Apply Now: 2026 Alletta Schadler Community Service/Engagement Award

Alletta Schadler ("Letie") served as Home Economist, Family Living Agent, and County Extension Director with Penn State Extension in Lebanon County from 1969 through 1999. In 1974, she was appointed the first female County Extension Director in Pennsylvania. Her main program focus was food and nutrition, food safety, and food preservation, but she also worked in the areas of leadership development, textiles and clothing, and home management.

Amount of award: A minimum of one $500 award can be given each year. As funds permit, the amount of the award may be increased.

Criteria for Selection: The award will recognize an outstanding volunteer who:

1. Is pursuing a degree, continuing education, or professional development in the Family and Consumer Sciences field. It includes areas such as, but not limited to, apparel design, textiles and merchandising, dietetics, food and nutrition science, food safety, public health, health education, hospitality and culinary management, and child and adolescent development.
2. Has provided outstanding volunteer service in Lebanon County
3. No one individual will be awarded more than one award from this fund.
4. Financial need is not a consideration in the recipient selection.

Application: The application package shall consist of three parts:

1. A completed application form
2. A current official transcript
3. Letter(s) of recommendation

Selection Procedures: The selection committee will review applications for their consistency with the award's purpose. The applicant(s) meeting the selection criteria who are judged by the committee to meet the intent of the award most closely will be the recipient(s). Non-recipients are encouraged to reapply in a subsequent year.

Eligibility: Any Lebanon County resident with a history of outstanding volunteer service who is pursuing a degree, continuing education, or professional development in the Family and Consumer Sciences area.

Conditions of the Award: The full awarded amount will be applied toward tuition at the institution of higher education in which the recipient(s) is accepted and will be attending.

Award Selection Committee: The selection committee shall be comprised of Alletta M. Schadler, a member of the Lebanon County Family and Consumer Science Association, a member of the Lebanon County community, and the Lebanon County Extension Food, Families & Health Educator.

Submit applications by March 20, 2026.

Announcement of Award Recipient(s) by April 24, 2026.

For more information on the Alletta Schadler Community Service/Engagement Award, please contact Lori Klein, Extension Educator, Food, Families & Health at 717-639-3581 or lap5982@psu.edu. You may also call Penn State Extension in Lebanon County at 717-270-4391.

Submit Application to:
Penn State Extension - Lebanon County
Alletta Schadler Community Service/Engagement Award
2120 Cornwall Road, Suite 1
Lebanon, PA 17042

Email Application to:
lap5982@psu.edu
Lori Klein, Ed.D., MPH, NDTR
Penn State Extension Educator – Food, Families, and Communities

Fillable form (pdf)