Find It Fast Panel

Upcoming Events

Admissions FAQ's

Misericordia Donates Practical Items to Wilkes-Barre Women’s Shelter

Misericordia Donates Practical Items to Wilkes-Barre Women’s Shelter

Student Lauren DeRemer and assistant professor Rachel Urbanowicz

Faculty, staff and students at Misericordia University recently donated seven large bags of feminine hygiene supplies to Ruth’s Place women’s shelter in Wilkes-Barre Twp. The donation resulted from a fundraiser held at Misericordia aimed at raising awareness of period-related poverty, and was a part of the Women’s History Month events at Misericordia during March of this year.

“We raised $134 through Women’s History Month-themed sticker sales, and additional donations, both monetary and in-kind,” said organizer Rachel Urbanowicz, assistant professor of Mass Communications and Design. “Students, staff, and faculty would buy a sticker for $2 and then donate additional funds because they wanted to support Ruth’s Place.”

“We are extremely grateful for everything everyone does for us—we always appreciate it when people think of Ruth’s Place,” said Ashley Hurst, a case manager at Ruth’s Place. 

During Women’s History Month, Urbanowicz hosted a screening of the 2019 Academy Award® winning documentary, “Period. End of Sentence,” in conjunction with a staged reading of a humorous essay on the same topic, read by Misericordia sophomore Lauren DeRemer. 

Donations kept coming in well after Women’s History Month was over, Urbanowicz mentioned, but the fundraiser concluded due to the academic year ending.  Spending $134 on menstrual supplies, she added, “was quite the shopping trip.”

Since 2003, Ruth's Place has been dedicated t

o providing shelter and case management services for women experiencing homelessness while honoring the dignity of each guest. The staff at Ruth’s Place provides onsite, individualized case management and employment development services. In addition, guests are encouraged to participate in a series of intensive group workshops. Ruth's place is a program of Volunteers of America.

The program provides safe, temporary and short-term emergency shelter for women experiencing homelessness in Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties; coordinates and collaborates with other service providers and volunteers to assure the provision of services that address their basic physical, financial, health and spiritual needs; and assists sheltered guests to form and follow a permanent housing plan to quickly achieve stable, long-term housing.

Founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1924, Misericordia University is Luzerne County’s first four-year college and offers 56 academic programs on the graduate and undergraduate levels in full- and part-time formats. 

PHOTO CAPTION:

Lauren DeRemer (left), a sophomore at Misericordia University, and Rachel Urbanowicz, assistant professor of Mass Communications and Design, show off the donations resulting from the 2022 Women’s History Month fundraiser