PITTSTON — The Greater Pittston Santa Squad (GPSS) received a $3,000 donation from Stella-Corbin McDonald’s for the fourth consecutive year, totaling nearly $15,000 to date.
Richard Corbin of Stella-Corbin McDonald’s presented the check to GPSS founder/president Anthony Marranca recently at the Pittston Twp. location on Rt. 315. Corbin also represented his mother, Patricia Stella, who was out of town.
“Each year we’ve donated to GPSS has given us great joy in knowing so many children will have a great Christmas,” Corbin said. “Investing in children’s happiness is an easy choice for my mother and myself.”
Marranca said he is very pleased with the partnership with Stella-Corbin and McDonald’s over the last four years.
“This is McDonald’s fourth year partnering with us, and their contributions are vital to us,” Marranca said. “Their donations go a long way to ensure the kids just don’t get presents, but get something exactly what they are asking for. Pat and Richie have been great to work with, and we can’t thank them enough.”
The 2025 GPSS campaign saw over 1,200 children in Greater Pittston receive presents for Christmas, including 100 bicycles.
“This is a community effort,” Marranca added. “It’s the people that donate to our toy boxes, the donor that take on a child’s wish list, businesses and factories that sponsor children, every year I keep saying I shouldn’t be amazed, but I am at the amount of cooperation how we band together to get this done for the kids and the families.”
Marranca said their annual fundraiser, Christmas in July, would be tentatively heading back to summer after moving it to the spring in 2025.
“We didn’t finalize the summer fundraiser party, so I encourage everyone to check our Facebook page for updates,” Marranca said. “We get a lot of community restaurants to donate for the food, and as always, we will be back to Susquehanna Brewing Co.”
Check out further information on GPSS at www.facebook.com/greaterpittstonsantasquad.