DCED Grants Fund Passenger Van
for Community Service Activities
Thanks to funds from the Walmart Foundation to purchase 14 child
safety seats, the Albright Learning Center will also be able to use the
new community service van. Pictured are: (front row, l to r) Clifford, son
of Julia Matthews, theatre; Reese, granddaughter of Shirley Shaud, food
service; Portia, daughter of Christian Sockel, development; (middle row)
Allison, daughter of Chenyang Xiao, sociology; Gabrielle, daughter of
Eunjee Shin, mathematics; (back row) Jonathan, son of Andrea Thrush,
Albright Learning Center; and Zachariah, nephew of Tiffenia Archie ’92,
academic affairs. With Stacie Eisenhofer ’89, director of the Albright
Learning Center, is Nicholas, son of Jennifer Post Stoudt, college
relations; and Hunter, son of graduate student Heather Smith.
photo: Jennifer Post Stoudt
Community service has long been an integral
part of an Albright education. Now, with the
help of $40,000 in funding through the
Pennsylvania Department of Community
and Economic Development (DCED) to
purchase a new step passenger van, students
and faculty will be able to expand their
community service work and experiential
learning opportunities.
DCED funding has been obtained
through the efforts of State Senator Michael
A. O’Pake, State Representative Dante
Santoni and Albright trustee and State
Senator Edwin B. Erickson, Ph.D. ’60.
An additional $500 grant from the
Walmart Foundation is being used to
purchase 14 child safety seats, which will
enable the Albright Learning Center to use
the van to take groups of elementary
students on enrichment field trips to
Albright’s campus and in the local community.
Provost Andrea E. Chapdelaine, Ph.D.,
worked in partnership with the Advancement
and Public Safety departments to facilitate
the grants. Chapdelaine said that while
Albright students currently provide
thousands of hours of community assistance
through a range of services and programs,
the College’s efforts have been inhibited by
the lack of reliable transportation to and
from agencies, schools and internship sites
in the past.
With the new van, she said, “We will be
able to expand our strong base of community
outreach and enrich the curriculum and
its impact by making possible a greater and
more varied number of service and course
experiences for students.”
The van, which is fitted with a wheelchair
lift and flip seat courtesy of Shepard
Brothers of Canandaigua, N.Y., will
also enable faculty to incorporate service
opportunities and field trips in numerous
courses; allow students to serve areas
with the most critical need, such as city
neighborhoods that are not within walking
distance; and provide transportation for
Albright education students who do not own
cars to assist at the Albright Learning Center.
“Part of our mission is to ‘foster a
commitment to a lifetime of service and
learning,’” Chapdelaine said. “That’s a life
lesson that Albright is dedicated to fostering
in our students.”
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photo: Terry Scott Reed Peddling on Patrol
Neighborhood Group
Purchases Bike for
Public Safety
Officer Ethan Darion of Albright’s Public
Safety Department is pictured on a new
Trek bike. The bike, worth $800, was a gift
from the Hampden Heights Community
Association. The bike will enhance public
safety’s ability to patrol more ground,
both on-campus and in the surrounding
neighborhood, and allow for more
personal interaction with community
members.
“Our bike officers are encouraged to
patrol the community,” said Lieutenant
Michael L. Gross of Albright’s Public Safety
Department. “Assisting in reporting problems
to Reading Police is a benefit not just
for us, but also for our neighbors.”
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