News

May 12, 2009

Fundraiser for Cancer Survivor Park

Tickets available for Leadership Lackawanna’s Friday event in Moosic featuring the Yankees.

ADAM ROBERTS For The Times Leader

MOOSIC – The Leadership Lackawanna “Night at the Ballpark for Cancer Survivors” is the group’s final fundraiser for the Cancer Survivors Park at McDade Park in Scranton.

The 2008-09 class of Leadership Lackawanna is working to raise $22,000 for the restoration of the Cancer Survivor Park, which features ceramic tile towers that were painted by cancer survivors in 1999. After 10 years in the elements, the towers are in need of repair. The money raised is going toward tile replacement, landscaping and design, tribute planting and promotional costs.

“We’re trying to restore the original purpose of the park and that’s to provide a meditative place for cancer survivors,” said Leadership Lackawanna class member Stacey Frantz.

The group already has raised $16,000, including donations from Super-Bowling for a Cause at Idle Hour Lanes, Celebrity Bartending at the Stone Elephant in Olyphant and a mailing outreach to local businesses, as well as grant funding from the Lackawanna Environmental Conservation and Outdoor Recreation (LECOR) Partnership Program. The final event will be Friday at PNC Field when the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees play the Charlotte Knights.

A VIP package for the game is being sponsored and hosted by Pennstar Bank. This $50 ticket package includes one of 18 seats in the Pennstar Bank luxury box, along with food and beverages and a pre-game, behind-the-scenes tour of the press box, dugout and locker room. Attendees will also receive a limited-edition Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees hat. Post-game fireworks will be held.

David Raven, president and CEO of Pennstar, saw this partnership as a worthwhile opportunity to help the community.

“We try to be a good corporate citizen,” Raven said. “Despite the poor economy, we’re in a position where we can make donations to good causes.”

There are also a limited number of $15 tickets available. This package includes a reserved upper-level stadium seat as well as the hat and fireworks. For its final fundraiser, the group wanted to provide the community with a family-friendly event.

“We decided to work with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees because of the family atmosphere. It’s a great night out with family and friends to celebrate the Cancer Survivors of Northeast Pennsylvania,” said Leadership Lackawanna class member Carolyn Augustyn.

To reserve tickets, call Augustyn at 561-6658 by Friday at noon. For information about the project or to donate, visit www.cancersurvivorspark.com.

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