WHO WE ARE

In 2015, two friends sat together and dreamed of how to operationalize the goals of our local CTC. That led to an action team to create a non-profit to provide easily accessible, safe, and supervised activities for kids based in a fun and easy-going atmosphere. In 2016 we made it happen and opened our doors in October of 2017 through the generous support of this community and beyond. The REC is a 501(c)3 non-profit intergenerational community center focused on the health and wellness of all.

WHAT WE PROVIDE TO THE COMMUNITY

Free Drop-In Socialization and Homework Help in the ‘REC’ room or ‘library’
Mentoring Programs
Summer Camps
Music/Art/STEM Classes and Clubs
REC Leadership Program
Teen Business Innovation Zone – Kids Café and Musical Productions
Health and Wellness Classes (for all ages)

Membership to the REC gives one access to all of the above, or families and youth can pick what they need. Scholarships will be provided for many programs with a fee. Many programs have no cost at all!

The Regional Engagement Center is the place for kids to go after school, where inter-generational programs ignite the human spirit, and the community comes together to maximize existing resources, and to create new opportunities and connections.

OUR VISION

Creatively, compassionately, and collectively striving to make eastern Snyder County and its surrounding community, an even better place to live, learn, and serve!

OUR MISSION

Inspiring ideas, enriching lives, and engaging all generations in educational, recreational, and charitable activities.

THE NEED

The 2011 Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS) data indicated that Snyder County youth felt their community is 'disorganized'; they didn't know where to go or what to do, especially after school. Our youth ranked higher than the state average in both access to and the use of drugs or alcohol, as well as having participated in or thinking that antisocial behavior is okay. Snyder County youth ranked higher than the state average in both access to and the use of drugs or alcohol, as well as having participated in or thinking that antisocial behavior is okay. The kids needed a place to go.

In 2021 the PAYS data showed 40% of Snyder County youth feel sad or depressed most days, 18% have considered suicide, and 11% have made one or more attempts to die by suicide. The kids need a place to be safe and receive mental health resources and support.

Mental health services are difficult to access. We have a severe lack of clinicians here in the Valley to help address the more than one-third of adults aged 65 and older that report feeling socially isolated. Isolation at all ages is costly. Social isolation adds about $6.7 billion annually to the costs of Medicare. The trickle down impacts are added costs for state and local governments.

The REC provides a hub of information, opportunities, and resources for all ages to improve lives through connections, activities, and social engagement!

THE IMPACT

Investing in programs that engage children and students makes sense, saves dollars, improves lives and helps build the quality-of-life in a community. Since the opening of the Selinsgrove Regional Engagement Center (REC), yearly average juvenile arrests have declined by two-thirds, according to Selinsgrove police records.

The records indicate that the average annual juvenile arrests from 2013 to 2017 were 32. The REC began its Teen Leadership Council at Susquehanna University in 2016 and the REC opened its doors in 2017.

The average annual juvenile arrests from 2018 to 2023 (year to date) declined to 10. That excludes the COVID-19 year 2020 when the REC doors were closed much of the year.

SUPPORT THE REC. CHANGE LIVES.