Special Events

Thirty years of service to be marked by music, fun and new beginnings

HONORARY CHAIR: Winnie Melinsky, Director, Eastern Region Sales, Highmark

MASTER OF CEREMONIES: Shelly Easton, radio personality and Operations Manager, WLEV 100.7 FM

ENTERTAINMENT: Peripheral Vision Band

Mark your calendar, friends of Pinebrook! Saturday, November 7, 2009 opens a new chapter in Pinebrook annals as the agency celebrates its 30th Anniversary of service to the Lehigh Valley. A night of vibrant music that begins at 6 pm, celebrity musical numbers, entertainment by Olympus America, Inc.'s Peripheral Vision Band, a raffle and silent auction, as well as the public unveiling of what could be the most dramatic branding initiative in the agency's history will make the evening truly memorable. Join us at the Holiday Inn Conference Center, Breinigsville (I-78 and Rte 100). It's our Pearl (30th) Anniversary, and you're in for a rousing Pearl Jammin' with Pinebrook!

For corporate sponsorships, advertising and guest reservations, contact Pinebrook's Development Department at 610-432-3919.

We deeply appreciate the financial support of our sponsors:

Premier Promotional Sponsor


Silver Sponsor

• Buckno Lisicky & Company

Associate Sponsors

• Burkholder’s Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.
  
• Lighting Fixture & Supply Co.

Supporting Sponsors

• Alpha Benefits Group, Inc.
  
• Campbell, Rappold & Yurasits, LLP
  
• Nancy and Steve Curl
  
• Dan Schantz Greenhouse & Cut Flower Outlet
  
• Heritage Insurance Group, Inc., Allentown
  
• HighMark Blue Shield
  
• Bob Jacobs and Dave Artman
  
• Lloyd H. Jones & Associates
  
• King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul, LLC
  
• KNBT, Division of National Penn Bank
  
• Lindsay Insurance Group, Inc.
  
• Glen Paisley Team of Prudential Patt, White Real Estate
  
• PPL Corporation
  
• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Gang Awareness Workshop, May 13, 2009

“Violent gangs are already here in the Lehigh Valley, and we are not ready for the arrival of more gangs from other states.” This chilling assessment was made by Officer Jason Werley, the presenter at Gang Awareness in the Lehigh Valley, a training conducted by Pinebrook at its Allentown facility. The seminar was a follow-up to the Agency’s Bullying and Truancy Workshop held last year.

Jason Werley, Gang Intelligence Officer at the Northampton County Department of Corrections, warned against rising trends in gang activity. Based on the latest available National Youth Gang Survey (NYHS) conducted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, an estimated 3,550 jurisdictions in cities with populations of 2,500 or more experienced gang problems in 2007. The study estimated that 788,000 gang members and 27,000 gangs were active in the United States that year.

According to Werley, a number of gangs are migrating east from the west coast and southwest, primarily from California and Mexico; Latino gang operations have also been reported in most of the 50 states. “We know that what goes on in prison is happening on our streets and in schools,” Werley said. “Recent data shows that age groups among gang members range from as young as 10 years to as old as 60.” Another alarming fact highlighted at the workshop: gangs are not a strictly urban phenomenon. Gang membership in rural counties rose 36.2% from 2002 to 2007.

Werley pointed to the glorification of gangs and drug culture in the movies, on television, on Internet social networking sites, and in “gangsta”-inspired rap music as the drivers of gang recruitment. “The reduced importance of family structure and interaction,” Werley added, “is a critical factor.” He observed that youths get involved with gangs due to the lack of parental involvement in their lives, the absence of positive alternatives, the need to belong and to feel important. Gang members often take the place of the family in the affections of young people who have low self-esteem and lack self-identity. “Education about gangs must start with the parents,” Werley advised, “because by the time 14- to 16-year-olds get to me at the Corrections Department, it’s already too late to save them.”

Nonprofit resources that address root causes of gang involvement by youth include family-focused programs designed to lower the rate of truancy, which often spurs juvenile delinquency (Pinebrook’s Making the Grade pilot program is one); Youth Succeeding in School projects funded by the Greater Lehigh Valley United Way; Internet resources provided at http://www.gripe4Rkids.org and by the East Coast Gang Investigators Association at http://www.ecgia.org.

Donor Recognition Night, May 6, 2009

During a memorable evening at the Education Center of the Integrated Health Campus, Pinebrook paid tribute to private sector stakeholders whose support has enabled the Agency to sustain its programs even during difficult economic times. That special Wednesday, major individual, institutional and corporate donors were feted to an intimate evening by officers and members of Pinebrook’s Board of Directors, senior management and key Agency staff. The Donor Recognition Night offered a clear statement that the Agency can best thank its supporters by providing consistently high-quality services to vulnerable children, young adults and families in the Lehigh Valley. Bob Jacobs, Pinebrook’s Executive Director, capped the evening with a PowerPoint presentation on the Agency’s rebranding campaign that will culminate on November 7 as Pinebrook officially marks its 30th year of operations. Bob also shared major strategic directions, a new mission statement and vision that will drive Pinebrook’s work in the decades ahead. The Donor Recognition Night was underwritten by the Agency’s Board of Directors; Dr. Tom Meade, Senior Partner, OAA Orthopædic Specialists; and Starters Riverport through its proprietor, Dave Rank.

Pinebrook opens new Northampton County Office

With a snip of the ceremonial ribbon on December 5th, 2008, Congressman Charlie Dent and Easton Mayor Sal Panto, Jr. declared Pinebrook’s newly relocated Northampton County office open. Simple ceremonies at 1101 Northampton Street in Easton, which also houses the agency’s Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic, launched stronger linkages with Northampton County stakeholders, including funders, referral sources and residents. It is anticipated that future additions of community-based teams at the regional office will require adequate room as Pinebrook expands its treatment services for families, including medically uninsured or underinsured residents of Easton and peripheral townships in Northampton County.

Also present at the Open House were Paul Brunswick and Janet Mease, Executive Director and Vice President for Community Affairs, respectively, of The Two Rivers Health and Wellness Foundation; Pinebrook’s founder, Florence Applebaum; Ross Marcus, Northampton County Director of Human Services; Atty. Larry Center, who represented the Center Family at the commemoration of the Family Room in honor of the late Nancy Center, Pinebrook's second Executive Director; and Christine Bowditch, Richard Clapp, as well as Michael Principato, members of Pinebrook’s Board of Directors.

Photo from left: Congressman Charlie Dent,
Easton Mayor Sal Panto, Atty. Larry Center,
and Pinebrook Executive Director Bob Jacobs

29th Anniversary Luncheon shines light on business and Pinebrook partnerships

Tony Iannelli, the Luncheon’s Honorary Chair and Keynote Speaker, sounded an emphatic call to the Lehigh Valley’s business community to support the work of nonprofit organizations such as Pinebrook Services. Iannelli, current President and CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, lauded the economic impact of Pinebrook’s social programs, particularly in strengthening families and stabilizing communities.

Ably emceed by Mike Zambelli, Director of Sports at Service Electric Cable TV & Communications (the event’s Premier Promotional Sponsor), the Luncheon raised more than $30,000 in net revenues that will help defray the cost of Pinebrook’s year-round services. Bob Jacobs, Pinebrook Executive Director, informed the audience at the ballroom of the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel & Conference Center, that 50% of the net proceeds will support “Making the Grade,” the agency’s truancy reduction, family support program in the Allentown School District.

Photo from left: Tony Iannelli,
Hon. Chair and Keynote Speaker, Bob Jacobs,
and Mike Zambelli, the Luncheon's MC

A Southern Lehigh High School student (who is currently in Pinebrook's care) accepted the Ruth A. Rodgers Scholarship Award from Monica Troutman, one of the first recipients of the annual scholarship.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, represented by Jewel Williamson-Burns, was the Luncheon’s Premier Sponsor. Other major supporters include Buckno Lisicky & Company (Silver Sponsor), East Penn Bank and Lighting Fixture & Supply Co. (Associate Sponsors), and a host of Supporting Sponsors.