of Hamburg, PA has been knitting since her mother taught her when she was a child. Bev has been donating her time to Opportunity House since 2012. Sanders began volunteering at Opportunity House after she visited with a group from her hometown. After...
RACCy Olympics Partners with Opportunity House
Every year, Reading Area Community College, otherwise known as RACC, holds RACCy Olympics in order to raise money for a local organization. The idea behind RACCy Olympics is to "learn through service" and assist the college’s local community "through fundraising...
The Swartz Family-A Family Devoted to Giving Back and Working Together
A number of years ago Lauren Swartz, an elementary school teacher, mother, and wife, had an idea to create and donate what she calls "Birthday Boxes" to families who could not afford to celebrate their children’s birthdays in a big way. Lauren sought out Opportunity...
Success Spotlight: Second Street Learning Center parent, Mariangel Sanchez
When Mariangel Sanchez started as a bank teller in Reading with two small children she researched daycare centers and there were only one or two that had late hours and took infants. "The training classes I needed to take to develop my career required me to travel to...
Memorable Event Creates More Memories for Children
Thanks to the women who generously donated during the Cash Call portion of our inaugural Wine, Women and Shoes event, which took place this past May at the new DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton, 65 kids from our Second Street Learning Center were able to enjoy a variety of...
Client Success Story: Jeremy Winchester
Six years ago, Jeremy Winchester, a 29-year-old from Reading, Pennsylvania, found himself homeless with no place to go. "They just kind of picked me up off my feet," Winchester remarks about his time at Opportunity House. Winchester took shelter at Opportunity House...
Volunteer Spotlight: Leah Carter’s Family
Ten-year-old Leah Carter along with her mother Heather, contacted Opportunity House a few weeks ago about wanting to serve lunch to our residents. Each week we have generous volunteer groups come to the shelter and donate their time and energy by serving meals....
Volunteer Spotlight: The Gerace Siblings
At the end of last summer, Forbes’ contributor Nicole Leinbach-Reyhle reported that some parents were spending more than $1,000 dollars on back to school supplies. If you ask Matthew Gerace, a rising tenth grader at Lancaster Country Day School, spending this large...
Internship Insights II: Finding an internship and successful interviewing tips
Finding an internship can be stressful and oftentimes a little overwhelming. However, for most degrees they are required and are a great way to gain useful, real-world knowledge that can be applied to future jobs. We’ve compiled some of our own advice for finding,...