Latest news with #NeighborWorksNortheasternPennsylvania
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Carbondale to hold downtown cleanups this month
Carbondale is cleaning up its downtown this month with help from local students. With Earth Day two weeks away, the city's Shade Tree Commission plans to clean up a heavily traveled trail off Seventh Avenue on Saturday, followed by a collaboration with NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania to spruce up city businesses along Main and Church streets April 22. 'It's inviting. It makes you want to be there,' Mayor Michele Bannon said of cleaning up the downtown. 'It makes people proud.' The Carbondale Shade Tree Commission will start work at 9 a.m. Saturday for its Wurts Brothers Lane cleanup, Bannon said. The commission does cleanup projects throughout the town, including along Wurts Brothers Lane, which is a walking trail that connects Seventh Avenue to the shopping center on Eighth Avenue and provides a connection to the city's residential section, Bannon said. Students often use the trail to walk to school, but winter took its toll on the path, she said. The trail has a lot of litter and broken branches from trees, said Shade Tree Commission Chairwoman Joann Wall. So, the commission asked the Carbondale Area Chargers football team for help, Wall said. 'It teaches the children to take pride in their community,' she said. The commission has been cleaning the trail for about eight years, Wall said. For a larger downtown cleanup project, NeighborWorks and the city will work with Carbondale Area High School students April 22 to clean up the exteriors of city businesses, Bannon said. 'All the cleanups we do are based on developing community pride and just cleaning up our downtown and cleaning up our city,' Bannon said, adding with a laugh, 'We're hoping it's contagious.' Emily Arcaro, the community revitalization specialist for Carbondale at NeighborWorks, said she will have 16 honors students from Carbondale washing exterior windows and sweeping sidewalks at participating businesses. So far, about a dozen businesses have signed up, she said, explaining the offer is open to any business along Main Street or Church Street. It's not a professional cleaning service, but it is a way to engage with Carbondale businesses while also getting students out into their city's downtown and instilling a sense of community pride, Arcaro said. 'This is really students out with Windex doing their best to just give downtown a little bit of a facelift,' Arcaro said. NeighborWorks previously worked with 20 Carbondale seventh graders to clean up Memorial Park across from City Hall in the fall, and then they took a walk down Main Street to clean up leaves, garbage and debris along the curb cuts, inspiring the idea for a spring cleanup after the winter thaw, she said. 'I'm looking for ways to continue to bridge that gap between students … with their downtown and get the students to recognize and be happy about where they live, and get businesses also recognizing the benefits of the students,' she said. 'The goal here is to try to tie them both closer together and just have that sense of community.' So far, about a dozen businesses have signed up, and while distributing flyers about the cleanup, Arcaro said business owners were enthusiastic. If the Earth Day cleanup works out, Arcaro hopes to make it an annual event in the city while also holding other cleanups throughout the year. The business cleanup ties into both the city's Blueprint Communities program and Carbondale Core Neighborhood Plan, Bannon said. Carbondale is working with NeighborWorks on both projects. Carbondale was one of 10 communities across Pennsylvania to become 'Blueprint Communities' in April 2024 when it embarked on a free, year-and-a-half-long process to create a strategic plan to revitalize its downtown. The core neighborhood plan is a multimillion-dollar, 10-year project that aims to turn Carbondale into a destination with investments into infrastructure, recreation and revitalization. 'All of these events that we're doing, we're hoping builds the foundation for us to continue to do them in the future,' Bannon said. To participate in the Shade Tree Commission's trail cleanup, either stop by the trail at 9 a.m. Saturday or message Businesses interested in having their windows washed and sidewalks swept on Earth Day can contact Arcaro at carbondale@ or 570-558-2490.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NeighborWorks to host ‘West Scranton EGGstravaganza' egg hunt Saturday
The nonprofit NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania will host Saturday its third annual 'West Scranton EGGstravaganza' egg hunt at Novembrino Park in the city, a free event featuring music and community resources. It begins at noon and runs until 2 p.m., with the egg hunt starting promptly at 1. Participants are encouraged to bring their own baskets. 'It will be a traditional Easter egg hunt where eggs will be hidden around the grounds for children to pick up,' NeighborWorks Community Development Specialist Emily Arcaro said, noting there will be candy and prizes inside the eggs and a range of activities for families and attendees. Beyond the egg hunt, the Youth Arts Coalition will provide arts and crafts activities for children, the Scranton Public Library will host a book sale and sign people up for library cards, and the nonprofit Friends of the Poor will offer activities, including coloring sheets, NeighborWorks noted in a news release. The city will also have a pronounced presence at the community event, including the Scranton police and fire departments, with the latter offering a 'touch-a-truck experience.' Scranton officials will provide attendees with information on city resources. Also participating are Head Start, which will provide registration information, and the state Department of Health, which will provide tick-prevention resources, per the news release. 'It really just gets the community out meeting each other and then learning about what resources are available to them within Scranton,' Arcaro said. Novembrino Park is located at 201 10th Ave. In the event of inclement weather, the egg hunt's rain date is April 26. For information, visit or NeighborWorks' Facebook Page. Organizers will post updates there if bad weather forces them to reschedule, Arcaro said.
