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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; With a nationwide memorial planned for today to pay tribute to all those affected by COVID-19, a few local volunteers have been working hard to spread the message around the area.
				Robin Shudak of Wilkes-Barre has been tasked with getting some of the city&rsquo;s churches to participate in the memorial, which will feature a ceremony with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris along with individual memorials all across the country.
				&ldquo;The campaign reached out and asked me to help spread the word,&rdquo; Shudak said. &ldquo;COVID-19 has affected just about everyone in some way&#8230;the campaign wants to focus on unity and hold a solemn reflection.&rdquo;
				In lieu of a mass candlelight vigil, the campaign wanted to hold this memorial in a &ldquo;responsible manner,&rdquo; according to Shudak.
				Some of the specifics for the memorial are still changing and plans are being altered to coincide with changes made to Biden&rsquo;s inauguration events, but the ceremony featuring Biden and Harris will begin at 5:30 p.m. EST, and is available to watch at <a href="https://bideninaugural.org/covidmemorial/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bideninaugural.org/covidmemorial</a>.
				That portion of the memorial will take place in Washington D.C. and will feature the first-ever lighting of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in honor of those lives lost to COVID-19, but Shudak and some other volunteers are working to ensure that the memorial has a presence in our area, as well.
				&ldquo;They&rsquo;ll be lighting up cathedrals in D.C., so we&rsquo;ve reached out to some of our local churches to ask them to do the same,&rdquo; Shudak said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re still reaching out to as many as we can before the memorial starts.&rdquo;
				In addition to lighting up churches, people could participate in the memorial by putting lit candles in their windows or ringing bells in a national moment of remembrance, in addition to watching the ceremony.
				Shudak said that she&rsquo;s been aided in spreading the word by her mother, Barbara Shudak, as well as by Wilkes-Barre City councilman Tony Brooks and Allison Maslow, who sits on the Board of Directors for the Wyoming Valley Art League.
				&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve not only helped with planning but also with finding other local volunteers,&rdquo; Shudak said.
				With the coronavirus pandemic still raging on, Shudak said that the Biden campaign&rsquo;s memorial is not only a look back, but also a look into the future.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not meant as a political statement, it&rsquo;s meant as a moment of unity, for everyone to come together,&rdquo; Shudak said. &ldquo;And it&rsquo;s also meant as a moment of hope and for healing.&rdquo;

Nationwide COVID-19 memorial to be observed locally