Carbondale launched a new initiative this month to get residents involved in improving their city.
“The mission is to get the community involved in making Carbondale put its best foot forward,” Mayor Michele Bannon said. “It’s pride. It’s getting involved.”
To achieve that, the city kicked off its “Carbondale Cares” program this month, starting with community cleanups.
“It’s just a project that we’re doing over the summer to address different things, to promote pride, to make the city look good,” Bannon said, pointing to both residential and commercial projects. “It’s multifaceted, and it’s that way intentionally.”
Volunteers work to clean up downtown Carbondale as part of the city’s new Carbondale Cares initiative. (COURTESY OF MAYOR MICHELE BANNON)
Volunteers work to clean up downtown Carbondale as part of the city’s new Carbondale Cares initiative. (COURTESY OF MAYOR MICHELE BANNON)
Starting July 1, Carbondale began working with Lackawanna County Workforce Development to have seven to nine kids work in the city Monday through Friday this summer, according to a press release from Bannon on the program. They will be supervised by two adults, and all positions are paid through the county. The kids will be focusing on the downtown with cleanups, cleaning tree boxes, parks, curb lines, general tidiness, planting, painting and “good old-fashioned TLC,” according to the city.
Then, on July 2, the nonprofit NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania, which is working closely with Carbondale on multiple projects, brought in 100-plus adult volunteers who work at MTF Biologics in Jessup to hold a cleanup in the city. The goal is to promote community pride and engagement, environmental stewardship, beautifying public spaces and supporting economic and community development, according to Bannon.
Carbondale is also relaunching its Good Neighbor Program, which aims to promote relatedness within neighborhoods and inform residents of the importance of maintaining their properties. Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer Doug Calzola has been sharing the information with residents and property owners who have several rentals, according to the news release.
To further clean up the city, Carbondale will work with Group Cares, a faith-based nonprofit group from Colorado that organizes group mission trips to work with and help communities across the country, according to its website. Volunteers from Group Cares will repair 50-plus homes in the city from July 20 to July 25, with more than 300 kids, contractors and supervisors coming to Carbondale neighborhoods for general repairs on the interior and exterior of residents’ homes, according to Bannon. The volunteers will tackle everything from wheelchair ramps to painting to fixing porches, she said.
Additionally, the city continues to work with NeighborWorks on its Beautiful Blocks program, which provides matching grants of up to $1,000 per property to groups of five or more residents in participating communities to help them make exterior improvements to their homes. The application process will reopen in early 2026.
Finally, Carbondale is looking to work with SCI Waymart to assist with clearing bamboo and debris from Racket Brook near Gravity Park, according to Bannon.
Carbondale and NeighborWorks have worked together for decades, and Bannon has been a longtime board member at NeighborWorks, said Todd Pousley, director of community development.
“(Carbondale Cares) is exactly the kind of program that interests an organization like ours,” he said. “Not only are you aiming to clean up, improve a community, but you’re engaging the people who live there in doing the work.”
Carbondale Cares makes physical improvements in neighborhoods, but more importantly, it builds community, he said.
“You’re getting residents out, working together, meeting one another, having a stake in improving their community and rolling up their sleeves and doing some of the work,” Pousley said.
He emphasized the importance of engaging younger people as well.
Moving forward, Bannon hopes Carbondale Cares will “go on forever” and take hold with residents.
“The more you nurture something and love something, the healthier it grows,” Bannon said. “I’m always committed to sustainability, and I’m always committed to just always moving forward — that’s why this is important, because we need to move forward together.”