In June 2023, Jennifer found herself unemployed from her General Manager position. She had to apply for Unemployment Compensation for the first time in 13 years. She was selected for the Re-Employment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) Program, a mandatory...
Spring started out with guessing whether the groundhog would see his shadow or not. We encouraged the children to vote on whether or not we were going to have six more weeks of winter and created a graph to display our data! Those who said we were going to have an...
The Private Industry Council of Westmoreland / Fayette Inc. (PIC) is celebrating 40 years of offering youth programs in Westmoreland/Fayette counties. To celebrate this milestone, PIC is welcoming all youth to their Youth Open House events to learn more about all PIC...
For the past two years, Head Start / Early Head Start have been participating in a Local March for Babies fundraising walk. Each year our donations to the March of Dimes have grown. This year, as in the past two years, we will meet at Hutchinson Park on Saturday,...
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Head Start / Early Head Start FAQs The Private Industry Council discusses frequently asked questions for Head Start and Early Head Start students. Private Industry Council operates the Head Start / Early Head Start program for Beaver and Fayette Counties in the...
On June 14th, 2023 Fayette Count Head Start /Early Head Start of Fayette County hosted our annual Wellness Day event for Staff. It was held at Hutchinson Park located on Hopwood-Fairchance Rd in Brownfield Pa. from 9:00-4pm. The park offers a lovely outdoor area with pavilions, walking trails, and a lake. We reserved two pavilions for the anticipated 130 people that were expected to attend. The day is meant for staff to learn ways to work on self-care and supportive mental health practices throughout the work year.
This year we had two knowledgeable speakers on the subject of Staff wellness. Our first speaker was Dr. Joann Jankoski, Professor at Penn State University Eberly Campus. She prepared a very motivational speech focusing mainly on good mental health practices and well-being. She focused on techniques to reduce stress in our daily lives. The staff really enjoyed the music provided by Dr. Jo, which was one of her favorite techniques for reducing stress. Our second speaker was Stephanie Miller, a local Wellness Consultant who was a former employee of PIC. Stephanie focused on physical and mental health and the importance of a balanced diet.
The Wellness committee worked all year to create a special and relaxing day for staff, where they had time to socialize with colleagues they knew and opportunities to meet new staff. The theme of the day was “The Wellness Wheel”. The T-shirts sold for the day had a wheel of emoji on the front. Activities included game show “Family Feud” game, a “Wheel of Fortune” prize wheel, carnival games and a variety of lawn games and challenges. Staff were able to browse and pick activities that they would enjoy. Staff relaxed in their camping chairs and enjoyed the presentations and the music under the pavilion and in the lawn. We had several community representatives and small business owners sharing their wares and knowledge with staff. As a special treat this year we had live music by a local singer, Nick Polito. The staff joined in with the tambourine and sang some classic favorites and country hits. Nick was a bit hit!
As with last year, the Candy/Gram station was also a staff favorite. Staff were able to purchase boxes of candy for co-workers and add a personalized message to that person. Wellness committee members then delivered the candies to the staff. Each staff attending also received a goodie bag with surprise wellness items upon registration. The committee also secured donations of wonderful items from the community businesses and friends to use for an auction, which is how we ended our day.
We were fortunate to have some sunshine in between a few rain drops on the day of the event. Spirits were high and staff seemed to really relax and enjoy the outdoors. Everyone that attended received a wellness tote with various wellness related items, including a HS/EHS cookbook created by Wellness Committee member with recipes donated from the staff in our program. We had a BBQ style buffet with burgers, hotdog, salads and dessert that was a huge success. Staff learned valuable tips on self-care, nutrition and over-all wellness. The Wellness Committee worked diligently all year to ensure an enjoyable day for all.
We are already looking forward to starting the plans for next year’s event!
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