2 days ago
Johnson College hosts Community Resource Fair
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Over a dozen organizations and businesses are coming together at one college in Lackawanna County with a goal to strengthen the local community.
It's a rainy Tuesday morning at Johnson College in Scranton.
The campus looks to be empty, as the spring semester has come to an end, but inside, they're getting ready to welcome the public to its first-ever Community Resource Fair.
'It can tell people in this community that while they might think that they're facing a barrier to get into college, we have these organizations here to help them and help them overcome any obstacle they might have,' said Sam Lehman, community engagement coordinator at Johnson College.
Those obstacles might include transportation, housing, and childcare. That's why several groups, like Samantha Kovaleski with United Neighborhood Centers, are here to provide extra support.
'It's really great to be partnering with a college, especially you know something that is so hands-on, and it gets the students in and back into the workforce faster than you know going to a typical four-year college,' explained Kovalkeski.
Amazon announces $20B data center investment in Pa.
Angela Seibert, with Outreach Center for Community Resources, says her organization has a demand for people wanting to go back to school.
'We've definitely seen a huge uptick in the last five years we've grown immensely. In the last program year, I think we served about 110 people in our GED program, so that's a large number,' explained Seibert.
Nearly 50% of the two-year technical students at Johnson need more support to complete their college education.
Assisting not just students out of college, but also non-traditional students such as single parents or those working full-time, enrollment at Johnson College has gone up.
'With that, we've seen community needs and student needs increase as well, so we wanted to not only help our Johnson students, but also the students in general within our area,' said Tim Frank, associate director of community engagement at Johnson College.
Happening on Tuesday, the Community Resource Fair runs from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at its Scranton campus.
And if you're unable to attend tonight's Community Resource Fair, Johnson College has another one scheduled for August 12th.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
