SCRANTON — A $25,000 grant from the city to a literacy program based in South Side will help improve language skills for adult learners served by United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti announced Thursday.
The grant, coming from federal funds allocated to the city, goes to UNC’s Scranton Council of Literacy Advance (SCOLA) program now operating at UNC’s newly renovated CEDAR Center, a former bank at 526 Cedar Ave.
“Improving literacy and language skills can create life-changing benefits for people across Scranton,” Cognetti said. “Creating opportunities for community members to advance their careers, advocate for their personal care and become more involved socially are critical to their lives and to our city’s economic health.”
Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, at podium, on Thursday, July 10, 2025, announced that the city gave a $25,000 grant from federal Housing and Urban Development funds to United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s Scranton Council of Literacy Advance (SCOLA) program for adult literacy and English-as-a-second language education. UNCNEPA President/CEO Lisa Durkin, in center, and Chrissy Manuel, UNC’s Director of Development and Communication, at left, listen as the mayor speaks. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The grant comes from federal Housing and Urban Development agency dollars allocated annually to Scranton, and which the city distributes under Community Development Block Grant and other program categories.
The annual HUD allocations to the city already dwindled over many years and now are in jeopardy of possibly being zeroed out entirely under the administration of President Donald Trump, who is a Republican, according to Cognetti, who is a Democrat.
“Those funds are in jeopardy at the federal level,” Cognetti said. “It’s really, really important that we continue to highlight the outcomes of these programs, (and) highlight how important it is for the city to receive these dollars” that the city uses to support various local agencies and programs.
Since 1979, SCOLA has provided free adult literacy and English-as-a-second-language (ESL) education to residents of Lackawanna County. The program merged with UNC in 2011 to help ensure the services could remain available.
UNC President and CEO Lisa Durkin said the $25,000 grant helps UNC continue providing literacy and ESL education that empowers individuals to pursue career advancement, support their families and fully participate in community life.
“This funding helps us continue to provide essential support to adult learners working hard to build better futures for themselves and their families,” Durkin said.
United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania President/CEO Lisa Durkin, at podium, speaks Thursday, July 10, 2025 at UNC’s newly renovated CEDAR Center at 526 Cedar Ave. in South Scranton, about the city giving a $25,000 grant to UNC’s Scranton Council of Literacy Advance (SCOLA) program for adult literacy and English-as-a-second-language education. Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, at left, listens. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Last year, UNC provided varying levels of English proficiency programs to over 650 residents in the county, 500 of whom were from Scranton; and those residents hailed from 72 different countries and spoke 20 different native languages, said UNC Director of Community Education Terilynn Brechtel.
Some of those native languages included Spanish, French, Swahili, Haitian Creole, Farsi and Russian, to name a few, Brechtel said.
The 650 residents represented a 58% increase in people served, as compared to the prior year; and this year over 400 people already have been served, putting 2025 well on pace to top last year, she said.
The announcement on Thursday was held at UNC’s newly renovated CEDAR Center at 526 Cedar Ave., a landmark former bank.
Part of the interior of United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s newly renovated CEDAR Center at 526 Cedar Ave. in South Scranton on Thursday, July 10, 2025. The building formerly was a bank with a cavernous interior. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The CEDAR in the title of the community center stands for “Community, Education, Development and Revitalization.”
The 1930s bank on Cedar Avenue at Alder Street, which has “South Side Bank & Trust Company” carved into the facade, was donated to UNC in 2014 by Peoples Security Bank & Trust Co.
After an extensive interior renovation that recently constructed three stories of usable space inside the formerly cavernous bank, UNC started using the CEDAR Center about two weeks ago, Durkin said. The building now contains offices and other rooms and is where the SCOLA program now operates.
UNC also expects a coffee shop to soon open on the first floor of the CEDAR Center, Durkin said.
United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s CEDAR Center at 526 Cedar Ave. in South Scranton on Thursday, July 10, 2025. The CEDAR in the title of the community center stands for “Community, Education, Development and Revitalization.” The building formerly was a bank with a cavernous interior that has had two floors constructed inside for offices and rooms. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s CEDAR Center at 526 Cedar Ave. in South Scranton on Thursday, July 10, 2025. The CEDAR in the title of the community center stands for “Community, Education, Development and Revitalization.” The building formerly was a bank with a cavernous interior that has had two floors constructed inside for offices and rooms. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)