CLICK HERE to register for two days of conference greatness! CAAP will post the workshop schedule and general session speaker biographies on the conference webpage early next week. The conference is scheduled for April 22-23, 2015 in Harrisburg, PA.

January 14 - February 18: Early Bird Registration Rates

February 19 - March 31: Advanced Registration Rates

April 1 - April 23: Standard Registration Rates

The United Way of Berks County was featured in a United Way Worldwide article VOLUNTEERS THAT BOOST ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT that highlights Ready.Set.READ! Americorps *VISTA was mentioned in the article, and our very own Dani Motze was the photographer. Congratulations United Way of Berks County and Dani for the great work you are doing to make a difference in your community. To read the article please CLICK HERE and head to page 10.

One of our newest VISTAs, Susie Hinz, secured a project for MLK Day of Service and the entire CASA Lancaster staff and VISTA Leader Fred Smith came out to support her project. The group painted an office space located at the Lumina Foundation (see picture on right). Good job, Susie!

To date, Balinda Raimondo plans to re-enroll for her 3rd and final year as a VISTA volunteer. Balinda is serving with the Berwick Area United Way. Congrats Balinda!

Currently, there are 7 VISTA volunteers serving at the following sites: CAAP, Community Action Southwest, CHESCO, CAP Mercer, Berwick Area United Way, and CASA of Lancaster County. United Way of Berks County successfully recruited a brand new VISTA for the February PSO.

6 projects will be returning for the 2015-2016 year. These impactful projects are: Ready. Set. Read! -- UW of Berks Co., Food Access/ Nutrition - Berwick Area United Way, Faith Based Decades to Doorways -- CHESCO, Veterans Vocational Training -- CAP Mercer, CASA Lancaster County" -- CASA Lancaster, and VISTA Leader -- CAAP

Four new projects have submitted preliminary concept papers to the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). Improving GED Attainment for At Risk Youth by JEVS Services - Nutrition: CASWG - Healthy Communities: Lansdowne Economic Development Corp (LEDC) - Circles USA by East Liberties Development Inc.

On Monday, the Federal Office of Community Services released its final Informational Memorandum (IM) on the Community Services Block Grant Organizational Standards. The Community Action Partnership is offering a free national update webinar on the Organizational Standards and the recent Information Memoranda issued by OCS. CLICK HERE to register for the webinar and CLICK HERE to download the memorandum.

Considering central Pennsylvania's focus on agriculture, a nationwide educational movement called Farm to Head Start is taking root locally.

STEP, Inc. recently piloted a "Farm to Head Start Fall Harvest" program in one of their Head Start classrooms at the Clinton County Community Center in Lock Haven. Instructors from Mindful Harvest, a Williamsport-based firm, spent time twice a week with 18 students, teaching the 3- to 5-year-olds about where their food comes from, how it's grown, the nutritional value, and fun ways to prepare and eat fruits and vegetables.

"This is a very exciting, hands-on initiative," says STEP Head Start Director David Spring. "It's the type of program that can really make a meaningful, lasting impact on families. Statistics show poor nutrition leads to unhealthy lifestyles among low-income children. Fall Harvest provided much-needed nutrition education, connected the children and their families to healthy, local foods, and helped them establish lifelong healthy eating habits."

While the Farm to School movement involving school-age children is fairly established, initiatives for preschool children are relatively new. The STEP pilot was the first to be undertaken locally and saw a great measure of success: overall, there was a 41 percent increase in the students' knowledge of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Importantly, the Fall Harvest initiative helped educate children about the presence of local farms and the journey of food from soil to plate. Local farmers provided fresh produce for the program, which allowed the children to take raw fruits and vegetables and prepare healthy snacks and meals.

"I absolutely loved the program," said one parent. "With so much of our diets prepared, it's important to teach kids to eat fresh foods. I recommend the program in other classes and schools."

Funding for the pilot came from the federal Head Start program and the STEP Head Start Policy Council, which provides oversight for the Head Start program in Lycoming and Clinton counties. STEP is interested in developing local partnerships that will allow the Fall Harvest program to be offered to additional Head Start classrooms. More information on the Farm to Head Start Fall Harvest program is available on the STEP web site at www.stepcorp.org.

Raise the Wage PA was supposed to host their kickoff event on Tuesday, January 27th from noon to 3pm at Grace United Methodist Church, 216 State Street in Harrisburg. However, due to snowy conditions, the kickoff event is being rescheduled. CLICK HERE to learn more or to register. Raise the Wage PA takes the following point-of-view. Pennsylvania is the only state in our region with a $7.25 minimum wage. Their goal is to increase the minimum wage to $10.10/hr in 2015. Over 70% of Pennsylvanians support the higher minimum wage, and over one million low wage workers will get a raise if the coalition succeeds.

The CAAP Service Matrix has been updated. CLICK HERE to download a PDF copy from the CAAP website. Printed copies will be available for free at the Annual Conference on April 22-23 in Harrisburg.

Effective January 1st, the Ohio Associatiozn of Community Action Agencies became the new home for Virtual CAP! The Virginia Community Action Partnership launched Virtual CAP in 2002, and Jim Schuyler's leadership has made a significant difference in helping Virtual CAP become a vibrant source of information for Community Action. Ken Ackerman, Virtual CAP Project Manager commented, "I'm very much looking forward to working with Phil Cole and OACAA's staff and board to build upon the work that's been accomplished over the past 12 years!" CLICK HERE to visit Virtual CAP's website.