Lackawanna College Registrar’s Office Connecting Kids with Educational Tools (ROCKET) Project cut the ribbon on a supply closet, a store environment where local K-12 educators, school staff and nonprofit organizations can shop for much-needed school supplies for free.

Located in Healey Hall at the College’s main campus in Scranton, the revamped program includes a website with an online ordering system. The supply closet, paired with the website, will allow teachers to order supplies and pick them up in a COVID-safe setting.

Since 2010, the ROCKET project has distributed nearly 5,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to local elementary schools, serving 3,800 children across northeastern Pennsylvania.

“The Lackawanna College ROCKET Project is an extension of our social impact goals. This project has been in existence since 2009 and we are proud to continue this tremendous initiative with our largest local district,” said Dr. Jill Murray, Lackawanna College President. “The supply closet ensures that elementary school children will have the tools they need to succeed and will continue to have access to educational pathways.”

The ROCKET Project’s website and ordering system was developed by web development and hosting startup, Machi-Systems. Machi-Systems is also a client of the College’s business incubator, the Venture Lab.

Educators, school staff, & non-profit organizations can request access to shop the ROCKET Project Supply closet at https://lcrocketproject.org/.

Four Geisinger staff members are participating in a virtual roundtable discussion as a part of the Komen Breast Cancer Education Series: Am I High Risk and What Does That Mean? to promote breast cancer awareness.

The roundtable, hosted on Tuesday, April 5, will provide an overview of what high risk for breast cancer means and how it is determined. It will cover screening options as well as how, when and why being at high risk is considered when building a treatment plan. 

Participants include Jacqueline Oxenberg, D.O., associate surgical oncologist and director of the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center; Mary Wolf, P.A., high-risk breast physician assistant; Rachel Schwiter, genetic counselor; and Tatianie Jackson, associate diagnostic radiologist.

To register for the panel, visit whova.com. The event kicks off at 5 p.m. with a virtual networking session followed by the roundtable discussion.

For more information on cancer care at Geisinger, visit Geisinger.org/BreastCare.

Marywood University’s Ninth Annual Community Leadership Celebration on Thursday, May 5, 2022, will honor Sister Gail Cabral, IHM, Ph.D., C.M.F.C., licensed psychologist and a member of Marywood’s psychology/counseling faculty for the past 52 years. The event is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Center for Athletics and Wellness on the University’s campus. During the celebration, Sister Gail will receive the University’s Lead On Award, in recognition of her lifelong commitment to education, to service, and to the common good.

The Community Leadership Celebration, Marywood’s signature fundraiser, provides special support to Marywood students and honors individuals in the community who exemplify Marywood’s core values in leadership and service to others. Proceeds from this year’s event will benefit the President’s Innovation Fund, which supports Marywood students through initiatives that enhance the academic experience in the IHM tradition.

For 56 years, Sister Gail has been a professed member of the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM). Throughout her more than five decades of teaching psychology, she has worked with students on undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. She was the first director of Marywood’s Ph.D. program in human development and also served as the chairperson of the psychology department. She is a member of the University’s distinguished order, Cor Mariae-Pro Fide et Cultura (C.M.F.C.), a distinction of esteem and appreciation awarded upon her twentieth year of faithful, full-time faculty service.

Regional, national, and international communities have benefitted from her professional expertise. Along with many other faculty and administrators, Sister Gail worked on the Department of Defense grant that brought the Military Family Institute to Marywood, leading to numerous studies on the effects of relocation on adolescents in families in all branches of the armed services. She traveled to Africa to teach with the African Sisters Education Collaborative (ASEC) four different times, as well as to England and to other locations in Europe. She continues to teach the African Sisters online. Through a Pennsylvania Humanities Council grant, Sister Gail gave a series of seminars on women’s autobiographies throughout Northeast Pennsylvania.

She frequently presented workshops on friendship development in children and adolescents, as well as child care and stress, to various community groups and organizations. Her board memberships included St. Joseph’s Hospital, and then Marian Community Hospital, in Carbondale, Pa., and she also was a member of the Synod of the Diocese of Scranton. Additionally, she chaired the local chapter of the Epilepsy Foundation for many years.

Sister Gail holds a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and a master of science in education from Marywood, as well as a Ph.D. from the Catholic University of America. She received a National Endowment for the Humanities for a two-month seminar in autobiography at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She has researched, taught, and presented on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator; gender differences; social-cognitive development, particularly in the area of friendship relations; and the relationship of psychology and religion.

Tickets and event sponsorships are available now. Please visit marywood.edu/support/clc or call (570) 348-6238 for more details about honoring Sister Gail Cabral, IHM at Marywood University’s Community Leadership Celebration on May 5.

Tobyhanna Army Depot is seeking nominations for its Warfighter of the Quarter award. 

This award recognizes the service and sacrifice of regional Active-Duty and Reserve Component military personnel and their family members. It also celebrates the direct link between the work of Team Tobyhanna and the readiness of our Armed Forces. 

Unit commanders and leaders are invited to nominate a deserving service member by completing the form at this link: https://forms.gle/KVh89JocSpHYcqaR6

Nominations must be for current service members and must come from their unit leadership.

The award will be presented at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Railriders Armed Forces Night on May 28.

More than 30 deserving Warfighters have received this honor. Sergeant First Class (SFC) Frank E Boehme, Jr. of the 109th Infantry Regiment out of Easton, PA – and a member of the TYAD workforce – was recognized as the first Warfighter of the Quarter of 2022 in February.

For more information, please visit Tobyhanna’s official Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/teamtobyhanna or contact Tobyhanna’s Community Relations Specialist, Katie Nolan, at (570) 615-9884.

Matt Giansanti of Milford, PA is slated to appear on the Milford Theater stage April 30th for a rendition of the play, “Death of a Salesman.” The 1949 tragedy written by American playwright, Arthur Miller, centers on the loss of identity and the inability of New Yorker Willy Loman to face change within himself and society. Viewers will be taken on a ride through Willy’s life as a traveling salesman, husband, and father by way of a tumultuous series of montages, dreams, and arguments. The original play won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play, and is considered by many critics to be the best play of the 20th century.

Matt has been involved with the Human Resources Center for many years. He is presently part of the HRC’s Small Group Employment program receiving support from a professionally trained job coach to help assist him when needed. Matt takes great pride in his work at the Pike County Commissioners office and is now set to take stage in an exclusive one-weekend debut! The Human Resources Center provides home, community, and employment services to individuals with disabilities throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. Matt’s interest in the world of entertainment came to fruition in December of last year when he released a documentary about his brother entitled, “My Brother, My Hero Forever.” The release was a smash success. Matt now turns to his next adventure: live stage acting.

You can catch Matt in “Death of a Salesman” at Milford Theater on Saturday April 30th at 7pm and Sunday May 1st at 2pm. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased on the Milford Theater’s website at www.themilfordtheater.com. The Human Resources Center would like to congratulate Matt on his latest creative endeavor. Break a leg!

The theater has decided to add an additional showing Friday April 29th at 7pm due to popular demand.

Do you love The Office TV show as much as we do? Scranton Tomorrow is thrilled to announce its upcoming mural, The Story of Us: The Office’s relationship with Scranton. This one‐of‐a‐kind art piece will capture the relationship between The Best Hometown of The Office and its beloved characters. The design features large‐scale black and white portraits of the seventeen characters, contrasted with a colorful geometric pattern background, imagery, and quotes that represent significant objects and moments throughout the show’s nine seasons. Standing at 30 feet high and 120 feet long, it will be huge!

For  nearly  30  years,  Scranton  Tomorrow  has  served  the  Scranton  community  as  a  non‐profit  economic development organization focused on growth of downtown and enhancing the lives of its residents and visitors. Scranton Tomorrow spearheads numerous projects and initiatives in the Downtown Scranton Business District, including the Electric City Classic, First Fridays, and most recently, the Mural Arts Program. The Mural Arts program has transformed numerous bare walls and building facades into open  air  galleries  featuring  large‐scale  murals  that  express  Scranton’s  history,  culture,  diversity,  and  creativity.

The Story of Us will be hand painted by Philadelphia based fine‐arts muralist Kala Hagopian founder of Hagopian Arts, an independent female‐owned and operated public art initiative. Having received a Certificate in Painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 2009, she has worked with a large range of clients, including: nonprofits, corporate developers, small businesses, and personal residences. Scranton Tomorrow is thrilled to have her expertise in capturing photo‐realistic images that are interspersed with bright patterns creating stunning masterpieces. Kala’s featured work includes collaborations with the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Women’s Conference, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, The Philadelphia Marathon, Amazon.com, and many others.
Scranton Tomorrow’s Mural Arts program needs your help to make this massive mural become real! Only through your love of The Office, love of art, and love for The Electric City will this monumental mural get underway. Through your support, you will join us in paying homage to The Office’s enduring popularity and creating a legacy for all to enjoy. Please join us in supporting The Story of Us and donate at Indiegogo today!

Sponsorship opportunities are also available. For more information, contact Rose Randazzo Pizzuto, Chairperson Scranton Mural Arts Program at Rose@scrantontomorrow.org and 570.575.0666, or Steve Ward, Scranton Tomorrow Mural Arts Program, Team Leader at 570.963.5901. You can also visit Scranton Tomorrow’s website. Scranton Tomorrow and The Story of Us can also be found on Facebook and Instagram.

With decades of experience in the industry, Disaster Blaster is excited to announce franchise opportunities now available.

Minor League Baseball™ (MiLB™) unveiled the schedule of games and the 85 on-field Hispanic identities for this season’s Copa de la Diversión® (Fun Cup™) event series. Continuing its annual expansion into more communities, eight new teams joined Copa de la Diversión (“Copa”) this season, with five teams returning with rebranded personas.

The 387-game event series will kick off April 9 in Hillsboro, Oregon, with Nationwide returning as the Official Insurance Partner of the Copa initiative.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are pleased to once again be a part of this tremendous outreach program. The Vejigantes return to the field four times during the 2022 season.

The eight MILB teams joining Copa for the first time include the Fort Wayne TinCaps, Frisco RoughRiders, Great Lakes Loons, Quad Cities River Bandits, Somerset Patriots, St. Paul Saints, Syracuse Mets and Wichita Wind Surge. Two teams – the Corpus Christi Hooks and Winston-Salem Dash – return with all-new identities, while the Fresno Grizzlies, Lehigh Valley IronPigs and South Bend Cubs are back with updated looks.

Copa de la Diversión is the centerpiece of MiLB’s “Es Divertido Ser Un Fan™” (“It’s Fun to be A Fan™”) Hispanic fan engagement initiative, which was created in 2017. Through the success of the Copa program, now in its fifth season, MiLB has solidified its commitment to the long-term growth of its U.S. Latino communities and its diversity and inclusion efforts across the country.

“It is important to our organization and all of Minor League Baseball that we continue to embrace everyone in and around our communities through the Copa initiative,” said Frisco RoughRiders President Victor Rojas. “We are excited to honor our rich and diverse Latino culture in hopes of creating a deeper connection to our community on a year-round basis.”

During the first four seasons of the initiative, Copa-designated games had a nearly 20% higher average attendance than non-Copa games, and participating teams saw significant increases in merchandise sales, partnerships, and concessions revenues. Extending their reach into local communities, teams partnered with more than 200 local Latino organizations on various events and charitable endeavors.

“The continued growth of the Copa de la Diversión initiative reinforces the importance of connecting with our Latino fans and the Latino community nationwide,” said Kurt Hunzeker, MLB’s Vice President of Minor League Business Operations. “Our teams continue to authentically connect with the Latino population in their communities, leading to a deeper and more meaningful fan experience.”

At the end of the season, MiLB’s Latino Leadership and Community Growth Council, comprised of industry experts and civic leaders, will recognize the top-performing teams in several categories, including ballpark experience, community engagement, and philanthropic impact, and one team will be named the overall Copa de la Diversión champion. Previous winners include the Mariachis de Nuevo México (2018 and 2019) and the Wepas de Worcester (2021).

For more information on Minor League Baseball’s Copa de la Diversión initiative, visit MiLB.com/copa. To purchase tickets and official merchandise, visit MiLB.com/fans/copa/teams.