Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Summer 2017 - 16

Tania Pinero-Colamarino, AMA Photography

feature continued

Reading School District held its first Dude. Be Nice Week in
February, thanks to a sponsorship from RHS alumnus John
Weidenhammer, President of Weidenhammer. All of the district's
19 schools celebrated kindness in various ways and then recognized
an unsung hero in their school community.
Dr. Khalid N. Mumin agrees. Since starting his position as
superintendent three years ago, he and his administrative team
have made it a priority to connect with the business community
and thank those who contribute to Reading School District. For
example, Mumin cites 10th and Green Elementary which hosts
its annual Friends of 10th and Green Dinner to celebrate those
who contributed to the school, students, or its many programs.
In addition, the district hosts Recognition Receptions three times
each school year. As a part of those events, businesses and non-profit
organizations are publicly recognized as valued community partners.
Recent honorees have included Visions Federal Credit Union, Dr.
Solomon Lausch of Berks Business Education Coalition, and John
Weidenhammer, owner of Weidenhammer.

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16 COMMERCE QUARTERLY SUMMER 2017

"Over the past three years, Reading School District has seen
tremendous involvement and support from local businesses - from
providing monetary support to providing insight and academic
experiences for students. In addition, businesses have helped our
students with college and career readiness, as well as helped them
secure employment in the City of Reading and Berks County," says
Mumin, who recently became a board member with the Greater
Reading Chamber of Commerce & Industry. "There is a direct nexus
between the positive attributes of having positive relationships with
businesses and schools that impact growth in the local workforce
and economy."
This is especially evident, he says, during the career preparedness
and workforce development events the Greater Reading Chamber
of Commerce & Industry holds at Reading High School. In the fall,
business leaders offer students real-world career advice, including
how to write a resume and how to answer interview questions. In
the spring, the Chamber returns and hosts a career fair with Berksbased businesses and institutes of higher education to highlight
career paths and local employment opportunities. This year,
participating companies offered a number of graduating seniors fulltime positons. "Local businesses have been making the commitment
to recruit, hire and retain RHS graduates as employees in the local
workforce," Mumin says. "That level of support and engagement is
important because it benefits the district, our students, businesses
and the entire community. It's vital, and it directly impacts the local
economy."
Additional educational opportunities have also fostered support,
including internship programs at Reading Health System, Penn
State Health-St. Joseph and Visions Federal Credit Union, which,
this school year, also opened an in-school branch at Reading High
School. "Our in-school branch and internship programs provide us
immediate part-time staff and summer help during peak seasons
when we have a need for a temporary workforce," says Timothy R.
Strong, Business Development Manager at Visions Federal Credit
Union. "It also helps us identify future employee prospects. We
hope that sharing our immediate and future hiring needs with the
school results in programs where those skills are taught, ultimately
resulting in more qualified candidates joining the workforce."

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Summer 2017