Winter coat drive benefits Family Promise

PIKE COUNTY, PA — More than 60 children’s winter coats were collected by employees of McGoey Hauser & Edsall Consulting Engineers for distribution through the Pike County Office of Human Services to Family Promise, which provides emergency shelter and housing assistance to homeless and at-risk children and their families.

Case manager Stephanie Everson will share the coats with local families whom she works with through programs such as Rapid Re-housing and Homelessness Prevention, which assists qualifying homeless individuals and/or families with expenses like security deposits, first and last months’ rent, moving costs and utility deposits.

“The coat drive is an excellent example of a public/private partnership supporting the people of Pike County during an extremely difficult time. We are grateful for this generous contribution to our community,” says Pike County Commissioner Chair Matthew Osterberg.

Pike County residents interested in Family Promise services should contact Everson at severson@pikepa.org or 570/832-3196.

Camp Simcha gives out hundreds of toys

MONTICELLO, NY — Through the efforts of legislator Nadia Rajsz, Camp Simcha Director Ben Brown was able to give hundreds of toys donated by the Glen Spey camp and its supporters to the United Way of Sullivan County for distribution this week to many children and families.

Gratefully accepting the donation on December 21 outside the Government Center was United Way Executive Director Julian Dawson. “Thank you to Camp Simcha and Ben Brown for always remembering the children of Sullivan County through these yearly donations!” said Rajsz.

Settlers Hospitality delivers holiday cheer

HAWLEY, PA — Each year, the chefs and managers of Settlers Hospitality host thousands of guests. This week, they took some time to serve their fellow co-workers and neighbors some holiday cheer. The hospitality group prepared, packed and distributed 1,300 holiday meals to employees and members of the community.

Dinners served up to four people. The menu boasted baked ham with an apricot and lemon glaze, herb-roasted potatoes, brown-sugar-roasted carrots plus bread and dessert from Cocoon Coffeehouse and Bakery. About 325 Settlers Hospitality employees picked up their meals at either The Settlers Inn in Hawley, Hotel Anthracite in Carbondale or The Sayre Mansion in Bethlehem. After dinners were delivered to the staff, Settlers Hospitality donated the remainder of the food to workers of other area restaurants, Wayne County Human Services, Pike County Corrections and Hawley Borough VIP families.

As restaurants continue to struggle amid coronavirus restrictions, purchasing gift cards and ordering take out are the best ways to support these vital local businesses.

For more information, visit www.SettlersHospitality.com.

Winter concert, at your leisure

ONLINE — The Monticello School District Performing Arts Department has been preparing for its annual Winter Concert virtually, as the pandemic has limited the amount of in-person contact with students that teachers can execute. 

In place of the typical live winter concert, the department has created a collage video to showcase the various programs around the district.  Enjoy the video at your convenience by visiting www.monticelloschools.net/test.

What you didn’t know about horseradish

ONLINE — On Thursday, January 7 at 6 p.m., Marc Gold will present some interesting facts about Gold’s Horseradish through a program sponsored by the Ethelbert B. Crawford Public Library.

In 1932, in the depths of the Great Depression, Tillie and Hyman Gold created Gold’s Horseradish. Grandson Marc Gold—as co-owner of Gold’s—has had appearances on The David Letterman Show, Jimmy Breslin’s People, ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN, The Food Network and numerous other spots. He is one of four third generation family members who built Gold’s into the number-one horseradish in the country.

For more information, visit www.ebcpl.libcal.com/event/7305330.