By Ryan Evans [email protected]

PLAINS TWP. —The inaugural Young Professionals (YP) Giving Mixer was held Wednesday night at The Woodlands and if anything was evident from the evening, it’s that the future of ‘The Valley’ is in more than capable and generous hands.

Emcee’d by The Luzerne Foundation President and CEO, Dave Pedri, the event saw the YP’s first-ever Giving Grant awarded to Fork Over Love. Though the competition was certainly stiff, with Junior Achievement of NEPA, Keystone Mission, and Restored Church all vying for the sizeable $50K, Pedri and others noted that everyone involved was a winner.

Of course, in order to get to that $50K, the YP first had to raise half of that on their own, to be matched by All One Charities as well as the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, totaling $100,000. With the hour growing late, the triumphant announcement was made that the fundraising goal had been reached. The first $50K, as stated, went to Fork Over Love. The remaining funds will go towards an endowment, ensuring giving stays familiar to the area for coming years.

Tracey Selingo, Fork Over Love founder and chair, was visibly moved to receive the grant.

“We really did start from a place of let’s just recreate the system because the systems just don’t work,” she said, taking a moment to let that sink in.

Fork Over Love began in 2021 as an emergency response to the pandemic. In a nutshell, folks can contact local, independently owned restaurants and purchase a meal to then be donated to a family in need, no questions asked, in a dignified manner. She mentioned that a portion of the grant will towards an app that will be designed to ensure those in need still get their meals should that current partnership with DoorDash not continue.

Selingo also noted the importance of coming together, as was a theme for the evening, and mentioned how she and the other representatives needed to sit down and continue to work together, bettering the area and brightening its future. “You see collaboration across the board. It’s so important. We’re not going to change our area without this,” she said.

And, as Pedri noted in closing, “There is a non-profit out there that needs your time and talents,” he said, encouraging those in attendance to step up and get involved with volunteering.

All donors were also entered for a chance to win a night at the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber Suite for a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins home game.