NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania (NWNEPA) served 30 older adult homeowners in West Scranton this week with much-needed interior and exterior painting and small repairs throughout Lackawanna County as part of SafetyWorks Week for Seniors. SafetyWorks Week, brought to you by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, ran from July 3rd – 7th, 2023.
More than 200 volunteers came from all over the northern portion of the United States through a partnership between NeighborWorks and Group Mission Trips, Inc. to make the week-long event possible. As NeighborWorks has recently kicked off West Side Scranton’s ten-year plan to increase livability in the area, the focus of the volunteer work for the week was the West Scranton community.
Throughout the week volunteers provided exterior painting to whole homes, window frames and porches and steps. Interior painting included kitchens, dining rooms, bedrooms, and bathrooms, which added value and improved the quality of life for older adults who could no longer tend to their homes safely.
NeighborWorks has hosted Group Mission Trips, Inc. volunteers for seven previous workcamps, mobilizing 2,158 volunteers, equating to approximately 50,000 hours of volunteer labor (worth over $1.4 million) to make needed repairs to over 320 separate properties in Lackawanna County. This year, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, along with Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging, donated funds to provide the materials for the volunteers to use while serving the older adults in Scranton.
