Introduction
Living in a small town in Pennsylvania to me has always felt perfect. Lebanon County
has become a safety spot for me and has brought me such a comfort. An area where you got to
know your neighbors and care about your city. Many people in the area however seem to stop
caring about our city and have very little pride in the local businesses in the surrounding areas. I
would like to help bring a sense of pride back into the neighborhood. Something that I have seen
lack in our area is the job market. Many people in the area are looking for good jobs but they are
lacking the preparation to get the job. Working in management, I have seen people coming into
fast food and retail stores that may have outstanding resumes; but they are lacking key important
interview skills and requirements that would seal the deal. I propose a system in Lebanon County
that would work with the unemployed to help give them appropriate interview clothing, help
prepare them for interviews, and offer overall help in their interview search.
General Overview and Rational
While no place is perfect, Lebanon County seems to struggle in recent years with poverty
rates. “If population and job loss were the only indicators of the health of a community, the City
of Lebanon’s future might be in jeopardy” (A Probable Future, 2007) With many new
developments of manufacturing centers in the area we have seen the job market growing slightly
in the past years. “From 2021 to 2022, employment in Lebanon County, PA grew at a rate of
0.331%, from 68.3k employees to 68.5k employees.” (Data USA, 2025) Region Relevance
Lebanon County is surrounded by 3 urban areas such as Reading, Lancaster City, and the state
capitol Harrisburg. The majority of Lebanon County is made up of small rural towns. “Also
reflective of Lebanon County's "Pennsylvania Dutch" heritage are its pastoral landscape,
attractive farms and outstanding dairy and pork products, especially Lebanon Bologna. Lebanon
County also is blessed with an abundance of open space and conservation lands that provide
numerous recreational opportunities. (A Great Place to Live,2025)
Location Relevance
The area composed of many mountains and a mild climate, it is known to be a beautiful
place to live. “Located in the northeastern United States, Lebanon County is within 240 km. of
Washington D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia. Our county has an area of 940 square
kilometers and, in 1990, supported 113,744 people. The county is comprised of 26
municipalities, each of which has its own independent governing body.” (Lebanon County, 2025)
Statically many people that live in Lebanon County are of a white ethnicity with an increase
from the Hispanic community in recent years. “Lebanon County's population grew 7.7% from
the 133,667 people who lived there in 2010.”(USA Facts, 2022)
(
(Hook, 2017)
Place Relevance
Lebanon County, houses the Veterans Medical Center, which helps support veterans with
multiple services such as physical health and mental health services. The area provides support
for many people, yet there is still those who struggle.” Our main campus provides primary care
and specialty health services, including hospice, low vision rehabilitation, pain management, and
radiology.” (Lebanon VA Medical Center, 2025) “Across Lebanon County, 27% of households
have at least one person employed, yet struggle to afford basic necessities including housing,
utilities, food, childcare and health care. Combined with the number of residents under the
federal poverty line, officials said two in every five households in Lebanon County could be
facing financial hardships.” (Toth,2022)
Movement Relevance
To attempt to help the community of Lebanon County, I would like to propose a system
that provides workforce preparation assistance. We will work together with the community to run
a nonprofit organization I would like to name Lebanon Workforce Intervention or shorten to
LWI. The LWI will work to help unemployed people gain confidence in their interview skills
with preparation coaching. I would also like to help provide appropriate clothing to wear for
interviews and give them assistance in their job search. To help start this program I would look
for volunteers in the area and search within my own inner circle to start.
Human-Environmental Interaction Relevance
In this area the average rental would come out to be around 900$ a month. I would hope
to fund this nonprofit through charity donations, fundraising, and local business donations. The
importance of community throughout Lebanon County could help be repaired with the help of
our neighbors. To help provide job search assistance to those in need, I would work to team up
with a temporary employment agency within Lebanon City like Aerotek or Spherion. These
organizations help provide people with temporary employment leads that can often help people
gain resume experience and sometimes gain permanent employment. Working with these
companies can provide our community with help finding opportunities. However, my hope is to
help prepare them for landing permanent work and finding career. My volunteer staff would help
to get proper attire for individuals to look and feel confident walking into interviews. Gathering
appropriate attire fitted to them from thrift shops or discount stores to cheaply source our
wardrobes. With only a few actual volunteers needed daily, 1 would aim to help assist 10 people
a day. With 5 volunteers that would mean each volunteer would need to help for a few hours a
day. I would run this system out of a rental property ideally in Lebanon City. The people I feel
that would benefit the most from this location would be those who only have access to public
transportation that runs throughout Lebanon City. The basis of this organization is to help bring
pride and confidence back into our community and to help those struggling gain the same. To
help prepare them for interviews, volunteers could roleplay possible interview situations and
have them familiar with questions they may be asked. I would aim to have some bilingual
volunteers to help those who speak languages other than English. I would aim for this
organizations to work on volunteers and fund the program through donations and fundraisers. I
would also aim to have a large online presence to expand our assistance to those who may not be
able to travel to our location. With this people can fill out a form online on their skills, what type
of work they are looking for, and desired salary like they would online job applications.
Summary
In conclusion, I think there is hope for the community of Lebanon County. If we could
come together and help build each other up there is always more, we can do for each other. To
provide a system like this requires the help of others and sense of community to help increase the
overall well-being of all members of the community. Working to create a system that helps
people obtain long term employment. This system can help increase jobs, salaries for the
community and overall confidence of those in search of a new career.
References
A Probable Future. (2007). Lebanon County.
https://www.lebanoncountypa.gov/departments/planning/2007-comprehensive-plan
Lebanon County, PA. Data USA. (2025). https://datausa.io/profile/geo/lebanon-county-pa
A Great Place to Live. lebanoncountypa.gov. (2025). https://www.lebanoncountypa.gov/living
Geographic setting. /lebanoncountypa.gov. (2025).
https://www.lebanoncountypa.gov/departments/commissioners/about/geographic-setting
Lebanon County, PA population by year, race, & more. USAFacts. (2025).
https://usafacts.org/data/topics/people-society/population-and-demographics/our-changing-
population/state/pennsylvania/county/lebanon-county/
Lebanon VA Medical Center: Va Lebanon Health Care. Veterans Affairs. (2025).
https://www.va.gov/lebanon-health-care/locations/lebanon-va-medical-center/
#:~:text=Our%20main%20campus%20provides%20primary,
%2C%20pain%20management%2C%20and%20radiology.
Hook, J. (2017, March 23). Pa. growth hugs I-81, I-78 Corridor. Public Opinion.
https://www.publicopiniononline.com/story/news/local/2017/03/23/pa-growth-hugs--81-
-78-corridor/99536952/
Toth, M. (2022, September 9). Above poverty, but below basic needs: data shows lebanon
residents struggle to avoid “financial ruin.” Lebanon Daily News.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
