This year, Pocono Mountains United Way celebrates Roxanne Powell for 20 years of service on the job! Beginning in 2002 as a Children and Adolescent Coordinator, Roxanne’s initial role was part of a three-year grant. She has now grown her role to provide access to screenings and other tools to help children under 5 and their parents.

Creating the SMILE Home Mentoring Program, Roxanne was able to provide home visits to at-risk families in Monroe County by an early childhood educator. SMILE stands for Support-Mentor-Include-Learn-Engage.

More recently, Roxanne has focused on providing access to early health screenings that test a child’s vision, hearing, speech and language, dental, and developmental progress. The screening program has been operating for 17 years and has provided 25,345 screenings to children aged five and under.

“I believe that a child’s early years are the foundation for their future development,” said Roxanne Powell. “[I] have been fortunate to work for Pocono Mountains United Way, who believes that all children deserve a strong start in life.”

Roxanne has received the prestigious Eugenia S. Eden Award for her strong and continuous support of early child education and supporting families with young children.

Looking towards the future, Roxanne wants to continue to raise awareness about publicly funded Pre-K childcare to make it more accessible in Monroe County. Another part of her journey to increase knowledge and awareness has come from the annual Getting Ready for Kindergarten Calendar that she created and produced to provide parents and children with resources and activities throughout the year.

But celebrating Roxanne’s 20 years with the organization isn’t enough. Before joining us, Roxanne spent 15 years as the owner and director of a childcare facility, so she actually has 35 years of experience with childcare and early childhood development.

From everyone at Pocono Mountains United Way, we wish Roxanne a well-deserved congratulations on 20 years!