Applications open for 2026 Alletta Schadler Community Service Award

Applications are open for the 2026 Alletta Schadler Community Service/Engagement Award, according to an announcement from the Penn State Extension of Lebanon County.

The Alletta Schadler Community Service/Engagement Award, according to the release, offers a minimum of $500 to provide tuition support to an outstanding volunteer in Lebanon County who is pursuing a degree, continuing education, or professional development in Family and Consumer Sciences.

The area of study include, but are 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. The extension encourages traditional and nontraditional, undergraduate and graduate students interested in pursuing areas of Family and Consumer Sciences to apply.

Applications must be submitted by March 20. The application form is available from the extension office at 2120 Cornwall Road, Suite 1, Lebanon, or online.

Alletta “Letite” Schadler, for whom the award was named, worked for the Penn State Extension from 1969 to 1999. In 1974, she was appointed the first female county extension director in Pennsylvania.

Schadler’s main program focus was food and nutrition, food safety and food preservation, the release noted, but she also worked in the areas of leadership development, textiles and clothing, and home management. Since the award was established in 2022, it has named at least one recipient each year.

For more information on the award, contact Lori Klein at 717-639-3581 or lap5982@psu.edu, or call the extension office at 717-270-4391.