Photo (left to right): Kenneth Okrepkie, Scranton Area Community Foundation Board Member; Laura Ducceschi, President and CEO, Scranton Area Community Foundation; Jennifer Shoemaker, Outreach Workforce Development Manager, and Heather MacLennan, Ways to Work Case Manager, Outreach – Center for Community Resources.
Scranton, PA – May 19, 2025 – Outreach – Center for Community Resources recently received a $10,000 grant from the Scranton Area Community Foundation for the Ways to Work car loan program.
Established in 2024, the Ways to Work program helps low-income individuals obtain a reliable, safe vehicle to maintain and advance their employment opportunities. Eligible participants must meet a series of requirements verified by Outreach staff. Participants can receive up to a $15,000 loan over five years. Outreach employs a Ways to Work program manager who maintains constant contact with the participant throughout the loan, providing support and connections to resources when necessary.
Since starting the program, Outreach has provided vehicles to eight individuals. The program has helped individuals and families attain economic self-sufficiency and family stability, which is the Outreach mission.
Outreach is thankful to the Scranton Area Community Foundation for its support.
About Outreach – Center for Community Resources
Since 1988, Outreach – Center for Community Resources has served individuals and families in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The mission of Outreach is to help individuals and families attain economic self-sufficiency and family stability through evidence-based programming. Outreach has served over 30,000 individuals throughout the region in 35 years. Outreach serves families seeking to gain the skills necessary for employment at family-sustaining wages; 84% of Outreach program participants earn less than $25,000 annually and live below the Federal Poverty Line. Outreach is committed to helping move families forward towards brighter tomorrows.
About Scranton Area Community Foundation
The Scranton Area Community Foundation has been serving Northeastern Pennsylvania since 1954 as a catalyst for change and growth in the community. The Scranton Area Community Foundation takes price in the community as they help charitably-minded individuals carry out their philanthropic goals. The Foundation offers a wide variety of charitable planning tools, including donor-advised funds and charitable gift annuities that help individuals give to the causes they care most about.