SCRANTON, PA — To help area children and families in need, the Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement (PCE) was recently presented with a $2,500 donation from a regional Dunkin’ franchisee group and a matching gift from the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation.

 The $5,000 contribution will be reinvested in the community through PCE’s activities, such as school backpack giveaways, winter clothing and blanket giveaways, free food distributions and other projects.

 The Lufrankton Network, a franchisee group that operates stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, chose PCE to receive charitable funding made available during its recent “Renovation Celebration,” which highlighted the makeover of its Dunkin’ location in Eynon.

 The foundation doubled the gift because its mission—“to provide the simple joys of childhood to kids battling hunger or illness”—is reflected in many of PCE’s initiatives to assist children in Lackawanna, Luzerne and nearby counties, a PCE spokesperson said. 

 “We are grateful for this amazing support from Dunkin’,” said PCE director Holly Przasnyski. “For its ongoing operation, the nonprofit PCE relies on external funding such as donations and fundraising. So, if it wasn’t for the kindness of civic-minded businesses like Dunkin’, we would not be able to conduct our events that help feed, clothe, and otherwise support the under-resourced children and their families in the communities we serve.”

 PCE is a subsidiary of the Wright Center for Community Health. Employees of the health center volunteer to conduct its activities, which aim to improve people’s access to health care and empower them to be co-managers of their health and wellness plans.

In particular, PCE focuses on food insecurity and other non-medical issues that can affect patients’ ability to focus on achieving and maintaining their maximum wellness. Those issues commonly include transportation barriers, lack of access to educational opportunities, homelessness and poverty.

For more information about the Wright Center and its primary and preventive care services, visit www.TheWrightCenter.org or call 570/230-0019.