Tompkins Community Bank is providing healthy nutritious snacks for RACC students who utilize the beautiful Academic Learning Commons in the Yocum Library. The designated coffee and snack area in the Learning Commons has been officially renamed Tompkins Treats, where students can enjoy a snack and a cup of coffee as they work to complete assignments, write essays and study for tests.
RACC President Dr. Susan Looney strategically placed one of the largest Keurigs in Berks County for students to make their own coffee free of charge when the Academic Learning Commons opened in January of 2022. The coffee bar was a huge success as students gravitated to the Academic Learning Commons, which has spectacular views of the Schuylkill River and the Reading cityscape.
On a recent campus tour which included the RACC Food Pantry and the Academic Learning Commons, Tompkins Community Bank PA President Ginger Kunkel was struck by the challenges faced by many students, including food insecurity. She was motivated to find a way for Tompkins to become more directly involved with RACC in helping students, especially with inflation forcing students to stretch their dollars even further. Providing for families in need has long been a focus for Tompkins’ community-based giving. Knowing it would need to be a collaborative effort, Kunkel turned to Tompkins’ AVP, Stephanie Waits, who strategized with Foundation for RACC team members, Sarah Hess and Rhonda Hudak on a Tompkins-RACC partnership that would address food insecurity on campus. “Tompkins Treats” was the breakthrough concept of these discussions. Tony DeMarco, Executive Director of the Foundation for RACC, quickly approved the concept and the first delivery of granola bars, cereal bars, protein bars, as well as crackers and nuts arrived as the semester started in January of this year.
Megan King, Director of Tutoring & Academic Support, manages RACC’s Academic Learning Commons and the Tompkins Treats snack and coffee center. “Hundreds of students visit the Commons area each week to study and receive tutoring support. Tompkins Treats has been very popular from the first day. Students curb their hunger while working on their assignments and the RACC students are so appreciative of Tompkins’ support.”
“Tompkins is a community bank and RACC is the community’s college. Tompkins Treats is the perfect collaboration between our two organizations,” noted President Looney.
Partnering with RACC in a hands-on initiative such as Tompkins Treats speaks to the core of our mission,” added Kunkel. “We want to focus our efforts on specific community needs that might otherwise go unmet. Tompkins Treats lets us give to the next generation of Berks County professionals who are studying hard to forge a better future for themselves and their families.
Tompkins Treats is located in the Academic Learning Commons on the fourth floor of the Yocum Library at 10 South Second Street, Reading PA.
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