As temperatures dropped into the teens with a wind chill of 0 degrees Fahrenheit, volunteers at the Friedman Jewish Community Center hand-stitched blankets and collected soup for those in need.
Bryan Hooks, said his eldest daughter, Cheyenne, had asked for a way to volunteer on MLK Day.
“Me and my wife, we both grew up volunteering, and y’know, what better day than on MLK to give back to the community? And then we get to teach our children what it is to give back to the community as well, said Bryan Hooks.
Holding a pair of scissors, Cheyenne, 9, cut notches into two blankets stacked on top of each other. Next, she’ll tie the strands together to make a fringe blanket.
“My grandmother, she made them,” said Cheyenne. “She kind of like told me a little bit about it, so I kind of went into it knowing how to do it a little.”
The black and red checkered blanket in her hands was her family’s fourth blanket they finished on Monday.

Volunteers at the Kingston JCC’s second Blankets & Broth event made 106 blankets to donate to Ruth’s Place, Keystone Mission, Sara’s Table and the Salvation Army Kirby Family House.
Jane Messinger, Friedman JCC’s president, was thrilled with turnout. About 75 people showed up to make blankets and staff had to set up additional stations to accommodate the crowd.
“We're always looking for ways to make a difference in the community, like, for example, our Sara’s Table Food Pantry, which serves over 250 families multiple times throughout the month,” said Messinger. “And this for this event, it's the second year we've partnered with the O'Donnell Law Firm, the Times Leader, and the NAACP, who were looking to find a way to honor the life and legacy of service that Martin Luther King Jr. exhibited in his life and on this day.”
This was the NAACP Luzerne County Branch #2306’s second event for MLK weekend. The first was a historical deep-dive into King’s relationships with three presidents at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Jan. 17.
Messinger said events like Blankets & Broth are only getting more important each year. She said the JCC’s needs for community donations doubled in the past year. Because of rising living costs and inflation, more people face food insecurity, causing a shortage at Sara’s Table.
“It's difficult for people to make ends meet,” said Messinger. “And y’know, when we hand those bags to people and.. at the end of the line, when we run out of food, it's just – it's just heartbreaking. But people need it, and the need is there. And we're really happy to be able to at least make some difference in that.”
Families, businesses and student groups came together on the freezing MLK Day morning to make a difference in the community. Three students from Wilkes-Barre Area High School’s robotics team stitched together blankets as part of their club’s outreach program.
Isabella DeGraffenreid, a 10th grader with Wolfpack Robotics FTC Team 17596, said they try to do at least one outreach event once a month.
“Even if it's not robotics or tech related, we still want to be out in our community … whether it's going somewhere else to like Tunkhannock, or reaching out to younger kids or older kids,” said DeGraffenreid.
The three chatted excitedly about their latest tech challenge in robotics. DeGraffenreid said they are in the middle of their competition season.
Inaaya Qaiser, 8th grade, talked about how their robot will adapt to working with other robotics teams to complete challenges.
“It’s also a really good opportunity to make new friends,” Qaiser said.
Besides getting to spend time with each other outside of school, other volunteers at Monday’s event got closer to one another while helping others.
Lynn Hardisky made blankets with friends from her yoga class at Balance Yoga & Wellness in Forty Fort. She said the event gave her time to do something good for others while getting out into her community.
“They have all different kinds for children, which is nice,” said Hardisky. “It may make a child very happy to be warm, cuddled with a little puppy dog, and, y’know, for adults, but try to bring some warmth and happiness…and secondly, because we all practice yoga, we'll hope that we're adding some positive energy to our blankets to wrap around our individuals who receive them.”
Blankets made at this year’s Blankets & Broth event will be given out today, according to Hardisky.