CAN BE Innovation Center tenant, Ranek Technologies, as well as three Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences (HAAS) students were recently honored during the 20th annual tecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition award ceremony held at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre.

CAN DO partnered once again with students from the Hazleton Area High School Arts and Humanities Academy and Mural Club's Visual Arts Studio 3 for a painting project on the windows at CAN DO's property at 21-23 West Broad Street in Hazleton. Pictured are, from left: Anne Flowers, teacher/club advisor; Valerie Tirado; Fremely Peredes Torres; Lacy Curvey; and Aidalisa Diaz. CAN DO would like to thank the students for their dedication and sharing their talents with the community.

Shared Roots web

A collaboration between THInC partners CAN BE and the Hazleton Launchbox supported by Pasco Schaivo, Esq., as well as Penn State University’s Happy Valley LaunchBox, helped an entrepreneur grow her business from a literal seed into a reality.

After graduating from the Happy Valley LaunchBox, powered by PNC Bank’s FastTrack Accelerator program in the spring of 2021, Krista Schneider, founder of Shared Roots, landed the initial funding she needed to formally launch her business when she won the 19th annual tecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition non-collegiate competition.

At Shared Roots, Schneider takes waste products (spent grain and hops) from the Berwick Brewing Company and upcycles them into biodegradable garden squares made with recycled paper that are pre-seeded and ready to plant. As they decompose, they feed the soil with vital nutrients and organic matter while fending off weeds until the seeds germinate.