Latest news with #ReadingAreaCommunityCollege
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Schuylkill River Trail garden to honor Reading-area philanthropist David Thun
Schuylkill River Greenways has announced plans for a trail garden in honor of David Thun, a Reading-area philanthropist and longtime greenways supporter. The Thun Trail Garden will be a landscaped rest area for trail users featuring native plantings, benches, a bike fix-it station and a commemorative plaque honoring Thun's commitment to the organization, the trail and development of Reading's riverfront, officials said. The area will be next to the new South Front Street section of the trail on lands the organization acquired during Thun's time as a board member. 'This is a wonderful time and place to honor David,' Elain Schaefer, greenways executive director, said during a ceremony Thursday. 'Not only for what he did for the greenways or the trail but really for this entire region.' Officials said plans for the South Front Street trail section include connecting the existing trail along the riverfront through the Reading Area Community College campus to a completed section of the trial on River Road. It will include a short off-road section along Riverfront Drive to South Front Street through the RACC campus and under Penn Street. The on-road trail section will be a two-way cycle track, separated from traffic with curbed vegetated island. Pedestrian crosswalks along the new trail section will be upgraded to meet ADA standards. 'We want to bring our trail into the towns it traverses,' said Kent Himmelright, greenways trail director. 'Driving the economy of the towns along our trail is one of our main goals.' Officials said engineering for the South Front Street section is finished and work is expected to be completed within 18 months.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
RACC and Yocum Institute benefactor James H. Yocum leaves lasting legacy
When Susan Rohn first saw the dilapidated former factory, now home to the Yocum Institute for Arts Education, she wasn't sure what to think. The institute needed a building with more space and room for expansion, and Rohn, executive director of the institute, had gone with James H. Yocum, then president of the board and a longtime benefactor, to check out the building at 3000 Penn Ave. in Spring Township. Seeing the broken windowpanes and holes in the ceilings, Rohn seriously doubted the neglected building was a good fit. She was surprised when Yocum turned to her and said: 'This is perfect. This is exactly what you need.' It was classic Jim, Rohn said. He had a gift for seeing beyond what was, to what could be. James Yocum Yocum died April 8 at the age of 98. The Reading native, Korean War veteran and Harvard-educated businessman was a passionate philanthropist whose legacy lives on at the arts institute that bears his name and Reading Area Community College. Both institutions were transformed by his generosity. As a longtime trustee of RACC, Yocum played an instrumental role in shaping the college and its future. His leadership included serving as vice chairman from 1996 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2002, as well as chairman from 1998 to 2000 and again from 2002 to 2004. Titles don't begin to capture the breadth of his impact, said Anthony DeMarco, vice president for college advancement and executive director of the Foundation for RACC and Miller Center. 'Jim was much more than a philanthropist and leader,' DeMarco said. 'He was a friend to faculty, staff and students. We all revered him. His joyous, positive nature lifted the spirits of all around him.' Yocum created the foundation — the philanthropic arm of the college — and served as its first chairman. Thanks to his vision and tireless dedication, DeMarco said, the foundation now holds over $32 million in assets, making it one of the most successful among community colleges in Pennsylvania. Yocum also established and endowed 25 scholarships, believed to be the most created by an individual at a Pennsylvania college. 'Hundreds of RACC students have benefitted from Jim's generosity,' DeMarco said, 'and hundreds of Yocum Scholars will earn college degrees for generations.' Yocum also made a major gift that allowed the college to build its Yocum Library, which serves as the academic heart of the college. In honor of his extraordinary service, DeMarco said, the college renamed its highest recognition for former trustees to the James H. Yocum Trustee Emeritus Award. Fittingly, he said, Yocum was the first recipient. Yocum's legacy at the Yocum Institute, formerly the Wyomissing Institute of Fine Arts, is equally profound. As a longtime board member and past president, Yocum supported the institute for decades, helping it grow into a vital center for creative learning and performance. In 2009, the institute was renamed in his honor. When the organization outgrew its former space, Yocum not only scouted the current location in Spring Township, he also provided the financial support and leadership to make the transition possible, Rohn said. Today, the Yocum Institute serves as a hub of arts education for students of all ages and backgrounds. Its ADA-compliant facilities include a black-box theater, art gallery, six dance studios, music wing and a secure arts-based kindergarten and preschool. Rohn said there are many stories about Yocum, who often approached life with the joy and wonder of a child. He was known for the colorful and often flamboyant suits and vests he wore to the institute's exhibit openings and performances. 'There are no bad cookies,' he'd quip, happily munching at opening receptions, she remembers. As for his favorite artists, Rohn noted, these were the students of the institute's preschool and kindergarten. 'He was a character, and everyone loved him,' said Rohn. 'He was so good to everyone. He was a treasure.' Yocum was predeceased by his parents, George Lehman Yocum and Helen (Jost) Yocum, and a brother, George Yocum. A Mass of Christian burial will be held April 15 at 11 a.m. at St. Margaret Catholic Church, 925 Centre Ave. Friends and associates will be received from 9:30 to 11 a.m. prior to Mass. Burial will be in Charles Evans Cemetery, Reading. A celebration of life for James H. Yocum will be held at the Yocum Institute May 9 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Memorials may be made in his memory to the Yocum Institute for Arts Education, 3000 Penn Ave., Reading PA 19609 or the Foundation for RACC to support the James H. Yocum Scholarship Fund, Foundation for RACC, 10 S. Second St., Box 1706, Reading PA. 19603.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
63 new citizens are welcomed in Berks naturalization ceremony
Wednesday was a good day for Jhudd Jonathas, but Thursday might be even better. The 34-year-old, who came to the U.S. from Haiti a decade ago, joined 62 other immigrants Wednesday inside a crowded courtroom at the Berks County Courthouse. Together they pledged their allegiance to America and became the country's newest citizens. It was a moment that would elicit excitement and pride from just about anyone experiencing it. And while it did for Jonathas, for him it was just a thrilling steppingstone leading to where he really wants to go. 'The first thing I'm going to do tomorrow morning is apply to be a state trooper,' he said. 'I would love being in law enforcement because I want to help people. That's the field that I love and I think I can do some real good.' 'Being in law enforcement is really the only thing I ever wanted to do.' Becoming a citizen provides Jonathas with an opportunity to make his dream a reality. Getting to that point, he said, was a long road. Jonathas came to America hoping for a better future. 'This was all about the American Dream,' he said. 'It was really important for me to be able to say that I'm a citizen of this great country, and now I want to help others.' Jonathas, who lives in Temple with his girlfriend and their two children, earned a degree in criminal justice from the Berks Technical Institute five years ago and is planning to start taking courses at Reading Area Community College this summer to become a certified recovery specialist. Jhudd Jonathas is looking forward to becoming a law enforcement agent now that he is an American citizen. He was one of 63 immigrants who pledged their allegiance to their new country during a naturalization ceremony Wednesday at the Berks County Courthouse. (KAREN SHUEY – READING EAGLE) He currently works for GEO Group, a provider of correctional and rehabilitation services, helping his fellow Berks County residents who are involved in the criminal justice system. But his real passion is law enforcement. Until now, that passion was on hold because of his immigration status. He worked his way through the system, but even as he prepared to finally take the final step to citizenship he found himself delayed again. He was scheduled to take the oath of allegiance to his new home last year, but the ceremony was canceled due to a campaign stop by President Donald Trump at the Santander Arena in October. All of the waiting made Wednesday feel particularly sweet, he said. 'It feels great to finally be here,' he said. Jonathas story was just one of many from Wednesday's naturalization ceremony, each unique but also similar in many ways. The new citizens started their journeys in nine different countries and took 63 different paths, but they all shared a desire to make the U.S. their official home. That includes Irene Dominguez. She came to the U.S. in 2019 from the Dominican Republic with her then husband and two children. The 40-year-old said her main priority when immigrating was making sure she could provide more opportunities to her children than what they would have had. 'I thought we would be able to have a better life,' she said. Irene Dominguez poses for the first time as an American citizen after she received her official naturalization paperwork during a ceremony Wednesday at the Berks County Courthouse. (KAREN SHUEY – READING EAGLE) Dominguez has worked hard to make that happen. She is currently working in food service for the Reading School District and trying to make sure her kids have everything they need to be successful. As for finally taking the oath, Dominguez said she was excited because she will now be able to vote and have her voice heard at the ballot box. 'It feels very good to be a citizen,' the Reading resident said. During the naturalization ceremony, the Berks County Bar Association invited a number of special guests to speak to the new citizens about the importance of playing an active role in the community. Berks County Judge James Lillis, who presided over the ceremony inside the overflowing courtroom, thanked all the family and friends who have supported the new citizens on their journey. He said the decision is not one to be taken lightly and that the process can be arduous. The keynote speaker, local entrepreneur Hamid Chaudhry, told the county's newest citizens that he understands more than most what that journey means. Chaudhry immigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan with his mother in 1988 when he was a young man and became a naturalized citizen in 1997. He said he was born poor and uneducated in the slums of Pakistan. But he said that when he got to the U.S. he put in the work, taking classes at a community college in Chicago to learn the language before eventually going on to earn a degree in finance. 'I'm so grateful to America for all the opportunities that it gave me,' he said. Chaudhry stressed that while he was speaking to people who may come from very different countries than him, practice a different religion or speak another language, they all share a common link. They all have chosen to be Americans. 'We are all Americans by choice,' he said. Local entrepreneur Hamid Chaudhry, who served as the keynote speaker at a naturalization ceremony Wednesday at the Berks County Courthouse, told the county's newest citizens that he understands more than most what it means to choose to be an American. (KAREN SHUEY – READING EAGLE) But he apologized for the current environment that they find themselves in — with anti-immigration growing and deepening in many corners of the country. He said that when he came he felt welcomed. He cited a speech given by Ronald Reagan in January 1989 in which the late president said that he believed immigration is 'one of the most important sources of America's greatness.' In the speech, Reagan said: 'We lead the world because, unique among nations, we draw our people — our strength — from every country and every corner of the world. And by doing so we continuously renew and enrich our nation.' Chaudhry acknowledged that there is a strong anti-immigration sentiment in America right now, and said he takes personally responsibility for not doing enough to help change the minds of those who feel that way. 'It is up to you to change that perception,' he said. 'Please help me change those minds throughout this land so that people can see all the good that we can offer. And, in return, you will see all that this country can offer you.'
