MOOSIC, Pa. -- The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees' front office will donate nearly 1,500 t-shirts to local homeless and women's shelters and transitional housing programs in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties.

"Donation Day," as the front office is dubbing it, will take place beginning at 9 a.m. on Fri Oct. 19. The first stop for the day will be at Catholic Social Services Scranton Office, 516 Fig Street, Scranton. Catholic Social Services' housing and shelter agency oversees nearly 20 programs and housing units for underprivileged persons and others in need in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties.

Other stops that day will include the Catherine McAuley Centers in both Scranton and Plymouth, the Women's Resource Center at the University of Scranton, Ruth's Place in Wilkes-Barre, St. Anthony's Haven in Scranton, Mother Teresa's Haven in Wilkes-Barre, the Domestic Violence Service Center in Wilkes-Barre, and the Lackawanna Department of Human Services.

"Since day one it has been imperative that our franchise become engaged in our community," said president and general manager, Rob Crain. "We are excited to be able to provide nearly $30,000 worth of merchandise to people in need."

The idea for donating such a mass amount of t-shirts came when members of the front office recently decided that remaining SWB Yankees merchandise could be put to good use within the community.

"Who better to put unused clothing to use than our local nonprofit housing shelters?" said Ryan Beardsley, community relations manager. "With so many in our area that are in need, donating to housing shelters seemed to be the obvious choice."

Who: The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees
What: Donating nearly 1,500 t-shirts to local housing shelters
Where: First stop is Catholic Social Services Scranton Office, 516 Fig Street, Scranton
When: Fri Oct. 19, 2012
Why: To help support housing agencies and community members in need