Sunday Dispatch event raises more than $3,000 for Paint Pittston Pink, Care and Concern clinic

Gloria Blandina, director of the Care and Concern Free Health Clinic, Pittston, and the 2014 recipient of the Sunday Dispatch Joseph F. Saporito Sr. Lifetime of Service Award, accepted a check from the Sunday Dispatch on behalf of the clinic. With her is Sunday Dispatch office manager Judy Minsavage.

The 2014 Sunday Dispatch Person of the Year, Barbara Sciandra, accepted a check from the Sunday Dispatch on behalf of Paint Pittston Pink. With her is Sunday Dispatch office manager Judy Minsavage.

HUGHESTOWN — Sunday Dispatch 2014 Person of the Year Barbara Sciandra and Joseph F. Saporito Sr. Lifetime of Service Award winner Gloria Blandina recently visited the Dispatch office to accept donations on behalf of their respective nonprofit organizations.

Donations were collected at the awards ceremony held on Tuesday, March 24 at the Gramercy Ballroom and Restaurant in Pittston. Event attendees donated to Sciandra’s “Paint Pittston Pink” fundraising effort, which totaled $1,481 for the charity. The event also raised $1,697 for the Care and Concern Free Health Clinic, of which Blandina is the director.

The Sunday Dispatch Person of the Year is awarded to the individual or persons who impact life in Greater Pittston for a single year. The Lifetime of Service award is given to a person who has dedicated a lifetime of service to making a difference in the Greater Pittston area. Nominations for both are accepted from the community with the final decision resting on the shoulders of the Dispatch editorial staff.

The Person of the Year award began in 2000, when then-Mayor Michael Lombardo was selected as the recipient. The first Lifetime of Service Award winner was Joseph F. Saporito Sr., after whom the award is now named.