Schreiber alumni

New group offers resources for parents

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Hi everyone!

This is just a recap of our get-together held Sept. 17 at the Olde Hickory Grille. About 15 of us met in the party room. There was lots of chatting and making friends.

Some parents gave information on applying for Social Security’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Their information came from experience, and we had handouts printed from the SSI website. REMEMBER, none of us are SSI employees, so the info shared is coming from parental experience. You have to do what is right for you and your kiddo. Apply in person, online, phone, whatever works for you. Now you know there are options.

We also shared information on a new exercise class available for teens and young adults with special needs at Spooky Nook. Classes are being run by the I AM ABLE Foundation and will start at Spooky Nook in mid-October.

The next Parents 625 get-together will be 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, at Schrieber Pediatric. We may have a physical trainer from I AM ABLE speaking to us that night for a bit, then afterwards… you know, chatting and Halloween fun! Yes, I’ll be in costume.

Club 625 is having its Halloween Party that night, you can email Carla Yando or Jay Graver for more information on that.

See you soon!
-Reenie

Reenie Panzini lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (originally from Brooklyn, NY) and is the mother of three. Her 18-year-old daughter has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is transitioning into adulthood… whatever that means.

No, really. Thank you

Here’s one from April, just after the news broke about the United Way of Lancaster County’s decision to end its funding for Schreiber.

Dear Mr. DeBord,
On August 4, 1955, our second child was born in Lancaster General Hospital. A little girl, she weighedijn at 5 pounds, 4 ounces, and was healthy. However, by the one month check-up, our doctor had some questions about her neck and hip, and he sent us to see Dr. Goodman, an orthopedic physician in Lancaster.

Dr. Goodman diagnosed a congenital dislocation of the left hip, early club foot, and a wry neck. She was to wear a bar 24 hours a day to separate her legs and straighten her legs while her body grew a hip. He assured us that with lots of therapy our little (daughter’s name withheld for privacy) would be normal. He explained that help was available at the Crippled Children’s Society, which was then in Rossmere, and referred us to Miss (Edna) Schreiber. That was the beginning of our daughter’s healing.

We did her exercises daily, and a neighbor came up to help me to hold her down on the table while I gently pulled her neck and twisted the muscles. Miss Schreiber’s assuring words, “Do this religiously, and she will get better,” were the commands that carried us on as (the daughter) began to improve. Miss Schreiber saw us regularly, and we do not remember ever being charged for the service.

Our daughter was a competitive swimmer in her teens, and is now a registered pharmacist working in Lancaster. She lives in Lancaster with her husband. They have two children and one grandson. She has been able to live a normal life and seems free of any complications of the hip.

We have tried to support the Society’s fundraising campaigns, because we have been extremely thankful for all you did for us then. The news in today’s Lancaster paper caused us to think how we were aided then and how you continue to help people. We want to help now. Our check for $1,000 is enclosed.

Here’s another one, sent in just last month.

To everyone at Schreiber,

Thank you, thank you, thank you! This note is a long time coming, but very well owed.

Our only child, (name withheld for privacy), who is now almost 17, was born 61/2 weeks early back in 1998. She weighed 4 pounds, 4 ounces, came home from the NICU at 11 days old at exactly 4 pounds, and started with Early Intervention the next day or so.

When she turned 1 is when Schreiber took over. If Mari Cunningham is still with Schreiber, please let her know that we truly do appreciate and will never forget what she did for us as far as helping our daughter. Today, she is a beautiful, healthy young lady getting ready to start her senior year of high school. She’s an A-B student who makes the honor roll every marking period. She plays tennis, does track, plays softball, plays lacrosse and loves every minute of it.

So, again, we say thank you to all of the therapists for doing what they do every day. It truly does make a difference. Thank you to everyone else at Schreiber as well. We wish we could give more, but, unfortunately, right now that’s not possible. Some day it will be though, at least we hope.

Thanks so much again, and keep up the good work!

And sometimes, the notes are shorter. We received this one in June after Schreiber President James DeBord visited Schaffer Elementary School to accept the money raised by students in Laurie Fellenbaum’s second-grade class.

Thank you! Schreiber is COOL!

So to those second graders, to the proud parents of a teenager, and to the folks we helped 60 years ago who all find it in their hearts to remember us and support us, we can only say:

No, really. Thank you.

We will move on from United Way decision

The United Way and Schreiber have supported each other’s missions for many years. Schreiber has long been one of the largest recipients of United Way allocations. And the United Way has regularly used Schreiber children in its marketing efforts, because our kids and the work we do are make for such compelling stories.

We have been proud of that relationship, and we like to think it has been mutually beneficial.

But times change. We understand that. We really do. Obviously, we would have preferred the United Way had come to a different conclusion about the value of the collaborations we put forth in our application. Yes, we only listed three partners in our United Way filing. But the fact is we could have listed many more.

Here’s a partial list of the community organizations with whom we partner:

  • The Fulton Opera House
  • The Choo-Choo Barn
  • The Janus School
  • The Milton Hershey School
  • Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13
  • Lancaster County Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
  • Agora Cyber Charter School
  • Commonwealth Connections Academy
  • Elizabethtown College
  • Lancaster General Health’s Pennsylvania School of Health Sciences

The point here is that the United Way wants to encourage organizations to develop these collaborative partnerships to reduce redundancies and serve more people, all with an eye toward improving its four Bold Goals: to improve kindergarten readiness, to improve post-secondary achievement, to reduce poverty and to improve access to the health care system.

Schreiber’s work is already specifically addressing at least two of those goals. Our preschool and daycare services are providing high-quality early education that is sending dozens of kids a year to kindergarten ready to learn. Our therapy services offer the thousands of special-needs kids we see every year an important part of their medical care — services that help them say their first words, or hold their dad’s hand or take their first steps. And these are services that aren’t available anywhere else in central Pennsylvania.

But the United Way has made its decision. We accept it and move on.

We were already taking steps to make sure Schreiber remains in Lancaster County next month, next year and well into the future. Since 2012, we have nearly doubled the amount of money we raise through grants and private donations. In 2014, we created the Schreiber Endowment Fund, seeding it with a $100,000 grant and then raising another $100,000 from the community.

That work will continue, although now, of course, we will need more help from our many friends across Lancaster County and beyond. For those of you who know Schreiber only through our Rubber Duckie Race, take a minute to visit our website learn more.

If you already have a family member here or know a friend with a child here, and you know about the work we do, but you’ve never donated, take a minute to visit our donation page and explore how a gift might fit in with your values and your budget.

And if you aren’t able to support Schreiber financially right now, we understand. There are ways to give that don’t cost anything. You can like us on Facebook, sign up for our email list or follow us on Twitter. You can raise your hand for one of the many volunteer opportunities we have available.

Schreiber’s work is so critical to so many children that we simply do not accept the possibility that this community would allow such a valuable community resource to be buried under its financial burden.

We have seen difficult times before, and each time we weathered them. With your help, we will weather this one, too.

Happy birthday, Ben McRee


Ben was born with an intellectual disability and developed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. His mom, Kathy Trippe-McRee, brought him to Schreiber for help with his speech and his fine and gross motor skills.

He started learning sign language when he was 3.

“The first thing he ever signed was ‘reindeer’,” Kathy said. “It was a reindeer at Stauffer’s (of Kissel Hill), around Christmas time. He pointed at it and signed. … It was clear he understood what we were saying, but that’s when we knew he’d be able to express himself.”

Within a couple of months, he was talking. And the joke now is he hasn’t stopped.

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Kathy said Ben spent about nine years coming here for therapy, then worked with learning support specialists from the Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit through middle school and into high school in the Manheim Township School District.

He’s come back to Schreiber for the past three years to improve his attention and some of his fine motor skills. Therapist Kristen Schreiber used the pretense of a final therapy day to get him back to the center one last time.

More than a dozen Schreiber staffers turned out for the birthday celebration and to grab some cake (chocolate chip cookie) and ice cream (vanilla). Ben was amazed at how many people signed his card. “Mom, look at this,” he said, showing her the back of the card packed with signatures.

He became a little emotional while the group serenaded him with “Happy Birthday,” briefly turning toward his mom and hiding his face.

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It’s an emotional time for Ben’s parents, too. He leaves high school in June with a future that will be different from the familiar environment of school. Kathy said they have a Person/Family Directed Support Waiver from the state that will provide money for job training at Goodwill and to attend United Disabilities Services’ adult enrichment program. Eventually, they hope to get him into his own supported apartment in a group home.

There’s a waiting list for the apartments, so for now he will stay at home. And Kathy will grin and bear those times when he doesn’t want to listen to Mom and Dad anymore.

Those moments of young-adult rebellion don’t define him, though. He’s too good a person. Always ready with a smile and a hello.

During the birthday gathering, Schreiber President and Friend of Ben James DeBord told a story from this past December. James and his youngest son Matthew went with Ben to Park City Center to do some holiday shopping.

“If you ever want to feel like the most popular guy in the room, hang out with Ben for awhile,” James said. “We couldn’t go anywhere in the mall without people yelling out, ‘Hey, Ben,’ ‘How’s it going, Ben.’ And not Schreiber people either.

“There are some people in life that just make you smile. Ben is one of those people.”