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NANTICOKE — From a tank called Stuie to a daughter named Cori, from health care for the elderly to parenting aid for a pregnant teen, the Luzerne Foundation’s third annual “Non-Profit Forum” Wednesday showcased the area’s diverse needs with a mix of humor, hard numbers and heart-wrenching stories.
With only five minutes each to pitch their causes in nothing but words, representatives from 33 agencies got straight to the meat of the matter once they stepped to the mic.
Hope Center of Wyoming Valley Director Ron Hillard rattled off numbers for an agency that provides free medical services to the uninsured or under-insured, particularly Medicare patients and veterans, then shifted gears.
“I learned a long time ago that if I speak from here, people listen,” he said pointing to his chest “We’re making an effort to stand in the gap until someone fixes this. I’m asking you to help us stand in the gap.”
Harris Conservatory for the Arts Development Director Nancy Stout also offered a list of programs for youngsters with limited income or special needs, then painted a brief picture of an intangible outcome: “We have seen children change before our eyes in the Dance For All of Us program for autistic children.”
Camp Orchard Hill Executive Director Jim Payne first quoted a guest who had attended one of the Dallas facility’s programs. “I really loved it here. That is because it was a better family than the one I have.” Then he voiced a sentiment attributed to U.S. military officer Henry Atkinson: “Good enough is not enough; it is ever the enemy of the best.”
George Gwilliam joked that he started Cori’s Place “because my wife said ‘let’s start a program,’ and when your wife says let’s start a program, you start a program.”
The agency does more than commemorate the couple’s daughter by helping young adults like her who struggle with disabilities, he stressed. “I want to teach these individuals to give back to the community. I tell them people are helping us, so let’s help someone else.”
David Kovach not only approached the podium as the only speaker wearing a T-shirt in a room full of neckties and creased pants, he arguably had the most offbeat cause. “We wish to honor the sacrifice and accomplishments of thousands of area World War II workers who built the Stuart Tank” in Berwick.
More than 9,000 workers helped build 15,000 M-3 tanks, and nearly one-fifth of the workforce came from Luzerne County, he said. “Because of the prodigious output, Hitler had placed the Berwick plant on his short list of American targets to be destroyed should the opportunity arise.”
Executive Director John Maday framed the mission of the Riverfront Parks Committee in sweeping strokes of survival. He started by pointing out disposable diapers can last in a landfill up to 500 years, and that a recent Washington Post Article projected that by 2050 there would be, weight-wise, more plastic in the oceans than fish.
Through a constant focus on environmental education, the committee works to reverse such trends one young mind at a time, Maday said. “We are, in essence, destroying our planet,” he added. “It isn’t easy but it has to start somewhere, with organizations such as ours, to help change the direction.”
Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Dave Peters evoked laughs describing how youngsters first react when they learn Camp Cadet is technology free. “On the first day, their thumbs twitch,” as if the smartphone is still in their hands. “They will tell you how they texted their mother from upstairs to bring a sandwich while they play Call of Duty,” he said. “We don’t bring them lunch.”
The goal is not deprivation. “We try to teach them failure is not an option; don’t give up on hopes and dreams. Failure isn’t not completing the task, it’s giving up on it.”
United Way of Greater Hazleton President Pat Ward spoke next, and quipped, “I’m not used to following the State Police; I’m used to being followed.”
Executive Director Charles Barber said the Luzerne Foundation expects to award up to 10 grants this year, though he declined to say how much money would be handed out. The choices will be announced at the foundation board’s May meeting.
But seven agencies didn’t have to wait. Drawing envelopes from a tote bag like the one handed out to participants, $1,000 grants were given like door prizes to United Way of Greater Hazleton, The Stuart Tank Memorial Association, The Commonwealth Medical College, The F. M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, The Newport Township Community Organization, the Greater Hazleton Area Civic Partnership and Camp Orchard Hill.