A $22,000 grant from Centre County United Way will help Good Day Café cover one of the essential costs behind an inclusive workplace: job coaching. At Good Day Café, employees are supported as they learn and grow. Job coaching helps remove barriers that can make employment more challenging for people with disabilities by providing individualized guidance as employees build workplace skills and confidence. Coaching happens during regular shifts, often in small but meaningful w

At Strawberry Fields, some of the most important work happens quietly. It happens when someone tries again at a goal that once felt out of reach. It happens when staff stay steady through a difficult moment. It happens in Early Intervention, when a family celebrates a small step that feels anything but small. It happens at Good Day Cafe and Scraps & Skeins, where work, belonging and opportunity come together in real ways. Once a year, the Making a Difference Awards gives us a

On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, Erin is ready early. Dressed and waiting, she watches for the bus that will take her to Scraps & Skeins. She does not like to be late. At the shop, Erin gets to work. She vacuums, organizes materials, and helps keep the space running smoothly. She has learned to sew the reusable shopping bags given to new customers, and she helps prepare fabric by ironing and folding fat quarters. Each task is familiar now, part of a routine she takes pride i

A child sitting up for the first time. A parent hearing “mama” after months of waiting. A first wave goodbye. A calmer mealtime. A family beginning to feel less alone. These are the kinds of moments Strawberry Fields’ Early Intervention team helps make possible every day. Early Intervention supports infants and toddlers, from birth to age three, who are experiencing developmental delays or disabilities. But the work is not only about children building skills. It is also about

Strawberry Fields is honored to be one of the beneficiaries of the Second Annual Collectively USA Golf Scramble on Monday, August 10, 2026, at Summit Country Club in Cresson, PA. It will be a relaxed day of golf, food, prizes, and friendly competition on an 18-hole course in the Laurel Highlands. Golfers can register individually for $125, which includes greens fees, cart, dinner, door prizes, and contests including longest putt, longest drive, and closest to the pin. Tee spo

State College Magazine’s Best of and Beyond Competition returns! Help us make a difference by casting your vote for Good Day Café in the categories of Best Coffee Shop and Best Cup of Coffee. Your support means everything to us and to those we empower through meaningful employment. Remember, every vote counts! Vote online at: https://www.statecollegemagazine.com/best-of-state-college/ Watch the video below to see Good Day Cafe's mission in action!

Everyone wants the chance to contribute to their community. That is an important part of everyday life, and it is one of the goals of our community homes for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Residents and staff from one of our programs made 50 Jared Boxes for children receiving care at local hospitals. Each box was filled with toys, activities, and other small items to provide a little comfort and help take a child’s mind off not feeling well. Together

Devereux, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit providers of behavioral healthcare, today announced that Fran McDermid, M.Ed., has been selected as executive director of Strawberry Fields, Inc. McDermid currently serves as Strawberry Fields’ director of mental health and social enterprise operations, a position she has held since 2019. She will assume her new role on July 1. As executive director, McDermid will oversee the day-to-day operations of the organization that of

Written by Ellen Campbell Doug Marme, a retired Penn State professor of Theatre Arts, is remembered for oft-repeated sayings: “Anything worth doing is worth overdoing!” and “Too much is never enough!” His work is living illustration of that philosophy. Marme says his love of color began early. He remembers his mother keeping him busy by sitting him in front of the radio with a box of crayons and a stack of paper—he would draw for hours. Growing up in Russellville, Michigan, h

Mark your calendar for Centre Gives on May 6 & 7! An easy, powerful way to support the mission of Strawberry Fields, this community-wide online giving event makes giving back simple: in just a few clicks, you can make a donation that helps create opportunities, provide support, and enrich the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, autism, and mental health challenges. The best part? Every gift matters. Even a donation of just $10 can go further during Centre Gives,

Join us at Good Day Cafe on April 16 for a cup of coffee on us, thanks to CNB Bank, in celebration of inclusive employment and Community Bank Month. We hope you will stop by to enjoy a complimentary drip coffee, any size, available throughout the day (one per person). Whether you are just passing through or have a few moments to stay, thank you for being part of the Good Day Cafe community. As a reminder, Good Day Cafe is open from 7:30 am to 3:00 pm. We hope to see you on A

Jason and Steve, part of Strawberry Fields, recently won gold at the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Winter Games bowling competition for the second year in a row. Their journey to the podium began well before the competition. Weeks of practice and time spent together built their confidence on the lanes. With support from their families, coaches, and Direct Support Professionals, they showed up consistently, worked through challenges, and stayed committed to something they care

When Speech Language Pathologist Nicole Edwards returned from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association conference last year, she didn’t wait to put what she’d learned into practice. Within days, she was applying new techniques with the families she serves and seeing results. “I can’t capture how much the conference improved my clinical practice,” she said. “It is amazing how one piece of information can make such a difference in the service I provide.” Nicole’s confer

On a busy Saturday at Scraps & Skeins, volunteer Laura noticed something different about a woman walking through the door. “She was carrying her box like it was a treasure,” Laura recalls. “Her body language was different.” Laura doesn’t usually volunteer on Saturdays. She almost wasn’t there at all. But that morning, she had texted to see if an extra set of hands was needed and stopped in to help. She wasn’t assigned to donations. She just happened to be in the room. The wom

Strawberry Fields, Inc., now offers the ASCEND Career Accelerator Program, a comprehensive approach to employee growth that combines full tuition support, personalized career coaching, and robust benefits designed to support team members at every stage of their careers. Through our partnership with Devereux, we are able to offer this expanded level of educational and career advancement support to our team. That investment strengthens the quality and consistency of care here

Direct Support Professionals are at the center of daily life at Strawberry Fields. They are the people who build trust, offer steady support, and help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities live full, meaningful lives. This year, we are proud to celebrate our first group of staff who completed the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) Certification program. This nine-month certification is more than professional training. It strength

If you’ve been part of the Strawberry Fields community for any length of time, there’s a good chance you’ve crossed paths with Matt Reynolds. Matt has been with Strawberry Fields for more than 26 years, supporting individuals, families, and staff across our intellectual disabilities residential programs. This winter, Matt stepped into a new role as Behavior Support Manager, which includes serving as the PBIS Coordinator, part of an organization-wide focus on strengthening con

The past few months have certainly passed quickly, marked by the holiday season and various festivities. Individuals had the opportunity to celebrate with family, friends, staff, and one another. On December 17th, we hosted our annual Holiday Party at Park Forest Baptist Church. As in previous years, our wonderful volunteers, Linda and Dale Walker, prepared the turkeys, while the homes contributed a variety of delicious side dishes—coming together to create a truly festive h

“My time at Strawberry Fields has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. Working alongside a passionate and talented team of staff and board members, we have expanded opportunities, empowered individuals and strengthened a mission that changes lives every day. I am incredibly proud to have played such a part in shaping the organization Strawberry Fields has become” – Strawberry Fields Chief Executive Officer Cynthia “Cindy” Pasquinelli Throughout her decadeslong care

Sarah adjusts three-year-old AJ on her lap as he reaches for his water cup. “He’s a very feisty little guy,” she says with a smile. “Very popular with everyone.” AJ was born with Down syndrome, a diagnosis Sarah and her husband, Brian, received before his birth after doctors discovered a related heart condition. That prenatal diagnosis meant AJ qualified for Pennsylvania’s Early Intervention program, supportive, in-home services for babies and toddlers with developmental d