WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Volunteers, along with Marty McCormick and his wife Wendy, are busy in the kitchen. The couple founded The Rise Up Village Bakery in Williamsport in 2022. The bakery trains, mentors, and provides life skills to people who just left incarceration.
"After I retired, I volunteered as a chaplain at a county prison and realized that most of the people I was working with didn't have much in the way of opportunities or resources once they were released," said Marty McCormick, Rise Up Village Bakery Program Manager.
The Rise Up Village Bakery operates out of the kitchen in the New Covenant United Church of Christ in Williamsport. Five trainees at a time work in the bakery. Since the program started, the bakery has helped 15 people successfully find jobs.
"They're not always going right into baking. Some of them decided if they can't get a baking job or they just chose not to, there a lot of other jobs out there, there are factories that are hiring now here locally," said McCormick.
The Rise Up Village Bakery is always baking goods for the community, such as breads, cookies, muffins, and rolls.
"Those are the items that are pre-ordered. People send an email to me, and I record that, and those are things that we prepare in a sufficient number for what's been ordered each week and then some extras," said Wendy McCormick, Rise Up Village Bakery Assistant Program Manager.
McCormick and his wife say it's rewarding to help those transition from incarceration back into normal life.
"They tell us that besides just learning some job skills like baking and working in a kitchen, they also have gotten as sense of purpose and a sense of encouragement and confidence."
"It's a very compatible feeling with everyone working together and supporting each other, and that's really the best part of it."
The bakery operates on Mondays and Tuesdays. All the proceeds from the sales go right back into the program. Order requests can be emailed to riseupvillagebakery@gmail.com.