It’s that time of the year when non-profits are either winding down or gearing up for their annual campaign. This year, as a way to say thank you to the community for their continued support, the Everhart Museum is kicking off it’s “Giving Campaign” by giving back to the community. It is offering a BOGO (Buy One Get One) admission ticket all Thanksgiving weekend as well as steep discounts in the Museum Store. Between 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm on Sunday, December 1st, all those who visit will receive one free ticket for every one purchased and, n addition, members will receive 25% off, and non-members will receive 20% off.

The Everhart Museum is dedicated to the collection, care, and display of a diverse array of objects and specimens, including natural history, science, and fine arts. Through its exhibitions and programs, the Museum has become an invaluable regional resource for educational and cultural opportunities.

This month, the Museum took the Pledge of Excellence, the first step towards accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums. “Enriching our lives culturally, spiritually, and economically, the arts are and always have been integral to the lifeblood of our City,” said Mayor Wayne Evans during a recent visit to the Museum.

“Museums exist to serve the community, they provide entertaining activities for children and engaging programs for adults,” commented Aurore Giguet, executive director of the Everhart. “It is our obligation to the community to offer programs that continue to educate and enrich by introducing unique experiences and inspiring us to think beyond ourselves.”

To learn more about the Pledge of Excellence, visit www.aam-us.org.

The Everhart Museum is open: Thursday, 12:00 pm – 7:00 pm, Friday, 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm, Saturday, 10:00 pm – 5:00 pm, Sunday, 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm, and Monday 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Admission is $7/adults, $5/students & seniors, $3/children 6-12, and free to guests five and under as well as Everhart Museum members. For more information, contact the Museum at 570-346-7186 or email general.information@everhartmuseum.org.

About the Everhart Museum: Founded in 1908, the Everhart Museum of Natural History, Science & Art, is the largest general Museum in Northeastern Pennsylvania. General support for the Museum is received from the Lackawanna County Office of Education & Culture, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the City of Scranton. For more information on the Museum, visit our website at www.everhart-museum.org or contact us at 570-346-7186.

The Hospice of the Sacred Heart Fall Memorial Service was held Sunday, November 17th, at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton. The service was open to family members of patients who Hospice of the Sacred Heart staff and volunteers had the privilege of caring for between October, 2018 and September, 2019. Family members were given a small wrapped loaf of bread as a remembrance gift courtesy of the Culinary Arts program at Lackawanna College.

Diane Baldi, Hospice of the Sacred Heart CEO, welcomed the 150+ guests to the Cathedral and Rev. Bernard R. McIlhenny, SJ, Pastoral Minister at the University of Scranton, delivered very personal words of inspiration and encouraged everyone to do something nice and leave a positive mark in memory of their loved one. Rev. Rebecca A. Barnes, Priest-In-Charge at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Scranton, offered opening and closing prayers and explained eloquently the significance of the bread.

Michael Brown offered a reading from the Book of Revelation and violinist Mark Woodyatt and vocalist Angela Burke provided beautiful music for the service.

About Hospice of the Sacred Heart:

• Not-for-profit, free-standing hospice program serving Northeastern Pennsylvania since 2004
• Main office is located in Wilkes-Barre, with an Inpatient Unit located in Dunmore and a Center for Education in Moosic
• Care provided for over 1,800 patients in 2018 and over 14,000 to date
• Employs approximately 120 employees throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania
• Volunteers provided over 7,000 hours of support to patients and families in 2018

Just in time for Veterans Day, Penn State Scranton will play host to a traveling exhibit that pays homage to University athletes who bravely served their country during World War I.

The Penn State All-Sports Museum exhibit, “Field to Front: Nittany Lions at War, 1917-1919,” will be on display on the main floor of the campus library from Oct. 20 through Dec. 13 during regular operating hours.

On Thursday, Nov. 14, Ken Hickman, director of the All-Sports Museum, will give two lectures on the exhibit at the library — one at noon and another at 6 p.m., with both open to the campus community and the general public. Admission is free, and there will be light refreshments.

The lectures are being sponsored by Penn State University Libraries, the Penn State Scranton Alumni Society and the campus Student Activity Fee.

First exhibited in 2017 at the All-Sports Museum, which is located in Beaver Stadium, “Field to Front” had been on display most recently at Penn State Harrisburg. After learning about the exhibit, campus Alumni and Development Specialist Deborah Johnson approached Head Librarian Jennie Knies with the idea of bringing it to Scranton.

“I found this opportunity extremely interesting, in that it will appeal to several audiences with a variety of interests – history, veterans, athletics, Penn State alumni, World War I, photography, etc.,” Johnson said. “We specifically invited Mr. Hickman to speak at noon and 6 p.m. to accommodate the busy schedules of our students and the public.”

“I am really looking forward to it, because I like World War I history and think it was a very fascinating period of history. There was so much technological and cultural change that happened around that time, sometimes because of the war, and I always like to learn about personal stories from that time period,” Knies added. “This is a campus with a strong veteran presence in the student body, and I hope that those students especially might be interested to learn the histories of how war disrupted the lives of students a century ago.”

Created to coincide with the centennial of the United States’ involvement in World War I, “Field to Front” centers on the heroic contributions Penn State athletes made to the war effort, from their training in the states to their experiences fighting in the trenches of France and Italy.

The exhibit uses numerous photos, letters and diaries to provide an in-depth understanding of the service of notable Nittany Lions like Bob Higgins (football), James “Red” Bebout (football), Levi L. Lamb (football, wrestling, and track) and Harry C. Jester (basketball). It also details the exploits of Richard S. Davis (football) and William

“Whitey” Thomas (football), who served with the fledgling U.S. Army Air Service, and tells the story of the U.S. Army Ambulance Service Section 529, a unit entirely made up of Penn Staters who served with the Italian Army.

Hickman has been the director of the Penn State All-Sports Museum since 2006 and is chair of the Penn State University Museum Consortium. A 1998 Penn State graduate, he previously served as the curator and director of development for the USS Constellation Museum in Baltimore, and as curator of the American Merchant Marine Museum in Kings Point, New York. He has been featured on the History Channel, and has overseen all military history content for About.com/ThoughtCo.com since 2007.

Knies believes the exhibit will make for a great cultural and educational addition to the library during its brief stay.

“I don’t think that people necessarily expect to find exhibits like this on our campus, and so I hope that it will be something that is novel enough that it compels people to visit,” she said. “The library is a place to discover all sorts of knowledge, not just academic books and schoolwork, and so I try to grab opportunities to surprise people with topics and events that might broaden their worldview.”

For more information on the exhibit, contact Knies at jak6029@psu.edu or 570-963-2632. The campus library is open Monday to Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 3 to 9 p.m.

With the 2020 Census quickly approaching, Penn State Scranton is taking a proactive approach to promoting the importance of the once-every-decade U.S. population survey.

On Tuesday, Nov. 19, the campus Community Events Series will host the educational program, “The Urgency of Now: What the Penn State Community Should Know About the 2020 Census,” from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Sherbine Lounge. The event is free and open to the public.

At the event, Pedro Anes, U.S. Census Bureau partnership specialist for the Scranton area, will facilitate a forum geared around a number of critical issues that the campus community and local residents should be aware of heading into next year’s census.

Anes was invited to the campus by Chancellor Marwan Wafa, Ph.D.

“It’s essential for us to educate the public about the census because of the significant financial implications it has for our region,” Wafa said. “This is an opportunity to answer any questions and alleviate any concerns that people might have on the issue. Many of us, myself included, don’t quite realize how census data is used, and the impact that it has on people.”

Jennie Knies, campus head librarian and chair of the campus’ Community Events Series committee, said that many people have the misconception that the census is simply a count of every person living in the U.S. In fact, it serves a number of objectives, she said.

“The results of the census are used to determine how many seats each state gets in the House of Representatives. And, the numbers are used by federal, state and local governments, and by businesses, to make crucial decisions about services and programs,” said Knies, noting census data also serves as a valuable tool to researchers and genealogists once its confidentiality requirements expire after 70 years.

At the talk, Anes, a member of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs and chairman of the Scranton Human Relations Commission, will not only stress the importance of participating in the census, but also ways to overcome the Scranton area’s estimated 25 to 35 percent response to it.

In addition, Anes’ presentation will focus on the safety and ease of completing the census, which can now be done online. And, he’ll delve into its financial implications – specifically, the $675 billion in federal funding that’s allocated to the states based on their per-capita response to the census.

That funding is spent on schools, hospitals, roads and social service programs, in the process creating jobs and quality-of-life resources for citizens, said Jo Ann Durdan,event co-coordinator and education program specialist in the campus’ Center for Business Development and Community Outreach.

“The census benefits our community as a whole,” Durdan said. “We have a civic duty to inform, educate and provide the necessary information for the community to understand the importance of the census. Understanding the barriers can help in clearing up any misinformation.”

For more information on the event, call 570-963-2685 or visit scranton.psu.edu/event/learn-more-about-2020-census. And, for further information on the census, visit www.census.gov.

Dec. 4             Noon. Schemel Forum World Affairs Luncheon Seminar: “Reckoning with Contested History as an Essential Part of Sustaining Democracy” presented by Liz Sevcenko, director of the Rutgers Newark Humanities Action Lab. Rose Room, Brennan Hall. Registration required. Fees vary. Call 570-941-6206 or email alicen.morrison@scranton.edu.

Dec. 7             8 p.m. (Prelude begins at 7 p.m.) Performance Music: “52^nd Annual Noel Night” featuring The University of Scranton Singers and Chamber Ensembles. Houlihan-McLean Center. Free. Call 570-941-7624 or email music@scranton.edu.

Dec. 15            7:30 p.m. Performance Music: “Empty Stocking Fund Benefit Concert” featuring Ken McGraw with Brass and Ivory. Houlihan-McLean Center. Admission: one new unwrapped toy, new toiletry items or a monetary donation. Call 570-941-7624 or email music@scranton.edu.

Dec. 25           8 a.m. Community Christmas Day Breakfast. Doors open at 8 a.m., Fresh Food Company, DeNaples Center. Free. No reservations necessary. Call 570-941-7401 or email info@scranton.edu.

 Marywood University will hold on-campus Transfer Tuesday programs for college students or former college students who are considering transferring to Marywood University. We welcome transfer students at all stages of their college careers. In a single visit on Tuesday, November 26, December 3, December 17, 2019, or January 7, 2020, from 2-6 p.m., visitors can discuss financial aid and scholarship options, transfer credits, take a tour of campus, and complete an application for admission.

The fall/winter Transfer Tuesday programs will be held at the Office of University Admissions in the Liberal Arts Center on Marywood University’s campus. Spring semester classes begin on Monday, January 13, 2020.

For additional information, or to register for the fall/winter Transfer Tuesday programs, please call Marywood University’s Office of University Admissions, at (570) 348-6234, or visit www.marywood.edu/admissions.

Peckville Self Storage recently held the official ribbon-cutting ceremony of two new buildings which includes160 storage units to accommodate local business and home owner demands for storage. The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce and Blakely Mayor Jeanette Acciare-Mariani officiated the ceremony.

Guests in attendance were able to tour the new 20,000 square foot space. “The new space validates the need for storage in our area,” explained Elizabeth Turner, General Manager. “The multi-use units ranging in size from 5’ x 5’ to 10’ x 30’ offer storage solutions as warehouse space for businesses, vehicle storage, or house-hold storage while selling your home.”

Turner further noted, “our services include package acceptance and delivery, U-Haul truck and equipment rentals, along with moving and packing supplies.”

The company started with their sister facility, Olyphant Self Storage in 2006. When they outgrew that prop-erty, the business expanded to Peckville in 2017.

“Our mission is to provide the best storage solutions, outstanding customer service, a safe and secure facility along with maintaining clean and appealing properties,” stated Elizabeth.

The Peckville property on Sturges Road is also home to Beards & Shears Barbershop & Shave Parlor, Step-ping Stones Early Learning Center, LLC, and Sugar Ray’s Bakery. The property was formerly P. J.’s Home Center.

More information is available at www.peckvilleselfstorage.com.