Scranton Area Community Foundation Awards Grant to United Way's Education Initiatives

Scranton, PA (August, 2018) – The Scranton Area Community Foundation has awarded a grant of $20,000 to the United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties’ and community agencies to bolster education initiatives in Lackawanna County.

The funds are being used as part of the Transforming Children’s Futures (TCF) collaborative which ensures pathways to reading proficiency by the end of 3rd grade for all Lackawanna County students. Specifically, the grant funds are being utilized in the collaborative’s core focus areas to support summer learning programs in the community and within elementary schools; to strengthen school readiness skills; and to provide mini-grants to K -12 schools to assist them in their efforts to create improved practices to address chronic absence.

“The United Way and our TCF partners are grateful to the Scranton Area Community Foundation for sharing our vision that every child in our community will have the opportunity to thrive,” noted  Lisa Berardelli, education director for the United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties. “Together, we’re working to change the trajectory of future generations,” she added.

The Scranton Area Community Foundation seeks to enhance the quality of life for all people in Lackawanna County through the development of organized philanthropy to meet a wide variety of educational, cultural, human service and other charitable needs throughout Lackawanna County.

For more information on Transforming Children’s Futures or other education initiatives, please contact the United Way at 343-1267 or visit uwlc.net.

Pictured from left, standing, are: Laura Ducceschi, President/CEO Scranton Area Community Foundation; Debbie Marichak, Supervisor, Lackawanna County Office of Youth and Family Services and Cathy Fitzpatrick, Grants Administrator, Scranton Area Community Foundation. Seated, from left are: Lisa Berardelli, Education Director, United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties and Meghan Degilio, Education Manager, Scranton Lackawanna Human Development Agency