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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; As the first of six people given two minutes to convince the crowd that his agency deserved a grant, Robert Curry evoked the strongest audience response. He recounted a moment after about 30 students of mixed ethnicity performed a play under the auspices of the &#8220;Hazleton Integration Program.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;We had an elderly gentleman walk over to (my wife) Elaine and I, and he said &#8216;Thank you, thank you so much&#8217;,&#8221; Curry recalled. &#8220;I said, &#8216;Oh, the kids were great, weren&#8217;t they!&#8217; And he said &#8216;No, no. This is important. All I ever wanted was to watch the children &#8212; yours and ours &#8212; dance together.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I stand before you now,&#8221; Curry continued, &#8220;encouraging you to please allow us to continue to have his children and ours dance together.&#8221;</p><p>During the annual Millennial Circle luncheon Thursday, representatives from six agencies made similar pitches: Two minutes with no visual aids, followed by a three minute Q &amp; A. They were the finalists selected from 18 applicants seeking a grant.</p><p>Since its inception in 2001 by the Luzerne Foundation, the Circle has raised money from those who join it, and awarded grants to those selected by members at the luncheon. Through 2015, the Circle has awarded $292,000.</p><p>Other finalists presenting Thursday at Genetti&#8217;s Hotel &amp; Conference Center were Wyoming Valley Children&#8217;s Association, The Hope Center of the Wyoming Valley, The McGlynn Center, Children&#8217;s Service Center and Commission on Economic Opportunity&#8217;s Dinners for Kids Program.</p><p>Representing the last group, David Tevet appealed for the grant to help expand the six-meals-per-week service from 125 children to 160. The Q&amp;A that followed ended not with a question but with kudos.</p><p>&#8220;Thank you for the work you do,&#8221; one woman offered.</p><p>But it was Ron Hillard&#8217;s appeal to expand the Hope Center&#8217;s free medical clinic services, provided to the elderly and veterans, that won the grant.</p><p>Hillard recalled the activism in the 1960s. &#8220;We stood on college campuses and we protested because we wanted to make a difference. I believe everyone here feels the same way now.&#8221;</p><p>Maybe not everyone, but enough. Circle members voted at the end of the luncheon, with results tabulated and announced later in the afternoon. The Hope Center was given the $22,000 available this year.</p><p>&#8220;They were very grateful when we told them,&#8221; said Luzerne Foundation President Charles Barber. &#8220;Grateful to the point of tears.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The Luzerne Foundation Millennium Circle annual luncheon at Genetti Hotel &amp; Conference Center in Wilkes-Barre gave representatives from six agencies five minutes to pitch why they deserved a grant from the Circle, part of the Luzerne Foundation. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL102816LuzerneFoundation1.jpg</photo0><caption0>The Luzerne Foundation Millennium Circle annual luncheon at Genetti Hotel &amp; Conference Center in Wilkes-Barre gave representatives from six agencies five minutes to pitch why they deserved a grant from the Circle, part of the Luzerne Foundation. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL102816LuzerneFoundation2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hope Center of the Wyoming Valley founder Ron Hillard urges members of the Millenial Circle to give his agency&#8217;s free medical clinic service this year&#8217;s grant, calling on the spirit of a past &#8216;when we stood on college campuses and we protested because we wanted to make a difference.&#8217; It worked. His agency won a $22,000 grant Thursday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_TTL102816LuzerneFoundation2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Hope Center of the Wyoming Valley founder Ron Hillard urges members of the Millenial Circle to give his agency&#8217;s free medical clinic service this year&#8217;s grant, calling on the spirit of a past &#8216;when we stood on college campuses and we protested because we wanted to make a difference.&#8217; It worked. His agency won a $22,000 grant Thursday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Giving circle: Free medical clinic wins Millennium Circle grant