The Dime Bank Announces Contest The Dime Bank and Kasasa, an award-winning financial technology and marketing provider, announce a national and local contest offering the chance to win cash prizes to help people connect this holiday season. Local contestants can win $1,000.00 from The Dime Bank and can also submit their entry to the national contest where one grand prize winner will receive $25,000.00 and two runners-up will receive $10,000.00. Kasasa is partnering with local community banks and credit unions across the country as an extension of their “These Are My People” contest. To enter The Dime Bank’s local contest, people can submit a photo or video with a short explanation of why they want to win to www.winwithkasasa.com/thedimebank. Just by entering, local contestants can win $100.00 gift cards. They can also share their post on social channels using the hashtags #TheseAreMyPeople, #thedimebank, #contest, and #Kasasa to encourage friends to enter to win. Kasasa’s “These Are My People” contest provides community members the opportunity to share their story and how the prize money will help them connect with their loved ones, from buying flights to visit hometown friends not seen since the pandemic started, to helping a local small business that is struggling with rising costs, or to make a final mortgage payment ahead of retirement for grandparents. “We believe your money should do more for you and your community. This holiday season, we’re putting our money where our mouth is and giving back to help people spend time with their loved ones and strengthen their connections,” said Gabe Krajicek, CEO of Kasasa. “We’re helping community banks and credit unions do what they do best, give back to their communities.” The contest runs from November 7 – December 7. Local winners will be announced on December 10 and receive the $1,000.00 cash prize sponsored by The Dime Bank. Local contestants can also visit kasasacontest.com to submit their entry to win the national contest, sponsored by Kasasa and in partnership with NBCUniversal, which will award one winner with $25,000.00 and two winners with $10,000.00. National winners will be selected by a Kasasa panel of judges and be announced on December 19.
Tomorrow’s Leaders Today Graduate, Nora Betts, Announces Local Project Nora Betts, a 2021 Tomorrow’s Leader Today graduate, has announced her Girl Scout Gold Award Project. Betts will build and install four bat boxes on homes in NEPA with threatened and unwanted bats. Informational signs will also be installed on the Lackawanna Heritage Trail to educate passersby on the importance of bats and bat boxes. The Instagram @norabetts.batbox is dedicated to the project and serves as a place for live updates as well as an entertaining educational tool for members of the community and beyond. If you’d like more information or are interested in having a bat box installed on your home, contact Nora at norabetts.batbox@gmail.com
Art in Bloom Returns to the Everhart Museum The Everhart Museum announced today that Art in Bloom will return to the Museum on Friday, March 26th, and on Saturday, March 27th. Art in Bloom is a celebration of the Museum’s collection as interpreted through fresh flowers created by some of the region’s most talented designers. The event was sidelined last year due to the global pandemic. The phrase “Art in Bloom” was created by Lorriane M. Pitts, a volunteer at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The original exhibition was previewed in 1976. It comprised traditional visual art pieces and flower arrangements done by local professional florists, designers, and garden club members. Art in Bloom is held at museums across the country. Close to a dozen works and objects from the Everhart’s collection will be showcased alongside floral designs creating a visual juxtaposition that speaks to art and nature lovers alike. On Friday the 26th, the event will kick off at 6:00 pm with a Virtual VIP Preview of the art-inspired floral arrangements created by local designers and virtual entertainment coordinated by Scranton Fringe. The community will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite interpretation on Saturday. On March 27th, the Art in Bloom exhibit will be on view from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm. Guests will have the opportunity to participate in mobile tours of the galleries, pick up crafts, and activities to take home or shop at our nature-inspired marketplace. Voting will open for the People’s Choice Award and be announced on Saturday afternoon. The event is pay-as-you-wish and open to all ages. Interested in participating? You can do so from home. The Museum will offer a series of uniquely designed floral-inspired virtual Live and Pre-recorded classes on Saturday, March 20th, between 10:00a and 4:00 pm. Some of the scheduled programs are a Pressed Flower Demo, Watercolor Painting, and Cookie Making Classes. Classes will be announced soon, and registration in advance is required. All scheduled programs will be free to the public, thanks to our generous sponsors, PNC and Toyota of Scranton. Join us for the perfect springtime event: an aesthetic marriage between art and nature.
Lackawanna College’s Rally for Restaurants Aids Local Restaurants, Scholarship With restaurants feeling the impact of COVID-19, Lackawanna College teamed up with Scranton Tomorrow and the City of Scranton to raise money to help local restaurant owners and workers make ends meet. The effort raised over $30,000, which went directly to participating restaurants, and over $7,000 for the Lackawanna College School of Hospitality scholarship fund. Lackawanna College’s student-run restaurant, 409 on Adams, pivoted in a multi-faceted effort to help support the restaurant industry while also giving students valuable culinary experience with some of the area’s leading chefs. “Rally for Restaurants exemplified what our region is known for-neighbors helping neighbors. We were honored to serve alongside the City of Scranton and Scranton Tomorrow to bring much-needed dollars to local restaurants,” said Stephanie Decker, Associate Vice President of Social and Economic Impact. “Lackawanna College and our students are so excited to continue this program as we prepare the newest restaurant workforce to emerge equipped to sustain and fortify the local restaurant economy and arts and culture of our region.” Lackawanna’s School of Hospitality students worked alongside expert chefs from eight local restaurants, serving a total of 684 meals since the initiative launched in February 2020. A combination of generous sponsorships and in-kind donations helped offset the operating costs for the events, along with funds raised from private donations and t-shirt sales. “I want to thank Lackawanna College and all of the students, and anyone involved at the College who has generously donated their time and energy to put these events on. There are few places like Scranton where you see a community rally around each other in times of need. It has been the bright spot in an otherwise dark year,” said Patrick Nasser, co-owner of Backyard Alehouse. Lackawanna College will launch a second Rally for Restaurants initiative beginning next month. Rally for Restaurants Recap Video: https://youtu.be/iUS7Kp4uYk8Rally for Restaurants Web Page: https://www.lackawanna.edu/rally-for-restaurants/
Shop Library Express Bookstore Online Library Express Bookstore customers can now shop the local Scranton store online through Bookshop.org. Visit Bookshop.org and type Library Express Bookstore in the search box or go directly to the bookstore’s page by entering this url: https://bookshop.org/shop/libraryexpress. Bookshop.org is designed to help support local bookstores and provide a way for customers to shop online while still supporting their community. It’s easy to sign up, shop, and support. Every time a customer shops the bookstore through Bookshop.org, Library Express Bookstore, as an affiliate, will receive a portion of the sales as a commission. This in turn supports the library-side of the bookstore and library, providing free programs for children, teens, and adults. Besides finding a variety of bestsellers and books for all ages, customers can also shop Library Express online for gifts including jigsaw puzzles, Dunder Mifflin books, and The Office merchandise. Customers can call the Bookstore at (570) 558-1670 for more information or visit their website at https://lclshome.org/b/library-express/.
