Category: Community Impact

Mid Penn Bank Contributes $8K to Support YMCA’s Educational Initiatives for Early Learners

Posted on by Chrissy Faller

Making Local Community Impact through PA’s EITC Program

Reading, Pa., December 10, 2025 — Through Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program, Mid Penn Bank has contributed $8,000 to the YMCA of Reading & Berks County in support expanding access and providing high-quality early learning education for local children.

“Expanding access is crucial, and using EITC as a tool to make local impact is smart,” said Phillip Borup, President & CEO, YMCA of Reading & Berks County. “Not only does this make a big difference for our kids and their families, but it will also have a positive impact on the entire community for years to come.”

“Children in our YMCA early learning centers in the city of Reading and in Richmond are getting a top-notch education in STAR 4-rated facilities, the highest designation recognized in the state through Pennsylvania Keystone STARS,” said Shelley Eppihimer, Vice President, Youth Development, YMCA of Reading & Berks County.

Donations made through the EITC program allow eligible businesses to direct tax credits toward proven education and youth programs. Mid Penn Bank’s gift will be used to fund scholarships and classroom resources at YMCA early learning centers, helping more families afford full-time, quality care and enabling the YMCA to maintain staff development, curriculum enhancements, and classroom supplies that directly benefit young learners.

Mid Penn Bank’s investment reinforces a shared community priority: ensuring equitable access to strong early education so all children, regardless of family income, can start school ready to learn. The partnership with the YMCA also helps stabilize working families by offering reliable childcare and learning opportunities that support parents’ ability to work and contribute to the local economy.

“Our young learners have an academic advantage, setting them up for a lifetime of success, whether their parents can afford it or not,” said Borup.

For more information on the YMCA’s preschool and childcare programs or to support the YMCA of Reading & Berks County, explore our site.

About the YMCA of Reading & Berks County

For 167 years, the YMCA of Reading & Berks County has strengthened our local community through putting Judeo-Christian principles into practice with programs that builds healthy spirit, mind, and body for all. The YMCA of Reading & Berks County operates five branches in Adamstown, Mifflin, Reading, Sinking Spring and Tri Valley; two Early Learning Centers in Reading and Richmond; and seven transitional housing programs for residential care at the Reading Y and Camp Joy locations.

Driven by its founding mission, the Y is a nonprofit committed to strengthening the community and empowering individuals by ensuring access to resources, relationships and opportunities for all to learn, grow and thrive. By bringing together people from different backgrounds, perspectives and generations, the Y strives to improve overall health and well-being, ignite youth empowerment, and demonstrate the importance of connections among 2,700 Ys in 10,000 communities across the United States. 

Check presentation from Mid Penn Bank to YMCA of Reading & Berks County
Pictured from Left to Right: Matthew Assemes, Assistant Vice President and Financial Center Manager of Mid Penn Bank; Joseph Butto, Senior Vice President and Regional President of Mid Penn Bank; Christina (Chrissy) Faller, Vice President, Marketing & Communications of YMCA of Reading & Berks County; and Phillip Borup, President and CEO of YMCA of Reading & Berks County

Mission Moments: Roy’s Y

Posted on Updated on by Amber Fox

Roy’s Second Chance: Finding Home, Family, and Purpose at the Y

Roy, a YMCA Men’s Bridge program graduate, smiling at the YMCA of Reading and Berks County after rebuilding his life through recovery and community support.

Like so many others, Roy’s addiction began with what seemed harmless at the time, social drinking in high school and college that gradually hardened into something he could no longer control. It spiraled into years of dependence, loss and instability.

Roy built a life working as a chef, then co‑owning a successful autobody shop, and starting a family. After a workplace injury in 2010 led to back surgeries and prescriptions that eased the severe chronic pain, he was introduced to a new kind of dependence. Over the years addiction took more than his health. It cost him his business, his home, his marriage, his relationships with his children – and eventually hope. 

Achieving sobriety was only half of the battle for regaining security. Roy needed a stable job and place to live. He thought he had finally landed, but stability slipped through his grasp before he was fully back on his feet. When the paid position was replaced with a volunteer, his job and housing also vanished. 

That’s when Roy spent five weeks living alone in a tent. “All I had were the clothes on my back. Nothing. Nothing else,” he remembers.  

He wanted to rebuild his life but had cycled through treatment programs and stops and starts of sober living and the resulting life changes. A turning point for Roy was being arrested for public intoxication and related charges. With a choice between prison or a treatment court program, Roy applied to the YMCA Men’s Bridge program. 

One phone call changed everything. 

The YMCA accepted his application for the Men’s Bridge program and introduced him to his case manager, Gary. The Y didn’t just offer shelter; it offered structure, practical help, and a community that refused to give up on him. Roy moved into the Bridge House and began rebuilding one day at a time. He showed up for recovery meetings, did the step work, and leaned on recovery coaches and Y staff who helped him get an ID, Social Security, and disability benefits. Those concrete milestones, paired with daily encouragement, replaced chaos with structure and dignity.

The transformation rippled outward. Roy reconnected with his daughter. He stayed sober through his son’s deployment. He completed the Men’s Bridge program and transitioned into a Single Room Occupancy unit, paying rent and living among neighbors who practice mutual accountability in sober housing. For the first time in years, Roy had something he hadn’t felt for years: belonging. He calls the YMCA his forever home. 

The Y made me feel safe and secure, every single person here, to me, is family. Someone is giving me a second chance. The Y is letting me have a second chance.

-Roy

Roy’s story is not just about one man’s recovery. It’s a portrait of how community care, hospitals, recovery coaches, shelters, and the YMCA, can come together to rescue lives. He credits the unique network of resources across Berks County with gratitude made possible by supporters. “I’ve never seen any county that does this.” His advice to others is simple and honest: take responsibility, keep showing up, and accept help when it’s offered. Today Roy is sober, employed, connected to services, and committed to paying it forward.

This transformation is possible because donors and supporters of the Y fund the programs, staff, and housing that make second chances real. Your support gives people like Roy the tools to rebuild with the life skills, safe place to sleep, and a community that believes in their worth. When you give to the Y, you give more than services. You give a lifeline, a family, and a future.