Mericle in the Community | Robert K. Mericle

Since its founding in 1985, Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services has provided significant financial support to help hundreds of non-profit and community organizations throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. Since just 2005 alone, the company has donated more than 70,000 man-hours to community service. In addition, Mericle employees and their families have donated thousands of hours of their personal time to many local worthy causes.

While Robert Mericle (Rob), the Mericle family, and the company’s employees have helped a wide variety of local organizations, the company focuses its philanthropic and volunteer efforts on youth programs and activities, educational opportunities, healthcare initiatives, aid to the economically disadvantaged, community park upgrades, and regional economic development programs.

A few of the local organizations that Mericle supports include:

C andy’s Place Cancer Wellness Center

Since 2005, Mericle has donated customized, rent-free space making it possible for this cancer support group to serve more patients. Mericle also has one of the largest corporate teams in the organization’s annual Rainbow Walk Cancer Fundraiser.

LEARN MORE

The Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA

Mericle has long supported the Y and its mission. Rob Mericle devoted countless hours of his own time and donated the time of several architects, engineers, and estimators to provide construction management and value engineering services to the YMCA’s capital improvement project. Mr. Mericle donated resources for the full funding of the Y’s six-lane pool and personally commissioned the talents of a local artist to create and hand-paint a marine life mural surrounding the pool area.

Mericle has also donated large scale commercial kitchen equipment, major aquatics upgrades, and a ropes course to the Y’s summer camp – Camp Kresge – and created and provided 2,500 scholarships to the Blue Sky Program, which provides children with an enjoyable outdoor experience through boating, swimming, sports, games, and arts and crafts.

LEARN MORE

Lend a Hand Program

Through its Lend a Hand Program, Mericle uses the company’s manpower and equipment to make a positive difference in Northeastern Pennsylvania’s communities. Each year, Mericle and local community leaders select various projects in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, such as upgrading run-down community parks or athletic fields.

For each Lend a Hand project, Mericle donates the cost of any in-house labor, subcontracted labor, equipment, and materials needed such as excavation, carpentry, paving, etc… To conclude each project, Mericle employees and their families volunteer and perform tasks such as painting, landscaping, mulching, and general clean up.

LEARN MORE

CEO/Weinberg Regional Food Bank

Mericle donated a fully-prepared 6.35 acre pad-ready parcel of land for this organization’s new food bank facility. The Food Bank is the primary source of donated food for Northeastern Pennsylvania’s food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other programs.

LEARN MORE

U.S. Marine Corps | NEPA Toys for Tots Program

Mericle has donated warehouse space to this program since 1998. Because of Mericle’s generosity, the program has the logistics needed to provide holiday gifts to approximately 25,000 local children annually.

LEARN MORE

CenterPoint Cares

CenterPoint Cares is a coalition of 38 CenterPoint businesses and their 4,500 employees. It empowers those who work in CenterPoint to lend their time and talents to a variety of community service programs. Whether it be donating blood, feeding the hungry, supporting the United States Marine Corp Reserves Toys for Tots program, or anything in between, CenterPoint teams do great things.

LEARN MORE

Flood Prevention & Recovery

Mericle’s workforce spent more than 3,100 hours on flood prevention and cleanup efforts, and Robert Mericle spent at least 140 hours working side-by-side with his employees. Mericle’s heavy equipment was used in excess of 1,000 hours and Mericle donated nearly 8,000 tons of stone material for flood prevention efforts. The direct cost of the labor, equipment usage, and materials donated by Mericle exceeded $448,000.

LEARN MORE

Wyoming Valley Habitat for Humanity

Wyoming Valley Habitat for Humanity announces the Golden Hammer Award Recipient. Robert K. Mericle built a home for Habitat that will be affordable to a low income family who otherwise would not have had the opportunity for homeownership. The Golden Hammer Award Recipient demonstrates exceptional commitment to help further the mission of Habitat. Karen Evans Kaufer, executive director of WVHFH said “We are delighted to have Robert K. Mericle partner with us in our mission to eliminate poverty housing. Providing this home helps the entire community by improving neighborhoods one house at a time. Volunteerism is one of the most important elements of the mission. Mr. Mericle not only built a home for Habitat and for a veteran and her family, but inspired others to volunteer their time and talents as well.”

LEARN MORE

Some of the hundreds of other local entities to which Rob Mericle, the Mericle family and Mericle’s employees have donated key funding, in-kind goods or services, and/or volunteer support include:

American Red Cross

Boy Scouts of America – Northeastern Pennsylvania Council

CAN DO Hazleton

Carbondale YMCA

Catherine McAuley Center

Children’s Service Center of Wyoming Valley

Domestic Violence Service Center

Geisinger Health System

Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce

Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce

Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce

Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce