CBL Walk to Explore West Scranton
The Office of Community-Based Learning is pleased to announce its inaugural “CBL Walk: West Scranton” for Friday, Apr. 22 at 3 p.m. This CBL Walk will offer University of Scranton students an opportunity to explore the West Scranton neighborhood. During this event students will hear from community-partners, meet local business owners and gain first-hand experience in the Scranton community.
Students will be transported by bus to West Scranton, driving past the University’s Quinn Athletics Campus. Upon arrival students will set out in small groups led by members from community-partner NeighborWorks NEPA to explore the Main Ave. business corridor. Highlights of the walk will include opportunities for students to greet and hear from business owners and to learn about organizations working in this area such as the Community Justice Project, NeighborWorks NEPA, and United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania (UNC). After walking the 100 block of South Main Ave., students will then meet in UNC’s Oppenheim Center to hear more from community-partner organizations and business owners from various areas of West Scranton while enjoying delicious snacks and treats from some of the neighborhood’s many restaurants.
Space for this event is limited and registration is required at: surveymonkey.com/r/WalkWestSide
Students can register directly and faculty members are encouraged to share this opportunity as part of CBL or other courses. Post-walk reflection questions will be provided.
Scranton’s West Side neighborhood has a rich history that connects to the larger Scranton story. In the late 1800’s, the Hyde Park section of West Scranton was the location of one of the city’s coal crackers, and with this industry came waves of people immigrating to Scranton. Welsh, Irish, Italian, Lebanese , and Polish are just a few of the ethnicities with long-standing ties to the West Scranton neighborhood. These cultural and ethnic influences are still a vibrant part of the community and are enriched by the continuous growth of the neighborhood, with additional communities, including those from the Dominican Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and beyond, moving to this area of Scranton.
This CBL Walk will offer University of Scranton students a chance to explore one of the many great neighborhoods in the City of Scranton, learn about places and businesses they may otherwise not learn about, and to see how they can become involved in the Scranton community.
“West Side will always be my home. I grew up in this neighborhood, my parents and family members still live and work in West Side, and I am so happy to have the opportunity to share my love for this area with University of Scranton students as a way for them to learn about and engage with our Scranton community,” said Carolyn M. Bonacci, community and civic engagement coordinator.
For more information about The Office of Community-Based Learning, please visit www.scranton.edu/cbl. For questions, please contact cbl@scranton.edu.
