McGlynn Center to honor founder Sister Miriam Stadulis, volunteer Elizabeth Griesmer

WILKES-BARRE To celebrate her 60th anniversary of becoming a Sister of Mercy, Sister Miriam Stadulis went skydiving.

It was wonderful, she said, remembering how she jumped in tandem with an instructor last August at the Hazleton Municipal Airport. At 10,000 feet you just fall out of the plane and you free-fall until the parachute opens and then you rock back and forth and its beautiful.

Thats what I keep telling everybody, she said. Enjoy the ride of life and try to help people along the way.

If youd like to meet a group of volunteers who seem dedicated to following Stadulis advice on both counts, stop by the McGlynn Learning Center, an after-school program Stadulis founded 27 years ago at the Boulevard Townhomes in Wilkes-Barre.

A second location opened subsequently at another low-income housing development in the city, Mineral Springs Village, and today both sites are places where volunteers nurture children and help them with homework after school.

Youre working with kids that are loving and needy, said Elizabeth Griesmer of Shavertown, a 25-year volunteer known for offering encouragement as well as LifeSavers candy that she brings from home. They need to be loved. They need to be taught. They need to feel that they are special.

On April 8 at Genetti Hotel and Conference Center in Wilkes-Barre, a committee will honor both Stadulis and Griesmer for their service to at-risk children. Tickets are $25 and all proceeds will benefit the McGlynn Learning Center after-school program, where young people typically start filing in between 2:30 and 3 p.m.

Among the earliest arrivals on a recent Monday were three young women who were happy to talk about their career goals. Brendalis Pena, 13, said shed like to be an interior decorator, Melissa Laureano, 13, dreams of becoming a bilingual teacher and Yanna Lorenzo, 14, wants to become an obstetrician/gynecologist.

As the trio sat down to work on a writing project, Lorenzo admitted shes not too fond of science.

Girlfriend, you want to be a medical doctor! Sister Eleace King reminded her. Youve got to work on the science.

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McGlynn Center to honor founder Sister Miriam Stadulis, volunteer Elizabeth Griesmer