WNEP: Scranton boosts support for veterans with $100,000 in grants

Stacy Lange, WNEP

SCRANTON, Pa. — As we look toward Memorial Day, a time to remember U.S. service members who have passed away, representatives from veterans organizations gathered in Scranton to invest in the veterans still with us.

Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti announced $100,000 in grants that will be divided among eight veterans organizations.

American Legion Post 568 will receive $20,000 to make renovations to its hall along Birney Avenue and ADA-compliant seating.

"One of the problems you'll see with a lot of VFWs and American legions is that memberships are starting to dwindle or everybody's starting to get up there in age. So it's tough to have big fundraisers or annual events. So it would take a whole lot, it would take a village to raise the twenty thousand dollars. For the city to do this with a bit of paperwork, it's really, really amazing," said Sean O'Shea, Post Commander, American Legion Post 568.

The grants are part of the city's budget, and the line item has doubled over the past three years, expanding to help even more organizations.

Some of the investments you'll see are the $5,000 grant to buy new flags and fix up Veterans Memorial Park in Scranton.

Others are less tangible the team at Warrior Strong along Adams Avenue is set to receive $25,000 this year, which will allow them to offer more fitness classes to veterans in scranton. 

Grants in past years allowed Warrior Strong to hire staff and expand from a few classes a month to now a few classes every day.

"I'm not sure I'd be able to exist if it weren't for the support from the city of Scranton, this has been a big help to expanding our programs and being able to support many more veterans inside the city in Scranton. The American Legions, the VFWs, they do a great job, were just another part of the puzzle helping veterans transition from service to civilian life," said Tom Tice, President of Warrior Strong.

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