It's the goal of Tay Waltenbaugh and Westmoreland Community Action to educate people about poverty.
The chief executive director of the organization formerly known as Westmoreland Human Opportunities hopes Poverty Summit 2008 -- the first of its kind -- will be just the forum to do that.
Poverty Summit 2008 is set for 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Four Points Sheraton, east of Greensburg.
"I think it's a good educational experience for those who don't understand poverty," Waltenbaugh said. "I hope we get more involvement in the poverty issues facing us."
According to the Census Bureau, poverty has increased in Westmoreland County for individuals from 7.4 percent in 2004 to 9.2 percent in 2006 and for families from 5.3 percent to 6.7 percent over that time. The number for female heads of households with children and no husbands has increased from 26.7 percent to 41.3 percent from 2004 to 2006.
Seminars are scheduled throughout the day geared toward helping people find ways to lower those numbers.
"We want people to gain a better understanding of all the aspects of poverty to learn what they can do to assist people with low income in their community," said Cheri Cavanaugh, manager of marketing and planning for Westmoreland Community Action.
Seminars include Understanding Your Community: How to develop a Community Profile hosted by Carlotta Paige, president and CEO of Professional Community Coordinators Inc. and secretary of the board for the Westmoreland County Housing Authority.
Another seminar details the organization's new initiative called Circles, which takes a group approach to ending poverty.
"It's really a cross-section of everything we deal with when it comes to poverty," Waltenbaugh said of the seminars.
A poverty simulation is scheduled for the afternoon. Those role-playing exercises are designed to help participants understand living in a typical low-income family.
"We're hoping to get enough people -- maybe 80 to 90 people -- to experience living a life of poverty," Waltenbaugh said.
The summit culminates with a banquet and award ceremony from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Ron Errett, executive director of the Community Action Partnership of Mercer County, will serve as master of ceremonies.
Among the awards that will be handed out are Volunteer of the Year to Regis Bodnar, an Internal Revenue Service employee who has been assisting with tax returns for low-income families on a volunteer basis and the Community Partnership Award to Nancy Kukovich, president of the United Way of Westmoreland County.
"They've made an impact on low-income families in Westmoreland County," Cavanaugh said of the awardees.
Poverty Summit 2008 also will feature the presentation of a logo depicting the organization's new name, which took effect last week.
"This displays exactly what we do," Waltenbaugh said. "We wanted to align ourselves with sister agencies across Pennsylvania and across the country."
The event is open to the public; fees are charged for sessions attended. Persons may register by calling 724-834-1260, Ext. 153.
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