The Shippensburg Community Resource Coalition is a collaborative effort to provide quality social services and youth programs that are accessible, safe, and honor the dignity of each person. This work includes a reduction in risk factors related to youth substance use and social, emotional, and physical health in order to increase youth resiliency. Our goal is to help community members reach their full potential.
We work to fulfill our mission in the following ways:
- Working with existing programs in surrounding communities to encourage them to provide services in Shippensburg
- Regularly assessing community needs and resources
- Creating new services as necessary
- Partnering with other community programs to strengthen our collective efforts
The SCRC is a Shippensburg University Center For Excellence and serves as a "learning lab" for the university. Students, faculty, and staff are involved in our work and have initiated many of our programs and services. We also provide a bridge for building community-university relationships. Whether you are on or off campus, contact us with your questions and ideas!
Programs and Services
Hound Packs
The backpack program services food-insecure school-aged students in Kindergarten through 18 years of age in the Shippensburg Area School District by providing a bag of meal items for over the weekend during the school year (summers not included). It includes 6 meals to last until school begins on Monday. If your child is homeschooled, attending school remotely, or going to a private school, please contact us about a pickup option.
Summer Learning Program
The Summer Learning Program (SLP) provides free breakfast, lunch, and programming during the summer. The program is 7 weeks long, late June through early Aug, 8 am - 12 pm. Monday - Thursday breakfasts and lunches are provided by the Shippensburg Area School District’s Ship’s Galley through the USDA Summer Food Service Program. All children in the school district region are welcome to come eat regardless of registration in the SLP program. Fridays are SLP Field Trip days!
Resource Guide
The Shippensburg Community Resource Coalition was developed in part because the town of Shippensburg is located in both Cumberland County and Franklin County which can lead to confusion about how and where to access social services. Social services are available in the neighboring towns of Carlisle and Chambersburg. Both counties have their own guides to social services so this guide focuses on the services that are available within the Shippensburg Area School District boundaries.
Calendar of Community Meals & Resources
Various organizations provide free community meals for anyone in Shippensburg. Some are sit-down and others provide grab-n-go meals. See the calendar for all the community meals' locations and times.
School Youth Programs
Grey Matter and Healthy Decision Making groups are offered during the school day as a collaborative effort between SCRC and the Shippensburg Area School District to help meet the needs of youth in our community. The Leaders-In-Training Camp is a day camp in the summer at Shippensburg University directed by SCRC staff. Our SCRC Coordinator works with the Youth Mobilizer to coordinate these programs. If you have any questions, please contact us at coordinator-scrc@shipresources.org
This program is for students in the Shippensburg Area Middle School who may be having difficulty in the school setting. The students meet once a week to work on different skills such as communication and conflict resolution. School counselors and/or teachers can refer students to the program, both the student and the parents have to agree and give permission for the student to participate.
The Shippensburg Community Resource Coalition Youth Advisory Council (YAC), strives to encourage youth involvement in the community, decrease isolation, provide information and services for substance use prevention, and improve emotional and mental well being in youth.
YAC is a group of middle and high school students who work with our larger coalition to make decisions and advocate on issues related to youth resiliency and reducing youth substance youth. It allows students to have their voices heard and to help give perspective to certain programs of what is and what is not working. YAC members have hosted teen events, attended professional development trainings, participated in capital hill advocacy days, and even presented at the Commonwealth Prevention Alliance conference in 2026!
This leadership opportunity is for youth 6th grade and up who live in the Shippensburg Area School District region. For more information please contact the SCRC Youth Mobilizer at youth-scrc@shipresources.org
June 2027
Leaders-in-Training Camp helps students going into grades 6 -12 develop the essential skills that create leaders such as positive peer role modeling, problem-solving skills, active listening skills, and interpersonal management skills.
For more information, please contact Youth Mobilizer at youth-scrc@shipresources.org or call (717) 477-1961.
The Grey Matter program is a free, six or eight week school-based prevention program for Shippensburg Area Senior High School (SASHS) students or 8th grade students at the Shippensburg Area Middle School (SAMS). Grey matter supports students who show a lack of motivation, sadness, or irritability. Group sessions include building group trust, increasing participant involvement in fun activities, learning and practicing new ways of thinking, and developing plans to respond to life stressors. Students receive 3 $10 gift cards over the course of the group. If you would like to register your child or have a referral, please contact Janelle Carbaugh, High School Social Worker at janelle.carbaugh@ship.k12.pa.us You can also complete the registration form below online or turn the printable form into Janelle Carbaugh at the high school. Registration is required to participate in the program.
For more information about the program, follow the below links:
*The program is formally called The Blues Program by program creators. We were granted permission to rename the program ourselves.
Events and Committee Meetings
Shippensburg Human Service Council
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
The Shippensburg Human Service Council (SHSC) was created decades ago by a core group of committed community members who saw the need to share information across organizations about the human services programs and challenges in Shippensburg. The intent of the meetings is to bring together community organizations, county agencies, and anyone interested in human services in the Shippensburg area to share what they are doing and network with other people in the area. Monthly meetings are open to the public but geared towards the human services field every 3rd Friday of the month from September - May.
Shippensburg Community Resource Coalition Meetings
1-2:15 p.m.
In-person meeting with hybrid options
The coalition is a collaborative effort to increase quality social services and youth programs that are accessible, safe, and honor the dignity of each person. Members of the coalition work to develop and implement plans to accomplish the mission of the Shippensburg Community Resource Coalition (SCRC). This work includes utilizing PA Youth Survey (PAYS) data to address risk and protective factors related to youth substance use and social, emotional, and physical health in order to increase youth resiliency. Thanks to the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) grant through the CDC, SCRC is able to address these areas more and put more effort into prevention work.
#ShipBeKind
The Shippensburg Borough re-declared Be Kind week to November 10th through 16th to incorporate National World Kindness Day, November 13th. The declaration encourages all Shippensburg residents to take the week to be kind to one another.
Support the Mission of SCRC
The SCRC operates under the fiscal umbrella of the Shippensburg University Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization. Checks can be made out to:
Shippensburg University Foundation/SCRC
500 Newburg Rd.
Shippensburg, PA 17257
Click on the "Donate" button below to give to the SCRC directly through the SU Foundation website.
If you have questions, email us at coordinator-scrc@shipresources.org.
Get Involved
Get Involved with SCRC
The SCRC has many opportunities for interns, volunteers, employment, and special projects with SU faculty and staff.
Wish Lists
Right now our greatest need is for Hound pack food donations. Please follow the below link for a list of items we could use.
Silent Auction
The Silent Auction is a fundraiser where we use the proceeds to help support SCRC’s Summer Learning Program and Hound Packs backpack program, two very important initiatives that provide educational opportunities and alleviate food-insecurity in the Shippensburg area youth.
Who We Are
About Us
The SCRC was started in 2010 in response to the growing need to help residents find and utilize social services. The Resource Coalition has brought service providers and community members together since this time, with the aim of connecting clients with resources as well as developing programs to meet needs.
Annual Report
Serve. Help. Invest. Partner.
View the 2024-2025 Annual Report to see the impact SCRC has had on the community.
Community Assessment
In order to know what human services are needed in the area, we conducted two Community Assessments to help us find the gaps in services and strengths in our community.