Special events
35th Annual Rubber Duckie Race & Festival Highlights
September 14, 2023Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate our 35th Annual Rubber Duckie Race & Festival on September 10, 2023. It is because of the generosity of our sponsors, duckie adopters, and donors that this event raised more than $130,000!!
We are overwhelmed by the support our community shows us every year through monetary gifts and volunteering. You may not know this but, for every hour of therapy that a child receives at Schreiber we lose about $74. You see, we are one of the only pediatric therapy centers in Central Pennsylvania that takes Medicaid as a form of payment. We do that so that every child, regardless of their family’s ability to pay, has the opportunity to receive the care and services that they require to live their lives to the fullest.
What you might not know is that Medicaid provides the lowest reimbursement amount of any insurances. With 95% of our kiddos on Medicaid (regardless of their family’s financial status) that means that we run at a deficit of about $2 Million per year that we must make up for with fundraising and grants.
Not only did this year’s event raise a record amount of funds for our center, but we also had over 150 people volunteer their time and talents to help us run the festival. Local companies like Citadel Credit Union, Member’s First Federal Credit Union, Murray Insurance, and Re-Bath of Lancaster had company employees volunteer their time running different games and arts & craft stations throughout the festival. We also had students from Hempfield, Manheim Township, and Warwick School Districts sign up to volunteer with us, as well as many incredible community individuals who helped with set up, tear down, duckie & ticket sales, games, and everything in between. To everyone who volunteered with us at this event we thank you!
Speaking of setting up and tearing down, our vendors deserve a huge thank you too, especially Shumaker PDT who came to our center to pick up all the materials we needed to run this event and not only delivered it to the park for us on Sunday, but also handled set up and tear down of the larger aspects of the event with the help of Utility Vehicles provided by Messick’s. Of course, we can’t forget about Good’s Disposal generously providing the dumpsters for post event clean up and disposal!
We cannot thank the Lancaster County Department of Parks & Recreation and Lancaster Bureaus of Fire & Police enough for donating their time to the 35th Annual Rubber Duckie Race & Festival. Their presence at the event was instrumental in making sure that the event was safe for everyone!
A special thank you to all our food truck vendors who came out in record numbers to serve our guests some delicious savory and sweet treats! Food truck alley was the talk of the event and the consensus among event goers was that they loved the variety and having so many different options to choose from. When it comes to kids, you know options are always important! Thank you to Au-Sam’s Trolly Stop, Brickers, Cupcakes by Casey, Farm Show Milkshakes, Italian Job Food Truck, Kona Ice, Nacho Depot, On the Grind Coffee, Philadelphia Hoagie Co. On the Roll, Scoops Ice Cream & Grill, Stoney’s Burgers and Fries, and Tri-County Barbecue Catering!
Of course, our sponsors also deserve our thanks and gratitude not only for their monetary donations towards this event but also for helping to get the word out so that more families could come and enjoy the fun and festivities with us! 2023 Ambassador Harper become quite the TV star appearing in a commercial underwritten by presenting sponsor Lancaster Toyota. As a result of our 20 year partnership with Re-Bath of Lancaster Harper was also highlighted on Good Day PA both to promote our event to local families and friends of Schreiber.
We hope that all the Schreiber families and community members who came out to the event had a blast playing games, dancing to music provided by DJ Matt Haines, making arts & crafts, meeting Miss Pennsylvania Miranda Moore, getting their very own balloon animal from The Balunguy, and learning a little more about what we do here at Schreiber. We love meeting new people and telling them all about our mission and our goals, but what we love even more is showing our community just how amazing our Schreiber clients really are. We think that the Duckie Race & Festival is a great way to bring everyone together in a fun way to do just that!
If you stayed for our rubber duckie race this year you already know that the dropping of the duckies was almost rained out, but we decided to brave the weather for our most anticipated moment of the day. We were very lucky that the rain held off as long as it did so that we didn’t have to worry about the water levels in the river risking the safety of our duckie catching volunteers, and that the lightning stayed away.
Walker Sales & Distribution once again provided us with the perfect duck box, and JC Snavely & Sons came in clutch with the crane, so that our 2023 Ambassadors Harper and Katelyn could pull the rope and release the rubber duckies into the Conestoga River from the Strawberry Street bridge to start their race. Our friends over at the Conestoga River Club, Chris Fletcher, and Isaac’s Restaurant were fantastic at catching all the finish line duckies and making sure that any escaped duckies were quickly found and caught.
Overall, we think that this year’s Rubber Duckie Race & Festival was a whirlwind of family fun and excitement with a whole lot of delicious foods thrown in for good measure, and we hope that everyone who came out and participated in the event in any capacity feels the same.
Thank you again to everyone for helping make this year’s event one to remember. If you share any pictures or memories from the event please tag us so that we can enjoy them too. If you would like to share any pictures or memories with us directly please feel free to email our marketing manager, Alexandra Cahill, at acahill@schreiberpediatric.org. We can’t wait to see you all again next year!
As a nationally recognized pediatric facility, the Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development provides family-centered education and therapy programs for infants, children and adolescents with disabilities, developmental delays, and acquired injuries. Our goal-oriented approach maximizes each child’s ability to function independently within the community.
Harold Gainer and Bob Race: A memorable team at Schreiber Softball
May 27, 2021
Harold Gainer and Bob Race were a couple of retired cops with a soft spot for kids.
And, boy, did that soft spot make a difference in the lives of Schreiber kids.
Harold and Bob were two of the most dedicated volunteers for Schreiber’s Softball Weekend. The event returns June 4-6 for its 39th year, and it will be first since the two old friends passed away in September of 2020.
In their honor, the tournament portion of Softball Weekend has been renamed the Gainer-Race Memorial Tournament.
Denise Race, Bob’s widow, said he would be humbled.
“He’d say, ‘I don’t deserve this,” Denise said. “But I think he does. He did such a wonderful job for so many years. He and Harold both.”
Their work on Softball Weekend goes back a long way, to 1982. Harold started first. He was a young officer with the East Hempfield Police Department and the Financial Secretary with the Red Rose Lodge #16, Fraternal Order of Police.
“The lodge wanted to get involved in the community, and we chose Easter Seals (as Schreiber was formerly known) because it was the adopted charity of the (national) FOP,” Harold recalled in a 2015 interview. “We got together and kicked around ideas such as the festivals and dunk tanks and came up with the softball marathon idea. That first year we hoped to raise $5,000, but we ended up raising $17,500 — and we didn’t know what we were doing!”
Bob came on board a few years later. Both of them stayed all in until 2019, when health issues started taking their toll.
Thanks to their leadership and the continued involvement of the FOP, the event has raised around $2 million for Schreiber. It is the longest-running fundraising event that Schreiber does.
“Chiefy loved children,” Denise Race said, calling her late husband by her nickname for him. He was a retired chief from Pequea Township Police Department. “He would do anything for any child.”
That’s something the two men had in common.
“He loved reaching out to kids,” said Harold’s widow, Bobbie Gainer. “I think if I had to list his top three qualities, I’d say: caring, compassion and commitment. Harold had all three of those qualities wrapped up in a special place in his heart for Schreiber.”
Both men would look forward to softball, always the first weekend of June. They would be all in for the whole weekend, sleeping in cars and staying at the Stauffer Park and later Lancaster County Park or Froelich Park for 48 hours straight.
“He loved being part of it,” Bobbie said. “He loved the teams, being with the people. He loved seeing the kids there, too. He was proud of the FOP and the job they were doing.”
Bobbie and Denise and their families will be present at Froelich Park this year to help mark the start of another Softball Weekend and to remember the two men who played such an important part of it for so long.
“I can just imagine seeing Harold and Chiefy up in heaven having one heck of a good time,” Denise said.
Schreiber volunteer all about the Duckies
July 24, 2019
Melissa’s connection to Schreiber goes back to the beginning of the Lititz Chocolate Walk.
Chocolate Walk started in 2001 as a project of the Kiwanis Club of the Lititz Area. Melissa was a member then (and still is today). One of the Lititz club’s founders was Ralph Sherrif, who also happened to be a Schreiber board member.
“When we did the first one, we were talking about where the money we raised was going to go,” Melissa said. “It was because of Ralph that we decided Schreiber would be one of the places we supported.”
Her connection to Schreiber grew through her work as a math teacher at Manheim Township High School. She was also a Key Club advisor, making students aware of community service opportunities.
“I would always mention Schreiber,” she said. “I’d tell them: ‘They are helping kids that really need help.'”
She retired from teaching in 2009, and initially she spent many days caring for her ailing father. After he passed in 2013, she had more time for volunteering. Her thoughts turned to Schreiber.
“I came in to drop something off for Chocolate Walk, and I took a little tour,” said. “I saw one of those classrooms… I knew I wanted to be more involved.”
That same year, she signed up to sell tickets for the Rubber Duckie Race. Dozens of people sell tickets for us every year. These Duck Patrol sales people are a critical part of our selling. Melissa takes it to another level.
She will sell Duckies to friends and neighbors. She will sell them at Kiwanis meetings and some of the other volunteer groups she’s involved with. She takes them to church. Last year, her minister was reluctant to buy one. Melissa wouldn’t take no for an answer. He ended up with the Noah Duck — as in Noah’s Ark — that was part of our Animal Kingdom theme.
She has the no-nonsense air of a teacher, but she’s all heart when it comes to Schreiber. She signs out hundreds of ducks each year to sell, and she rarely brings any back unsold.
“I love talking to people about what you do here,” she says. “Who can say no to spending $5 to help kids? And the ducks are just a fun way to do it.”
Want to join the fun?
Selling Duckies for Schreiber is fun — and easy. Just download one of the Sales Patrol applications, fill it out and bring it in, and you can sign out some Duckies to sell. Take 10 or take 100; any number helps and is appreciated. And you will be making a difference for all the children of Schreiber.
Thanks to two longtime Schreiber volunteers
April 8, 2019Around Schreiber, we have a shorthand for talking about Tina Edgell and Patty Watson.
Tina and Patty. Or sometimes Patty and Tina. It may as well be PattyTina.
For most of the past 20 years, Tina and Patty have been reliable Schreiber volunteers. It’s not a stretch to say they are among the most dedicated of all of our amazing volunteers, and that’s saying something.
We wanted to take the time this week, during National Volunteer Week, to tell the Schreiber community about their support of Schreiber.
So it turns out their involvement started with the old Schreiber Buck-A-Cup campaign. (By the way, we’re bringing that back this year, right now, and you can learn more about how to participate here.
Tina was the first sister to connect with Schreiber. She and her family owned then (and still do now) the Histsoric Revere Tavern restaurant.
“I was president of the Lancas County chapter of the Pennsylvannia Restaurant Association,” Tina said. “We used to be really involved in the Buck-A-Cup campaign. I chaired that event for a few years. I would help get all the Lancaster restaurants involved and put the materials together and everything. And we did BINGO (fundraisers) here for many years.
“There was a man named Wilmer Lapp. He was the one with the restaurant association who told me how important Schreiber was and what we had to do. He was the one who instillied my passion for Schreiber.”
After leading Buck-A-Cup in the 1980s, she started volunteering at the Gala and then at Duckie. In 1998, after Patty and her husband moved back to Lancaster, Tina recruited her sister into the Schreiber family.
“At that time, Tina was volunteering for the Duckie Race,” Patty said. “She said, ‘You want to come with us?'” And that’s where it all began for me.”
At Gala, they have registered guests together for at least the past 10 years. At Duckie, you can find them running the information tent on the day of the race, overseeing ticket and merchandise sales, working with Schreiber staff and just making sure things run smoothly.
“The Duckie Race is my all-time favorite,” Tina said. “Because we see so many of the (Schreiber) kids coming in that day. It truly is a kid event.”
That’s what keeps Patty coming back, too.
“The kids,” she said. “They’re so awesome. You see the smile on their faces. And you see kids come back year after year. Like Carly Long. To see her grow up through the years, and to see how much she benefitted from Schreiber’s services, is just amazing.”
The Schreiber spirit soon seeped into the next generation. Children in both of their families became volunteers. And Patty’s daughter Erica switched her college major from accounting to speech therapy because of Erica’s time volunteering and working as a counselor at Camp Schreiber.
Schreiber can get in your blood. It’s not something either one of the sisters want to give up anytime soon.
It’s so rewarding,” Patty said. “I’m going to keep doing it until I’m in a walker and can’t make it anymore.”
“You’re stuck with us,” Tina said.
Around Schreiber, we wouldn’t want it any other way.
Five reasons to come to Schreiberpalooza
August 24, 2017Reason No. 1: The kids
Yes, Schreiberpalooza is a big party. The bands are great, there’s lots of adult beverages and tasty food. But it’s important to remember the reason we do the event to begin with: the Schreiber kids.
We serve more than 3,000 children a year at Schreiber, through our therapy programs, our preschool and daycare and our recreation programs. We help kids take their first steps, say their first words or hold their parents’ hands for the first time.
We see kids who need a little bit of help with speech or handwriting. And we see kids who need a lot of help with learning to walk or dressing themselves.
And we can’t do any of it without community support, through events like Schreiberpalooza. Because pediatric therapy reimburses so poorly, we have to raise more than $1 million a year to cover all of our costs. Palooza is an important part of our fundraising, and we want to see a big crowd at Clair Brothers in Manheim Saturday night.
Every ticket we sell counts. Every dollar counts. Please pick up your Palooza tickets today.
To order tickets online, go here.
For details on the event, go here.
See you Saturday!
Reason No. 2: The bands
We’re fortunate to have the support of some amazing local musicians. There are some familiar names in this year’s lineup.
The Mama Tried Band: One of Lancaster County’s most popular dance bands, thanks to a big sound supporting Dorden Bivings’ dynamic voice.
Good2Go: Powerhouse danceable rock, led by former Schreiber board members Jim Darby and Scott Bacon.
3rd Power Family Soul: With Diane Yates belting out the lead vocals and a tight R&B outfit behind her, they impressed in their Palooza debut last year.
MOE Blues: Down and dirty Chicago-style blues built around Albie von Schaaf’s gritty guitar and Kevin Gannon’s howling harmonica.
Don’t forget: Pick up your printed Palooza tickets here at the Center, or order tickets online. Advance tickets are $20. And if you’re into the super high-end audio gear that Clair Brothers is known for, check out the VIP Backstage Package.
Don’t forget, part 2: We will have 600 chairs, so you can leave the lawn chair at home this year.
Reason No. 3: Thank the generous businesses that supported us
Sponsors form the foundation for much of the success we have with our fundraising events, and Schreiberpalooza is no exception.
We are grateful for the support of Palooza’s Rock and Roll Sponsor, Pinnacle Health’s Lebanon Valley Advanced Care Center. We also want to recognize our Roadie Sponsors: M&T Bank, Versatek and McNees Wallace & Nurick; and our Groupie Sponsors: Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, EHD Advisory and Brereton Manor.
And we wouldn’t be able to do Palooza without several generous partners who donated or deeply discounted their services, including Clair Brothers, Lancaster Dispensing Co., Traveling Tap, Troeg’s Brewing Co., Hess Tent Rental, Mojo Barriers and Federal Taphouse.
We also want to thank several generous individual supporters who donated time, treasure or both to the cause: Dave and Amanda Campbell, Todd Frick and Vance Antonacci.
Reason No. 4: Enjoy great food from DipCo
Every year, the food at Palooza is one of the best things about the Schreiberpalooza. Lancaster Dispensing Co. caters the event, and they donate 100 percent of the food sales from the night to Schreiber. Sure, come for the music and helping the kids, but while you’re there enjoy some of the tasty treats that Judy Ross and her crew serve up. This year’s menu will include beef brisket, chili and macaroni and cheese. Judy is also a dedicated member of the Schreiberpalooza planning group. She plays a big role in making sure the logistics work well, and she works with her vendors to make sure we have donated wine for the night. Thanks, Judy and DipCo!
Reason No. 5: Hear awesome music in Clair’s amazing space
Clair Brothers is part of a music and entertainment enterprise that is known around the world for providing the best quality live music production. As it did last year, the company will provide its demonstration space in Manheim and some of the finest audio professionals in the world to make the bands at Schreiberpalooza sound extra good.
If you like great live music, this is the place to hear it and see it.
Visit our Palooza page here to learn more.
Meet the 2016 Ambassadors: Sophia Panzini
March 4, 2016Sophia Panzini
Age: born 3/21/97 (18, turning 19 in March)
Diagnosis: Autism spectrum disorder
Parents: Reenie and Peter Panzini, Manheim Township
Siblings: Edward, 20; Carina, 10
Favorite activities: Listening to music, adult coloring books, playing games on the Wii, collecting jewelry
What she watches and listens to: The Food Network, “Spider Man” movie, Destiny’s Child
Favorite food: “Mac and cheese – gluten-free, please!”
When she grows up she want to: “Be a Hollywood singer.”
Three words to describe her: Beautiful, sweet and funny
What else to know about Sophia: She attends Schreiber’s Club 625 events, making friends and being a teenager.
Like a lot of kids with autism, Sophia Panzini is reluctant to look people in the eye when she talks to them. But when she’s posing for a picture, she loves the camera — and the camera loves her.
Here’s her story, in the words of her mom Reenie.
“Sophia was diagnosed with autism when she was 8, and we had just moved to Lancaster from New York City. Her pediatrician told us about Schreiber, and we practically ran there! We didn’t know anything about therapy or autism, and we were literally walked slowly through everything step by step. Sophia learned to have conversations, hold writing instruments, walk up and down stairs without crying, and so much more. We (as a family) learned that we’re stronger than we thought, and that you can get through anything with enough love and a lot of humor.”
Meet the 2016 Ambassadors: Ty McCabe
March 2, 2016Tiberius “Ty” McCabe
Age: He turned 6 in December
Diagnoses: Pierre Robin Syndrome, Pterygium Syndrome, hearing impaired, speech and language impaired
Grade and school: Schreiber S.T.A.R.S. Preschool
Parents: Kevin and Margaret McCabe, Lititz
Siblings: Delaney, 12
Favorite activities: Playing with Delaney; playing with trains, tractors and monster truck toys; playing ABC Mouse and tabletop games with the nurses; video games
Favorite food: Pudding
What he watches and listens to: On TV, he likes “Magic School Bus,” Mr. Rogers, and SpongeBob; for movies, he likes the “Air Bud” series; favorite song is “The Wheels on the Bus”
When he grows up he wants to: Be a pilot or drive monster trucks
Three words to describe him: Outgoing, determined and happy
For the Ambassador photo shoot, Ty McCabe came prepared. He rocked the white hat and black bow tie. When it was his turn, he plopped down in the comfy chair and faced the camera, his whole demeanor saying: “I’m ready. Let’s do this.”
That’s Ty: spreading smiles and good vibes whenever he comes to Schreiber. Which, as it turns out, is a lot. He’s here for preschool, and he receives physical, speech and occupational therapy.
He was born with a couple of different conditions: Pierre Robin Syndrome, which left him with a smaller-than-normal lower jaw, issues with his tongue and feeding problems; Pterygium Syndrome, which carries several symptoms but primarily affects his joints and bones; and he has hearing, speech and language impairments.
During therapy and at home, he works on stair climbing, bike riding and dressing himself. He practices fine motor skills like writing, using scissors and feeding himself. He’s trying to improve his speech and his signing skills. Since he started at Schreiber, he has learned to walk without a walker, is able to form some words and is eating Stage II foods, the thicker, chunkier foods that replace purees.
“(He is preparing) for mainstream education at the highest functional level of independence,” his mom Margaret says. “We have seen academic improvement despite many hospitalizations, surgeries and medical appointments.”
Meet the 2016 Ambassadors: Graham Lodwick
March 1, 2016Graham Lodwick
Age: He turns 12 in August
Diagnosis: Deaf and childhood speech apraxia
Grade and school: Fifth grade, John Beck Elementary School
Parents: Wendy Williams and Karl Lodwick of South Lebanon Township, Lebanon County
Siblings: Graham has an older brother Reese, 14
Favorite activities: Playing with pets, playing video games, bowling and riding his bike
Favorite food: Pizza
What he watches and listens to: “Drake and Josh,” “Minions,” the song “The Best Day of My Life” by American Authors
When he grows up, he wants to: Be a car designer
Three words to describe him: Happy, silly and loving
Graham has been coming to Schreiber for speech therapy since he was 6. Dorlas Riley, Schreiber’s lead speech therapist, diagnosed Graham with speech apraxia. The condition is defined this way by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: Graham knows what he wants to say, but his brain has difficulty coordinating the muscle movements necessary to say those words. He’s also deaf and has a cochlear implant.
So in his twice-a-week therapy at Schreiber, he practices his speech sounds and works on listening to get the best use of his cochlear processor. He’s also working on talking in complete sentences. The work is paying off. When he started with Dorlas, he communicated entirely by signing.
“(Now), he can carrry on a conversation with someone who does not use sign langugage,” says his mom Wendy.
It takes a lot of effort to make that kind of progress. But his therapy with Dorlas doesn’t seem like work.
“He loves it,” Wendy says. “Even after six years, he still looks forward to coming.”
Meet the 2016 Ambassadors: Sophia Clay
February 29, 2016Sophia Clay
Age: She turns 5 on March 28
Diagnosis: Cerebral palsy
Parents: Kelly and Adam Clay of Manheim Township
Siblings: None
Favorite activities: Playing with her toys, going to the beach, watching movies on her iPad, riding her bike around the neighborhood and seeing plays at local theaters.
Favorite foods: Pizza and ice cream
What she watches and listens to: Disney movies, “Doc McStuffins,” “Sofia the First,” princess movies
Three words to describe her: Happy, outgoing and determined
What else to know about Sophia: She has a black lab named Dallas.
***
Sophia Clay and her mother, Kelly, attended a Schreiber board meeting late in 2015, and Sophia charmed the room with her smile and her spirit. Sophia’s cerebral palsy means she uses a wheel chair for a lot of her day. Her therapy at Schreiber is intended to help her be out of the chair more. “She’s working to become stronger in all areas of her life,” Kelly says. “She practices with a gait trainer so she can stand on her own. She works on sitting up without assistance. She practices her fine motor skill, her articulation and eating on her own.”
It’s the articulation — how clearly she speaks — where Sophia has shown the biggest progress, her mom says.
“Sophia’s language has come a long way,” Kelly says. “When she started, she could only say a few things. Now, she can say 10-word sentences.”
And that’s just the beginning. With her determination, she will be ready to make speeches in her class when she starts school.
Jim Eberle’s soft spot for Schreiber
November 3, 2015Jim went into the Navy after high school. Not many other options, he says now. He left the Navy in 1990 and started working in business. He joined MXL Industries, a Lancaster County-based plastics manufacturer, as president in 2004, and four years later he was part of the management-led buyout of the company from its former parent company, National Patent Development Corp.
In 2010, he pulled back on the day-to-day work at MXL to become president of GSE Systems, a Maryland-based training and engineering solutions company. He left GSE this summer and will be going back to his role at MXL in February.
All of that is a long way of saying: He’s a turnaround guy, a project manager who can look at a process and find a way to make it better.
His first brush with Schreiber came through a business acquaintance. Steve Staman, a bank vice president at what was then Union National Community Bank, invited Jim to the 2007 Schreiber Gala at Riverdale Manor. Union National was a sponsor.
“I didn’t know anything about Schreiber,” Jim says. “But when they introduced the Ambassador children, I was openly weeping. I have four kids, and they’ve never needed anything like what Schreiber offers. But I was so touched by what you all do, it was easy say, ‘How can I help?'”
He and MXL quickly became strong supporters of Schreiber. The next year, he donated one game from his Eagles season tickets to the Gala auction. Then he joined the board, chairing the Fund Development Committee. Then he took over what had been a previous Schreiber fundraiser, the Wilmer S. Lapp Memorial Golf Tournament.
Jim moved it to Bent Creek Country Club and rebranded it as the Schreiber Golf Classic in 2011. He was a ubitquitous presence that day, buzzing around the course in a cart to make sure all the golfers had a good time, or cajoling bidders during the evening dinner auction. This year’s fifth annual Classic attracted a record number of golfers (122) and raised more than $40,000 for Schreiber. He sees the potential for more. And that’s when the tough Philly guy gets emotional again.
“I do this for the kids, I do this for the families, I do this for the therapists,” he says. “Whatever you guys need, if I can make it happen, I will.”