During the June 18 Catasauqua Communities That Care meeting, Lois Reed, Catasauqua Community Cares Program coordinator, gave an update on the summer feeding program. She noted they had recently done their first distribution and had a good turnout.

According to Reed, they have about 37 families up for the weekly distributions. She reported this encompasses more than 80 children.

They aim to include at least five breakfasts and lunches but were able to have seven for each in the first distribution. Reed said it was helpful to be able to use the leftover milk options from the school district and boxes of cereal from the district dress-down days.

While they get food from donations and Feed the Children, Reed noted they have not received food from Second Harvest Food Bank since April. It was reported C3P would love to receive donations of fresh produce to share with the families.

Amy Dymond-Jones, CTC coordinator and Catasauqua Middle School counselor, asked for feedback about the group’s goal to update its member list. It was discussed the first step should be a simple email to the current member list asking if they would like to continue being a part of the coalition. From there, the group can identify other areas they think should be represented around the table and begin an outreach effort.

It was also noted the coalition’s brochure needs updating, so preliminary notes and changes are being identified.

At the May meeting, it was suggested having a multilingual representative to help support families in the district. It was noted there are more than 100 English language learners in the district. Wendy Texter, from Center for Humanistic Change, shared a list of possible resources. CTC members discussed and identified a few organizations to reach out to for support in this area.

Coalition members expressed their excitement with the addition of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lehigh Valley mentoring program in the district for the upcoming academic year. High school students will partner with middle school students to help offer support and mentoring. It was noted the recruiting process and training for Bigs will start in August and are expected to match with their Littles in January. They are aiming for 10 matches for this first year.

Extra thanks were given to Holy Trinity Memorial Lutheran Church Pastor Brian Riedy and the Catasauqua churches for funding the BBBS program. The program includes a coordinator to help take the strain off the school district.

Dymond-Jones reported a handful of district employees and Riedy recently attended a restorative practices training. It was noted it can be hard to start implementing some of the practices in the classrooms, particularly for the older grades, but it is beneficial for the students in the long run as a way to help care for them and help them grow.

Restorative practices are reportedly designed to help build a strong sense of community in schools, teach interpersonal skills and repair harm when conflict occurs. It focuses on improving and repairing relationships and social connections.

Leanne Debrosse, of Valley Youth House, said she runs a restorative justice group for middle school and high school students in probation. She noted she is seeing more of the kids already understanding the concepts.

It was reported someone from Penn State Extension asked to come out and do a check-in with the coalition. In the past, these check-ins have helped the group identify if additional support is needed in setting and achieving goals.

CTC members also discussed community events the group should have a presence at to better reach the community members.

The next Catasauqua CTC meeting is set for 7:45 a.m. July 23 in the administration board room, 201 N. 14th St.