First Posted: 2/10/2015
PITTSTON — At first, the space needed a good clean-up and a few coats of paint. After that, there’s the matter of gathering tables. And chairs, some for those tables and some for relaxing with friends. Perhaps a colorful rug. Some shelving for storage would be good. And a few computers. And a refrigerator and a microwave oven.
It’s a good start for a space that will be the new home of the Magnolia Project in Pittston.
Tucked in next to the Pittston Senior Center on North Main Street, the suite of rooms is slated to host the program that will help young women build self-esteem, develop leadership skills and become activists in community service.
The project is in the capable hands of the “Overachievers” committee, eight members of this year’s Leadership Wilkes-Barre class.
They came together last fall as strangers, or at least people who don’t usually do things together. They ended up on the same committee as a result of a lottery. And they started brainstorming about their service project.
Each Leadership Wilkes-Barre class of area professionals spends nine months working on leadership skills of its own through classes, workshops, team-building and hands-on work on a community service project.
“We talked about doing something for animals or veterans or children,” said Andrew Wisdom, who works at Prudential. “And as we talked, we realized each of us had had difficulties in school, much of it with self-esteem. We decided this was something we could pay forward.”
The group decided not to invent, or even re-invent, the self-esteem-building wheel, but to expand on an already-established idea that is working.
Wisdom said he looked around to find something that is already working and found The Magnolia Project, functioning in Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton with more than 50 young women participating. The committee members made it their goal to move the project northward to the Greater Pittston area to help even more young girls.
The Magnolia Project seeks out young women in high school and helps them learn ways to cope with both academic and non-academic issues. The committee will work through Wyoming Area and Pittston Area high schools to find students who might benefit from extra support and guidance from community leaders.
“It’s a positive program with a focus on self-confidence,” said Jenna Walsh, who came to the team from eBay Enterprise.
“It’s developing life skills,” said Anita Rusinko, from Navient, who acts as point person for the team.
“It helps girls to empowerment,” said Angie Morgan, owner of the Sapphire Salon in Pittston.
The Magnolia Project is part of Volunteers of America and is funded with help from the Randolph Foundation.
In January, the Leadership Wilkes-Barre committee met in the new space, acquired with the help of local businessman Sandy Insalaco, explored the various rooms, made suggestions about the potential function of each area and started making checklists of the jobs that need to be done and items they will need to help the program work.
“There are a lot of possibilities here,” Walsh said. “Sometimes you just have to be creative.”
That creativity will set up a conference room, where the students will meet for weekly sessions that address issues like coping with bullying and avoiding high-risk behaviors. They can learn communication and character-building skills and how to handle peer pressure. And, they can also get help with schoolwork and finding ways to further their education.
Once the committee completes its “Want List,” there will also be a computer room and a place to relax, perhaps play a few games or watch television or simply socialize with their friends.
The committee’s next step is to contact the appropriate people in their two target high schools to recruit the students.
“This isn’t just finding girls and hauling them in whether they want the help or not,” Rusinko said. “The girls have to apply, to show interest, to want to be here.”
And these eight people will knock on doors, seeking ways to get the items they need to fill the meeting space.
“We want to make this a place where the girls feel welcome and safe. Where they look forward to getting together and learning just how powerful they can be,” Rusinko said. “We want to do this right for them. These are the people who will take over the reins someday.”
