Where Gratitude Lives: West Scranton Youth Center Turns Thanksgiving Into a Movement of Hope
By: Justin Bradley | SportzWire | November 27, 2025 | Photo courtesy Justin Focus Photography
Where Gratitude Lives:
How the West Scranton Youth Center Is Building a Community of Hope, Service, and Opportunity
By Justin Bradley, SportzWire
Background credit: Portions of this story draw from “Royals Create a Pathway for Youth,” The Scranton Journal, Spring 2025.
Thanksgiving isn’t just a holiday in Northeast Pennsylvania. It’s a heartbeat. A reminder of what matters most: compassion, community, and the belief that one act of kindness can change someone’s entire week, maybe even their entire life.
That belief is alive and thriving inside the West Scranton Youth Center (WSYC), a place where generosity isn’t taught in theory, it’s lived, practiced, and passed forward by the very youth it serves.
This November, as food insecurity in our region surged and SNAP benefits were suspended, the WSYC became more than a youth center.
It became a lifeline.
And it became the reason SportzWire jumped in to help.
A Vision Rooted in Wrestling, Community, and Opportunity
The story of the West Scranton Youth Center begins long before the first child walked through its doors in 2024. It began with Douglas Boyle, a former West Scranton wrestler, coach, and now a professor and retired CEO, who recognized a need: a place where young people could grow, learn, and be supported at no cost.
As detailed in The Scranton Journal’s Spring 2025 cover story “Royals Create a Pathway for Youth,” the concept for WSYC took shape after Boyle visited programs like Homeboy Industries, where holistic support and mentorship transform youth futures. Inspired, Boyle and the West Scranton Wrestling Alumni Association purchased the former LA Lewis building in 2022 and began the massive effort of renovating it into a center for athletics, arts, wellness, and education, all free of charge.
The Youth Arts Coalition, led by Laura Boyle, expanded that vision further, ensuring the center wasn’t just a sports facility but a truly inclusive youth development hub.
What followed was one of the most impressive community fundraising efforts NEPA has seen:
- Local and statewide grants
- Foundation support
- Sponsorships from businesses and families
- Volunteer-led renovations
- University of Scranton students, faculty & alumni lending their expertise
This collective effort raised the capital needed to open the 4,500-sf center in the summer of 2024 and set the foundation for what would come next.
A Center Built on Access, Support, and Heart
Today, the WSYC serves more than 250 youth, all free of charge.
Athletics & Fitness:
The Wrestling Alumni Association runs extensive programs for K–12 wrestlers, plus year-round fitness opportunities supported by Lehigh Valley Health Network.
Arts & Music:
The Youth Arts Coalition offers visual arts, theater/improv, and music instruction from local teachers, students, and professionals—empowering creativity and self-expression.
Wellness:
In partnership with the University of Scranton OT Department, the center delivers evidence-based wellness programming focused on physical, cognitive, and emotional health.
Education & Mentoring:
University students tutor and mentor youth after school, building academic confidence and social skills.
Food Security:
CHOP partners with WSYC to operate an on-site pantry, providing snacks and take-home food for kids facing nutritional challenges.
Every uniform. Every supply. Every snack. Every lesson, All free!
Because financial barriers should never be the reason a child misses an opportunity.
When Need Rose, the Community Rose Higher
This November, economic pressures hit families across NEPA particularly hard. Food banks were running low. Demand was growing. And the WSYC team knew Thanksgiving couldn’t come without ensuring families had what they needed.
A food distribution effort was launched and the response was overwhelming.
Youth wrestlers, parents, alumni, neighbors, volunteers, teachers, coaches, and businesses all stepped up. Boxes were packed. Shelves were filled. Families were supported.
You could feel the heartbeat of West Side in every bag handed out.
How SportzWire Got Pulled In and Why We Had To Help
A simple post changed everything.
A few weeks before Thanksgiving, I (Justin from SportzWire) saw a photo of West Scranton wrestlers and football players helping run a food distribution night. No publicity. No spotlight. Just young athletes doing good because someone taught them that’s what strength looks like.
It stuck with me.
Around the same time, my friend Jim Mirabelli of NEPA Pizza Review was working with his daughter, Layla, an Abington Heights senior cheer athlete, on their own ambitious mission, a 10,000 can challenge to support families across the region.
Jim and I had been talking for weeks about collaborating on something meaningful. And suddenly, everything aligned:
Community need at its peak, two youth-led initiatives in motion, and an opportunity to multiply the impact.
SportzWire jumped in.
Not to cover the story, but to be part of the story.
November 25: A Second Night of Giving
Thanks to the generosity pouring in, the WSYC hosted a second food distribution night on Tuesday, November 25.
The turnout was remarkable....again.
Laura Boyle shared a message of gratitude that perfectly captured the spirit of the evening:
“Another amazing turnout… We are so grateful for you all and most grateful that so many families will have in their cupboards this week. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!”
She then thanked the volunteers who powered the night:
- Justin from SportzWire
- Catalano Imports (Penelope Gaughan)
- Gerrity’s Supermarket
- Value Village
- Doug Boyle
- Jennifer Cawley
- Tara Cawley Russo & Art Russo
- Mark McAndrew
- Kate Cawley
- Tara Kosja
- Danielle Blasi Spano
- Jim Mirabelli – NEPA Pizza Review
- Kerry Ziegler
- Jenna Strzelecki
- Ty Holmes
- Jenny Gonzalez
- Pat & Kian Zezeski
- The West Scranton Wrestling Alumni Junior Club wrestlers
- Coach Dave Morgan
- Coach Kent Mackaliunas
Kids helping feed their own community.
There is no better lesson.
The Impact: What WSYC Represents for West Scranton
The WSYC is more than a building.
More than programs.
More than holiday generosity.
It is a new model for what community-driven youth development can look like.
A place where:
- Kids are safe.
- Food insecurity is addressed.
- Creativity is celebrated.
- Fitness and discipline are taught.
- Academics are supported.
- Every child belongs and every child is valued.
Most importantly, it’s a place where kids learn to serve, give back, and lead.
The ripple effect of that will be felt for generations.
A Thanksgiving Message from SportzWire
To everyone who donated, organized, volunteered, carried a box, shared a post, or simply cared:
Thank you.
You showed what community looks like.
You showed what gratitude looks like.
And you reminded us all what Thanksgiving truly means.
To the youth athletes, the wrestlers, football players, artists, musicians, students - your actions this week were powerful. You didn’t just help a community.
You inspired one.
SportzWire is honored to stand beside you.
This partnership is just beginning and this community’s impact is only growing.
Credit & Acknowledgment
Historical background and founding details referenced with thanks from “Royals Create a Pathway for Youth,” The Scranton Journal, Spring 2025.
