AllOne Foundation & Charities Announces Staff Expansion

AllOne Foundation & Charities is excited to announce a staff expansion to further support innovative programs and projects, broaden philanthropic collaboration, and continue to improve the health and welfare of the people of Northeastern and North Central Pennsylvania. Jesse J. Ergott will serve as Chief Advancement Officer and Nora Kern as Program Officer.

Jesse J. Ergott, Chief Advancement Officer

Prior to joining AllOne Foundation & Charities, Jesse served as President and CEO at NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania. In this role, Jesse oversaw a strategic rebranding from Neighborhood Housing Services of Lackawanna County to NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania, expanding the organization’s geographical footprint from one to six counties and its four-member staff to a dedicated team of twenty-one.

During Jesse’s sixteen-year tenure, NeighborWorks led the response to the region’s mortgage foreclosure crisis, launched a volunteer program that provided approximately 90,000 hours in small home repairs and other services to neighbors who needed a helping hand, assisted approximately 1,000 residents with purchasing their first home, and developed an aging in place program that aided hundreds of seniors with home renovations and accessibility improvements. Jesse also operationalized the organization’s community development work, leading to significant investments in blight reduction and neighborhood beautification.

Prior to joining NeighborWorks, Jesse served as Chief Operations Officer for the Lackawanna Heritage Valley State and National Heritage Area. Jesse has served on many local, state, and national boards and as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Scranton’s Kania School of Business where he helps lead the University’s Nonprofit Leadership Certificate Program.
In his role as Chief Advancement Officer, Jesse will drive the operational and strategic direction of AllOne Foundation & Charities to advance the mission and vision of the organization.

Nora Kern, Program Officer

Prior to joining AllOne Foundation & Charities, Nora served as Advancement Manager at the Scranton Area Community Foundation where she advanced the message of the Foundation by providing content for all forms of communication. She also contributed to developing the Foundation through grant writing and donor relations.
Nora has worked in the nonprofit sector since 2009, starting as a Development Director at Trehab Community Action Agency in Montrose, Pennsylvania. At Trehab she focused on affordable housing, renewable energy, and emergency food, shelter, and utility programs. She then joined the Admissions and Marketing Department at Kendal, a nonprofit continuing care retirement community in Ithaca, NY where she focused on building relationships.

As Program Officer, Nora will assist with grant management, community events and nonprofit partnerships.

AllOne Foundation Awards Grant to CAC/NEPA

The Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania (CAC/NEPA) announces the award of a $65,000 grant from AllOne Foundation

“The Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania is grateful to AllOne Foundation for their generous grant to our Center. This grant supported expanding our trauma-informed behavioral and mental health services for child victims of abuse, neglect, and trauma in Northeastern Pennsylvania by hiring another full-time therapist for our Mulberry Center. On behalf of the Board of Directors, the CAC Team, and the child victims of abuse and neglect we serve, we are sincerely grateful for AllOne Foundation’s support.” said Marsha Pigga, Executive Director.

For more information about the CAC/NEPA, please call the Center at 570-969-7313 or visit the CAC/NEPA’s website: www.cacnepa.org.

AllOne Foundation Funding to Enhance Services to Isolated Older Adults

To help older adults maintain their independence in the community, the AllOne Foundation provided a three-year grant award allowing The Wright Center for Community Health and the separately operated Telespond Senior Services to deliver critical programming such as adult day care.

AllOne Foundation CEO John W. Cosgrove recently presented a ceremonial check representing the final installment of the grant funding, which in total amounted to $1.156 million.

The joint initiative to support successful aging in place among residents of Lackawanna, Luzerne and nearby counties began in early 2020, just as the COVID-19 outbreak hit Northeast Pennsylvania. The pandemic forced Telespond to temporarily scale back or suspend many of its services, which include an in-home personal care program and a senior companion program. At the same time, concerns were raised locally and globally about the impact of the pandemic on socially isolated older adults who might be prone to developing behavioral health issues such as substance use disorder, anxiety and depression.

Since then, Telespond has better positioned itself for the long-term continuity of its services, reviving and expanding its medical model adult day care program as well as recruiting volunteers for its senior companion program. Telespond also implemented a transportation program for its clients, renovated its building on Scranton’s Saginaw Street and made many other improvements.

“With the vital support from AllOne Foundation and all of our partners, our organization has made tremendous strides toward developing into the strong nonprofit ally that area seniors and their families can rely on for services that promote dignity and provide a viable alternative to retirement homes,” said Joseph J. Grilli, president and CEO of Senior Day Services, a Telespond Company.

The Wright Center serves as fiscal agent for the grant award, providing Telespond with resources, guidance and expertise as Telespond repositions itself for growth of its service area and sustained impact.

“The Wright Center recognizes how socially isolated seniors can be particularly vulnerable to both mental and physical decline,” said Meaghan Ruddy, the organization’s senior vice president of academic affairs, enterprise assessment and advancement, and chief research and development officer. “Our team members – including our executives, geriatrics providers and support staff –

have been privileged to work with Telespond’s leadership to enhance the community-based supports available to our region’s most mature and venerable residents.”

The grant-funded project is scheduled to continue through March 2023.

AllOne Foundation, based in Wilkes-Barre, works independently or collectively to enhance the present health care delivery system of Northeastern and North Central Pennsylvania and to be innovative, creative and collaborative in crafting new ways of improving the health and welfare of the people of our region.

Telespond, based in Scranton and serving the area since 1974, assists older adults and their caregivers through a range of programs including an on-site adult day care program, non-medical in-home personal care services and a senior companion program in which volunteers provide seniors with friendly company and help with day-to-day activities.

The Wright Center for Community Health is headquartered in Scranton and operates nine primary care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wayne counties, offering services to patients of all ages. In July 2020, it formally established a geriatrics service line, and it also has begun an Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program. The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education offers multiple residency and fellowship programs, including a Geriatrics Fellowship.

NeighborWorks NEPA Receives Grant from AllOne Foundation & Charities

NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania (NeighborWorks) is pleased to announce it has received a $100,000 grant from the AllOne Foundation & Charities to be used towards expansion of Aging in Place services. The goal of this program will be to provide resources to help older adults overcome social isolation and health issues.

These funds will be used to increase and expand Aging in Place services with a focus on social isolation prevention. NeighborWorks will additionally be increasing the volunteer opportunities available to older adults through an expansion and reorganization of the volunteer program.

The Aging in Place program has worked with the Ignatian Volunteer Corps (IVC) through a two-year funding partnership with the Moses Taylor Foundation to recruit, train and support volunteers for the Friendly Visitor/CARE calls program to combat social isolation. This program connects volunteers aged 55 and over with older adults to engage, provide resource connection, virtual activities and someone to connect with.

This program will be modified in the coming year to use recommendations from the larger senior social isolation prevention plan being undertaken by the United Way of Lackawanna & Wayne Counties and funded by the Moses Taylor Foundation. As restrictions continue to lift from the COVID-19 pandemic and individuals become more comfortable interacting with others, NeighborWorks will reorganize and expand volunteer opportunities for civic organizations, community clubs, students, churches, schools, businesses, individuals and families. This is all with a focus on direct service to improve the lives of older adults in the community.

“We are most thankful to the AllOne Foundation for their support as a key partner of our Aging in Place program,” Jesse Ergott, NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania President & CEO, said of the award. “Over 400 older adults have received Aging in Place services since the start of the program, and this funding will allow us to make more improvements for older adults in areas that include critical safety modifications, financial coaching, and senior isolation prevention.”

Funds from AllOne Foundation & Charities will be used to serve approximately 225 older adults aged 60 and over who are at or under 80% of their home counties’ area median income. The redesigned NeighborWorks Volunteer Program will increase volunteer opportunities for various projects for older adults including the Friendly Visitor Program, expanded small home repair services and smart home device installation. Over 4,700 volunteers have been deployed by NeighborWorks over the past decade.

“AllOne Foundation & Charities looks to our partners to measurably improve access to health care in our community. The Aging in Place programs offered by NeighborWorks NEPA are an outstanding example of the power of front-line, community-based services directly reaching our senior family members, neighbors and friends. The impact of their innovative, agile and compassionate service is significant,” said John Cosgrove, Executive Director of AllOne Foundation & Charities.”

Additionally, to increase mobility and ability to provide volunteer services to older adults, a cargo van will be purchased through funds acquired by the AllOne Foundation & Charities and co-branded with the foundation.

AllOne Foundation Supports Expansion of Friendship House Autism Services in Williamsport

The Friendship House Autism program in Williamsport became operational on September 15, 2019 as part of the Autism Collaborative Centers of Excellence with the support of the AllOne Foundation. Located in the Hope Enterprises Inc. facility in Williamsport, PA, Friendship House is currently serving eight children and their families. Led by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), Friendship House provides evidence-based teaching strategies in one to one or group formats to allow the children served the opportunity to acquire developmentally appropriate skill repertoires.

Friendship House has operated an Autism Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) Center Based program in Scranton, PA since November 2002. Formerly known as the Autism EIBI program, Friendship House has served over 500 children with Autism and comorbid diagnoses, and supported their transitions to various programs and schools in the community. The Autism program at Friendship House uses evidence-based teaching methods focused on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis, a research-based, scientifically validated treatment widely used for individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Early, intensive intervention services are key for skill development. The goal of the Autism program is to assist the child and his/her caregiver in developing “learning to learn skills” to better prepare them for inclusion in naturalistic settings within school based programming, their home, and the community.

Alex J. Hazzouri, President/Chief Executive Officer of Friendship House, emphasized the importance of early intervention services for children with Autism. “The opportunity that AllOne Foundation provided to Friendship House to expand services into Lycoming County has afforded families that have children with Autism a unique opportunity to access these critical services,” he said.

Friendship House is committed to maximizing the adaptive functioning and skills of its children in a planned, positive, and data driven manner.

According to John Cosgrove, Executive Director, AllOne Foundation, Friendship House offers a unique program providing critical Applied Behavioral Analysis to young children. “This early intervention program is one of a kind and the AllOne Foundation is pleased to be part of this effort to bring these services to families in Lycoming County,” he said.

Friendship House is licensed by the state of Pennsylvania as an Intensive Behavioral Health Services provider. As an agency, Friendship House’s intention is to expand beyond center-based programming to provide Autism services in the home, school, and community settings. This would allow greater access to services for families in need in Lycoming County.

Greater Scranton YMCA Awarded $60,000 from AllOne Foundation

Trish Fisher, president & CEO, Greater Scranton YMCA; John Cosgrove, executive director, AllOne Foundation & Charities

The Greater Scranton YMCA was awarded $60,000 from the AllOne Foundation as part of a regional grant supporting programming that serves individuals with physical and developmental disabilities at YMCAs across the Northeastern Pennsylvania region.

At the Greater Scranton YMCA, the grant will support We Are Y, a program that serves individuals from childhood through adulthood with varying physical and/or developmental disabilities. We Are Y’s primary goal is to improve participants’ overall health – physically, mentally and socially.

On June 10th, a check presentation was held for the first installment of the grant award ($30,000). Any help you can provide in sharing this photo with our community would be greatly appreciated!