PS Bank Supports Lackawanna Trail School District PS Bank is proud to support the Lackawanna Trail School District for the 2021-2022 academic year with a charitable contribution of $5,000. PS Bank is an ardent supporter of the district as well as the greater Factoryville, Nicholson, and Dalton community. In acceptance of the monetary donation, Business Manager Keith Glynn said, “The money provided by PS Bank over the past few years has helped to provide resources for sports and music in the classroom where budgets may not have been able to stretch. For this year, we will be using the funds to buy a district-wide license for Kami which is a digital learning platform tool to help our educators create engaging and interactive materials in a virtual environment.” The relationship between Lackawanna Trail and PS Bank extends beyond annual donations in support of students. “Lackawanna Trail is extremely grateful for the relationship with PS Bank. On top of the great financial services provided through the local branches, the bank has strived to meet the needs of our organization and has been a great tool for us in our financial planning strategies,” said Glynn. Anthony Gabello, President & CEO of PS Bank knows that supporting public schools is the foundation of a prosperous community and is proud to have such a great relationship with Lackawanna Trail. “PS Bank is proud to support the Lackawanna Trail School District again this year. Serving the students and faculty of the district with our annual sponsorship of the high school auditorium allows school leadership to continue to provide an outstanding educational experience,” stated Gabello. PS Bank serves the Lackawanna Trail community at 118 College Avenue, Factoryville. For more information about banking at this branch, please reach out to Janice Bevacqua, Assistant Vice President & Branch Manager at jbevacqua@psbanking.com.
HNB Supports Women’s Resource Center With EITC Donation The Honesdale National Bank was once again authorized to make approved contributions under the Commonwealth’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program. HNB designated $2,500 of their approved allotment to the missions of the Women’s Resource Center. The funds, donated by HNB, will support their Safe Dates Program. HNB President & CEO David Raven stated, “We are grateful to have the opportunity to support this organization with funds through the EITC program. The Women’s Resource Center plays a vital role in our society, especially for the health and safety of individuals in our community.”
HNB Supports Leadership Lackawanna with EITC Donation The Honesdale National Bank was once again authorized to make approved contributions under the Commonwealth’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program. HNB designated $2,000 of their approved allotment to Leadership Lackawanna. The funds, donated by HNB, will support curriculum enhancement for the betterment of local young professionals. HNB President & CEO David Raven stated, “Leadership Lackawanna provides development for the skillsets of our area’s business owners and professionals, underwriting the growth and expansion of our local commerce and region’s economy.” He continued, “We are glad that we can provide funding for this program to continue the benefit to our community.” Nikki Morristell, Executive Director, Leadership Lackawanna, said “We are most appreciative to HNB for their continued support. These funds directly impact the 41 aspiring high school juniors in our Tomorrow’s Leaders Today program, hence allowing their leadership skills and abilities to grow and shine. Indirectly this generous gift provides an unparalleled combination of people, resources and opportunities to the community, impacting NEPA for years to come!” Leadership Lackawanna is a 501(c)(3) charitable, nonprofit organization in northeastern Pennsylvania dedicated to community leadership and professional development. Its five programs – Tomorrow’s Leaders Today, Leadership U, Core, Executive, and Welcome Scranton! – enhance the skills, connections, and knowledge of emerging and established leaders, enabling them to better serve in our communities, workplaces, and organizations. Since inception, Leadership Lackawanna has graduated more than 2,300 community leaders.
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.
More Than 96,000 Jobs Supported Through NBT Bank’s PPP Funding Efforts Since the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) opened in 2020, NBT Bank has funded over 6,000 loans exceeding $830 million in relief. These funds support small businesses and not-for-profit organizations in the communities NBT serves. “With more than $285 million secured through 3,000 loans in 2021, the average size PPP loan at NBT for this most recent round of funding was $94,000,” said NBT Bank President and CEO John H. Watt, Jr. “In total, we provided support to organizations that employ 96,000 workers.” The organizations supported by the PPP loans secured through NBT Bank include numerous main street retailers and minority and women-owned businesses, as well as rural hospitals and nursing homes, human and family services organizations, farms and other agricultural businesses, educational institutions, manufacturers, restaurants, contractors and construction businesses. “The banking industry has played a crucial role in delivering relief through the PPP loan program to provide businesses and non-profits and their employees with a bridge to the post-pandemic economy. At NBT, we are proud of our team and their efforts to leverage our lending, operational and technical expertise to aggressively support this program,” concluded Watt.
Rally for Restaurants $10,000 Cash Prize for #RallyFinale After raising nearly $50,000 for restaurants and over $12,000 for student scholarships, Lackawanna College Rally for Restaurants and Metz Culinary Management have committed to raising up to $10,000 to award to one local restaurant in need. “Rally for Restaurants exemplifies the College’s commitment to bettering the communities we serve, namely in this case, our restaurant community,” said Stephanie Decker, Lackawanna College Associate VP of Social and Economic Impact. “Thanks to the generosity of Metz Culinary Management and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, our #RallyFinale event will deliver on that promise in a big way.” Rally for Restaurants at 409 on Adams will feature Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, a franchise operated by Metz, for their final dinner service on May 6 at their #RallyFinale event. Metz Culinary Management will award all proceeds from the event to Lackawanna College who will run a community-driven contest to award the full amount raised to a local eatery. “As a partner with Lackawanna College since 2015 as their onsite foodservice provider, Metz Culinary Management is thrilled to work in conjunction with their local Ruth’s Chris Steak House to support Rally for Restaurants,” said Jeff Metz, President and CEO of Metz Culinary Management. “Our commitment to raising money for those in need locally is part of who we are as an organization and we are proud to support this worthy cause.” Restaurants can participate in the Lackawanna College Rally for Restaurant’s #RallyFinale contest by submitting a 60-second video on how the funds will be used to help their restaurant at www.lackawanna.edu/rally by Friday, April 30. Lackawanna College will announce the finalists on May 3 and open the vote to the public. The contest winner will be announced at the #RallyFinale event with Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse on May 6. For more information, reservations or to donate to Rally for Restaurants, visit www.lackawanna.edu/rally.
