SEEDS Awarded Grant from Scranton Area Foundation, Expands Energy Assessment Services into Lackawanna County

HONESDALE – SEEDS (Sustainable Energy Education & Development Support) of Northeastern Pennsylvania is pleased to announce the receipt of a $10,000 Robert H. Spitz Environmental Grant from the Scranton Area Community Foundation. 

SEEDS Executive Director Olga Trushina said, “The TEAAM initiative is one of the original SEEDS programs that defined our mission to the community. It’s all about collaborating across-the-board on energy conservation projects. And we can’t wait to begin our work in Lackawanna County, the home of the ‘Electric City’!”

The grant will be used to support the expansion of SEEDS’ The Energy Awareness Action Movement (TEAAM) initiative into Lackawanna County. The program encourages local homeowners to save energy through energy assessments done by SEEDS volunteers, and students who will be trained by SEEDS and a certified instructor. This intergenerational program also allows low-income families to save money on their energy bills and provides students with interactive, hands-on experience that can be used in their future lives and careers.

Funding is going toward assessment equipment, training, and program management. TEAAM will also be accompanied by public forums and local media support, laying the basis for a region-wide conservation effort, which SEEDS expects to result in thousands of kilowatt hours of documented electricity saved based on the previous years of this program’s existence.

According to the Scranton Area Community Foundation, “the Robert H. Spitz Foundation was established from the estate of Robert H. Spitz in 2015. Mr. Spitz was born in Scranton and was a 1955 graduate of Scranton Central High School and the University of Miami, Florida. Before retirement, Mr. Spitz had been employed by the U.S. Department of Labor and was also the owner of several local Arby’s restaurants. To date, the Robert H. Spitz Foundation has provided over $3.7 million in funding to the community. The Scranton Area Community Foundation has served as the administrator of the Robert H. Spitz Foundation since 2016.”

SEEDS is a nonprofit environmental education organization based in Honesdale, promoting sustainable energy and sustainable living in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Upper Delaware region. Its goals include improving the health of our environment and local economy through energy efficiency and sustainability practices, such as conservation and recycling. For more information about SEEDS, visit www.seedsgroup.net, call 570-245-1256 or email Olga@seedsgroup.net.