Families connected to local wildlife, first responder and educational organizations as part of a statewide initiative.
“We Put the UNITY in Community” was the Monroe County Children’s Roundtable’s theme for its eighth Community Night. More than 100 agencies taught kids facts on animals, health resources and self-empowerment.
Chakeila Brown linked up with her local Girls on the Run. She wants her daughter, Mya, to get involved with a club that teaches girls to value who they are on the inside.
“She’s only nine, but she’s getting into that age soon – although I might be a little in denial – but she’s getting in that age soon where she’s not going to want to be around me as much as she wants to now and more with her friends,” said Chakeila Brown. “So, I figure, getting into something…like that might help her to hopefully go in the right direction that she needs to be in.”
Mya Brown’s favorite booth was the Wilderz at Pocono Wildlife. She loved learning about the animals they house at their sanctuary in Stroudsburg.
“It’s like a fun place to be. There’s so much activities. And my favorite one is…with the snake and skunk,” said Mya Brown.
Skunks were not the only furry critters kids met Tuesday night. Northampton Community College’s Pocono Campus was packed with educational and emotional support animals.
Jessica Spencer helped Nicholas, an emotional support dog, play Tic-Tac-Toe against the kids. Spencer is Nicholas’ handler and a deputy court administrator at the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas. Nicholas works with kids that come to the courthouse through Children and Youth Services, juvenile defendants and kids who have witnessed or are victims of a crime.
“It’s great. Especially if kids are anticipating coming to the courthouse. We give out his little activity books,” said Spencer. “And the people who are working with the children prior to getting to the courthouse, they’re able to show them, ‘Hey, look, you can meet Nicholas when you go to court.’ And so, they can focus on meeting the dog and having that connection as opposed to thinking about all the serious things that they are having to do when they get to the courthouse.”
Kids also learned about educational opportunities like the Latin Scholarship Fund. Executive Director Yolanda Cruz said the fund gives a $5,000 scholarship to Latino students to help them cover their first semester of college.
“What makes us a little different is that we try to follow our students throughout their four years and if they come across any hardship, we’ll jump in and kind of help them. But what we want to see is them graduate, so we can have Latino representation at every table,” said Cruz.
Not all of the educational opportunities were geared towards the kids. Nursing students at Northampton Community College gave families free blood pressure screenings. It helps people take charge of their health, said graduating senior Nichole Pershyn.
“This kind of gives people an idea if they have any risk factors…or health-related concerns (or) if they should be seeing a doctor any time soon. And we’re also able to provide free education on things to do to decrease their risk factors,” said Pershyn.
Families also learned how to give CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). EMS coordinator Steven Kulick taught kids to check the scene, call for help and perform CPR if someone becomes unresponsive. He works with Lehigh Valley Hospital – Pocono.
“It’s all about saving lives before the ambulance gets there. Being a paramedic for over 40 years, it’s getting rougher and rougher to get on scenes with EMS care fast enough,” said Kulick.
He said there are two problems standing in the way of survival, including traffic and a lack of volunteers. Families in rural areas often live far away from their ambulance service, which makes it difficult for a team to reach them in time. He especially is concerned with the declining number of volunteer first responders. Kulick came to the roundtable to teach families how to protect themselves and their loved ones.
Tuesday’s event connected families to resources and organizations to volunteers. Chairman of Monroe County’s Roundtable Jonathan Mark said it helps the community work together as a team. He also serves as a county judge in the Court of Common Pleas.
“They get a chance to share and talk with each other, put faces to names, names to services, et cetera. And it helps strengthen and build that coalition that provides services…And we’re still a volunteer community. And that’s why we need volunteers,” said Mark.
This was the county’s eighth community roundtable at Northampton Community College. The program is part of astatewide coalitionthrough the state’s Office of Children & Families in the Courts.
