Our Mission in Action

Our Future Has Never Looked Brighter

 

There is a wonderful quote by famed American poet Nikki Giovanni that says, “Now everything I do, I do because I want to. And I think the best is yet to come.” Ms. Giovanni’s powerful statement is a perfect summarization of how I feel about Penn-Mar Human Services’ focus and future outlook. And while I consider every year Penn-Mar is operating to be worth celebrating, the accomplishments of the previous year make it one of the most significant in Penn-Mar’s 43-year history.

But before I discuss what’s next, I must thank the incredible people who make Penn-Mar such a transformative organization. Our consistent success demands time, energy, and unwavering commitment. This would never be possible without our dedicated team members, many of whom operate behind the scenes. These professionals invest a significant portion of their lives to enhance the quality of life for others. This is the essence of our community – intertwining lives to uplift everyone, creating a space that is not just functional but truly exceptional.

I’d also like to acknowledge the loss of two very close friends and champions of Penn-Mar’s mission: Jon and Tim Kinsley, who passed away in January 2023. Jon was an executive at the York-based Kinsley Enterprises, the parent company of Kinsley Construction and Kinsley Properties, of which Tim was the president.  Jon joined our Board of Directors in 2008 and served in a variety of leadership positions. Though he was presented with an unlimited amount of board opportunities in our community, Jon chose to stick with us for over 15 years. He and Tim were incredible ambassadors for Penn-Mar and dear friends who will be forever missed. In Jon’s honor, we are renaming our Impact Award, given out to a deserving individual each year at our Gala, the Jonathan R. Kinsley Impact Award. A fitting tribute to someone who gave so much to help others.

Reflecting on Penn-Mar’s accomplishments in the past year, the most significant was the successful completion of our $7.5 million Building Bold Futures (BBF) campaign, which officially concluded during our annual Gala (more about that in a moment) in March. In fact, we not only reached the goal but eclipsed it, securing $7.6 million! Ambitious from the start, BBF was only possible because of our supporters. The funds are already being put to great use, but more importantly, BBF allows us to take on exciting new opportunities to Live Courageously.

It’s fitting that the Gala was the scene where BBF wrapped, as it is the night we set aside each year to celebrate our supporters and successes. As if the campaign’s completion wasn’t exciting enough, the Gala itself raised $1 million for the first time in its 32-year history. It was truly humbling to see such an outpouring of spontaneous altruism and unprecedented generosity.

2023 also saw the acceleration of our Belonging Initiative, an internal exploration of our team culture, which has helped us identify ways we can make the Penn-Mar employee experience even better. In a blog post from October 2023, I highlighted some key areas based on team feedback. These insights have been vital to our organization as we remain focused on recruitment, retention, and delivering the highest quality services.

Much of that retention and recruitment success will be a result of our continued commitment to increased wages for our invaluable Direct Support Professionals (DSPs). As you well know, our DSPs are the lifeblood of what we do. Financed in part by our BBF fundraising, Penn-Mar’s Board dedicated $3 million toward wage increases for our DSPs in 2023. Together with our Career Ladders program for professional DSP advancement, we have taken substantial steps to further invest in this critical workforce.

It’s important to share how each of these achievements came to fruition. As with every Penn-Mar endeavor, our goals are a direct a result of constantly asking: “How can we do more?” We wanted to secure a future where we can focus squarely on innovation and positive mission growth. Or, as I like to think of it, a future where we navigate a higher quality of problems. For instance, worrying about putting food on the table is a very different concern than having to decide between lobster or steak. Your generosity during our BBF campaign, as well as some very smart business decisions made by our boards and team, have allowed us to make immense strides in securing this future.

Indeed, Penn-Mar’s challenges have elevated significantly. While wise financial decisions will always be part of our strategy, we are able to approach supports in more creative and person-centered ways than ever before, helping people with IDD find jobs they love, live more independently, pursue personal goals and dreams, and develop an increasingly inclusive community.

By tackling complex questions about how we can do more, we open the door to possibility and a strengthened focus of Penn-Mar’s mission. Is it hard work? Absolutely. But because of your support, I not only love what I do, but couldn’t be more excited about what’s to come.

Thank you,


Greg Miller, CEO

Penn-Mar Human Services

Our Impact in FY23

398

People with disabilities directly supported by Penn-Mar
(not including those receiving respite services, those supported through the school system, or those supported through short-term OVR funding)

Maryland – 215
Pennsylvania – 183

58

Homes operated by Penn-Mar

Maryland – 31
Pennsylvania – 25
Respite – 2

101

Direct Support Professionals
participated in our Career Ladders Program

Plus 54 graduates who were DSP-3 certified
Of those certified, percent retained – 90%

531

Team Members
receiving 4,935 Person-Centered and 660 Leadership training hours (which goes above-and-beyond job and regulatory trainings)

Over $1 Million

Raised at Our 2023 Gala
to support innovative services for people with disabilities

57

People with disabilities employed at 54 area businesses
(plus 36 students supported in summer job and career exploration opportunities)

1,314

People with disabilities were supported through
Low Intensity Support Services

11

States where Penn-Mar Consulting provided services
Plus, since launch: 242 ACRE Customized Employment Training certificates awarded to staff at 91 organizations, and 57 organizations served via other Consulting supports

86,000

Website Visitors
who accessed resources, connected to services, kept up with organizational news, or applied to join our team

Sheetz & Penn-Mar’s Partnership for Customized Employment Success Continued

Three and a half years ago, Sheetz, the family-owned convenience store chain, launched its Store Team Helper pilot program, a Customized Employment initiative that is giving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) an opportunity to gain meaningful work with the company. Penn-Mar Human Services has been part of the program from the start.

In July of 2021, Brian Honeychuck was the first Store Team Helper to be hired through Penn-Mar. Two years later, Brian continues to thrive in his part-time job at Sheetz’s Queen Street location in York and has become a valuable member of the team.

“Brian has gained so much and grown so much in these past two years,” said Sheetz General Manager Lisa Reichow, who hired Brian, and is a firm advocate of the Store Team Helper program. “For me, as a manager, it’s always something that I love to see, whoever it is, to watch them grow, it just melts the heart.”

 

READ MORE

Penn-Mar’s Commitment to Team Culture Received National Recognition

Penn-Mar was named a 2023 Culture Innovator in the Kudos Best Culture Awards. Kudos is an employee engagement, culture, and analytics platform that harnesses the power of peer-to-peer recognition, values reinforcement, and open communication to help organizations boost employee engagement, reduce turnover, improve culture, and drive productivity and performance.

“This award is a testament to Penn-Mar’s vow to create an exceptional workplace culture and foster a thriving environment for our employees,” said Paul Schiavone, Chief Human Resources Officer. “It truly reflects our dedication to employee well-being, engagement, and culture. We strive for inclusion and belonging for the people we support, but that dedication also extends to our team members, and we will never stop looking for ways to Live Courageously throughout all facets of our organization.”

Our dedication to culture is further strengthened by our Belonging Initiative, which began in 2022, and has provided team members an opportunity to share their individual work environment realities and challenges, be more connected to leadership, and for our organization to recognize any areas for improvement to help ensure that Penn-Mar’s culture continues to be dynamic and inclusive.

READ MORE…

Thanks to Facilities, Finances, and YOU, Penn-Mar Had a Historic Year

In the last fiscal year, thanks to several strategic financial decisions and the generosity of Penn-Mar donors, Penn-Mar’s Facilities Team had the resources to complete 100% of the defined capital projects for the first time in the 14 years that Will Cambley, Director of Capital Projects/Physical Assets, has been on the job. “This was possible because we had financial support as well as excellent planning, staffing, and day-to-day management. It was a great team effort,” Will shared.

One member of that team is Eric Williams, Facilities Supervisor. Eric’s team literally does everything to provide facilities solutions at the current 58 residential sites and three commercial buildings, working with a $500,000 annual program budget. That can include installing hot water heaters, flooring, and windows; rebuilding decks; patching holes; fixing doors; and handling basic repair and electrical work.

“Every person on my team has a huge heart,” said Eric. And that was on full display last August when they spent two weeks and countless overtime hours clearing up storm damage from a tornado affecting the safety of Penn-Mar residents and team members from Westminster to Stewartstown. “The guys did a fantastic job, sometimes working until one in the morning, to keep generators running, remove trees from rooftops and clear out debris blocking entrances to the homes.”

READ MORE…

We Raised Direct Support Professional Wages with a $3 Million Investment

As an organization whose mission is to provide the very best team members to support people with disabilities, you can imagine our ongoing frustration with our government’s inability to provide a living wage for our DSPs. We have had to rely on our Foundation’s fundraising efforts and your generosity to help bridge the gap and have invested heavily in the Career Ladders program to give our DSPs the chance to acquire professional credentials and increased compensation. But the wage issue continues to threaten our mission.

Thanks to your support of our highly successful “Building Bold Futures” fundraising campaign, and some very smart business decisions, including our foresight to be an early adopter of a beneficial new funding system from the State of Maryland, we were able to make a historic, $3 million annual investment dedicated to DSP wage increases.

This will not be a one-time increase; it is an ongoing commitment and investment in our workforce that will build a solid foundation for the future of our organization.

READ MORE…

Laying the Groundwork for a Future of Prosperity 

 

Since its humble beginnings in a church basement in 1981, Penn-Mar Human Services has always been a forward-thinking organization, never able to settle for what’s been done or dwelling too long on past accomplishments. And as we consider the extraordinary achievements of 2023, the Penn-Mar Foundation is in a tremendous position to charge ahead and tackle new opportunities for success and change.  

One of the biggest factors in this enthusiasm comes from the successful completion of our $7.5 million Building Bold Futures (BBF) campaign, which concluded at our Gala in March. The outpouring of support was awe-inspiring and because of this effort, Penn-Mar’s future is perhaps the most solid it’s ever been. Penn-Mar continues to approach problem-solving by focusing on action, strategy, and mission acceleration, rather than merely raising funds without a clear plan for how they’d be utilized. Ensuring that Penn-Mar can be a transformative organization for years to come, and our future leadership can continue to carve out new programs and services, required an intrepid approach. And as we dove into the solution, BBF was revealed as the clear path to take – regardless of how daunting it may have seemed at the time. But our commitment is unshakable, as is the generosity of the stakeholders who support Penn-Mar’s mission. 

Many of those stakeholders were on hand to celebrate BBF’s conclusion at our annual Gala, the single most important fundraiser of the year. And I am honored to share that for the first time in its 32 years of existence, we raised $1 million. A proud moment I will remember forever.  

That generosity continued right until the end of 2023 with our End-of-Year (EOY) campaign, which saw a remarkable 94% increase over the previous year’s EOY efforts, showcasing the strength of our benefactors’ loyalty to Penn-Mar.  

One of the most significant projects that came from the BBF funds was the completion of renovations for our Far Hills location in New Freedom, Pa. The improvements are part of a greater move to create inspirational work environments for our team and the people we serve.  A workforce that feels engaged, valued, and respected is key to delivering the highest levels of support, which is why our fealty to nurturing a positive and supportive work environment remains unwavering.  

And a key component of that employee support also comes from our Belonging Initiative, which has been funded by the Foundation. The Belonging Initiative brings a central focus on inclusivity and mutual understanding. As champions of inclusion for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, we recognize the importance of understanding and leveraging differences internally. This enterprise ensures that new and veteran employees fully grasp the essence of Penn-Mar’s allegiance to individual expression, empowerment, and appreciation.  

That appreciation of our employees continues with The Foundation’s ongoing funding of Penn-Mar’s Career Ladders program for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs). Though the industry average for DSP retention hovers around 50%, this past fiscal year Penn-Mar saw a 90% retention rate for DSPs who have graduated from the program – irrefutable proof of its value. Penn-Mar has relied heavily on the Career Ladders Program to give our DSPs the chance to acquire professional credentials and increased compensation. But the wage issue, which stems from inadequate government funding, continues to be a problem for the entire industry. This is why in 2023, Penn-Mar made a commitment to annual increases of $3 million for DSP wages, allowing us to attract and retain the best talent in the field. DSPs are the most important members of our team and are critical to our mission.  

Another method for furthering our mission to Live Courageously is through Penn-Mar’s concerted effort to utilize Assistive Technology (AT). The AT Lending Library at our Far Hills location is visited by dozens of individuals each week, all eager to use the items for everyday tasks many of us take for granted. Leveraging technology allows us to empower the people we support and our workforce, providing more independence and freedom. AT is a crucial component of our initiatives and enables us to offer assistance even when our team is not providing in-person support.  

As we move forward into 2024, we are filled with gratitude for the support Penn-Mar has received. We are excited about the opportunities ahead and the potential for real, transformative change. Together, we can continue to grow, do more, help more, and face the challenges that lie ahead. 

On behalf of everyone at Penn-Mar and the Penn-Mar Foundation, thank you for being an integral component of the Penn-Mar Human Services legacy.  

Thank you,
Kathy Rogers


Executive Director, Penn-Mar Foundation
Chief Advancement Officer, Penn-Mar Human Services

Leadership

Gregory Miller
President & Chief Executive Officer

 

Michael Mahon
Chief Financial Officer

 

Kathy Rogers
Chief Advancement Officer,
Penn-Mar Human Services &
Executive Director,
Penn-Mar Foundation

Paul Schiavone
Chief Human Resources Officer

 

Jackie Stevens
Chief Operating Officer

 

Human Services Board of Directors

  • William T. Yanavitch, II, Chair
  • Elizabeth Pitts-Madonna, Vice-Chair
  • Paul Shifrin, Treasurer
  • Kristine A. Crosswhite, Secretary
  • Douglas A. Rein, Immediate Past Chair
  • Dr. James Ball
  • Marriah Barnett
  • Bruce Bartels
  • Anthony P. Campisi
  • Jill Golueke
  • Denise Hargrove
  • Julia Huggins
  • Chrysta R. Stine
  • Matthew Superczynski
  • Robert Zerance, Jr.
  • Morton F. Zifferer, Jr.

Foundation Board of Directors

  • Elizabeth Pitts-Madonna, Chair
  • Julia Huggins, Vice-Chair
  • Anthony Gallo, Immediate Past Chair
  • Dr. James Ball
  • Bruce M. Bartels
  • Max Blumenthal
  • Anthony P. Campisi
  • Kristine A. Crosswhite
  • Joe DiPaola
  • Gary Gilbert
  • Holly Litrenta
  • William T. Yanavitch. II

2023 Financials

Statement of Activities:

REVENUES:

Grants & Fees for Services

$42,700,241.00

Client Fees

$1,096,725.00

Contributions & Pledges

$521,102.00

Other Income

$8.078,422.00

Total Income
$52,396,490.00
Expenses:

Program Services Wages & Benefits

$27,839,591.00

Other Program Services Expenses

$7,706,072.00

TOTAL PROGRAM SERVICES EXPENSES

$35,545,663.00

Management & General Expenses

$7,998,772.00

Total Expenses
$43,544,435.00

Statement of Financial Position:

Total Assets

$44,653,735.00

Liabilities

$12,723,845.00

Total Net Assets
$31,929,890.00

For a complete copy of our audited financial statements, please contact:  info@penn-mar.org.