Architectural Drafting and Design Technology students participated in multiple community service projects prior to the end of their semester at Johnson College. They created a bike rack design for the County of Lackawanna Transit System, and drafted a design for a portable bar for the Scranton Cultural Center, which will be built in the upcoming Fall 2009 semester by Johnson College’s Carpentry and Cabinetmaking Technology students. As a final community project, they decided to aid another member of the Scranton community, Rabbi Benny Rapoport, Director of the Jewish Discovery Center in Clarks Summit.

Rapoport requested that the students create a schematic and space planning design that he could present to his community, board members, and potential donors in order to raise awareness and generate community support for a Jewish Visitors Center for travelers and tourists passing through Scranton and Northeastern PA. The plans include, but are not limited to, a dining room, multiple hospitality suites, a state of the art theater, and a youth activity center. Once the designs are approved by the community, Rapoport can then take the drawings to an architectural firm to present what he would like. Rapoport has his eye on a couple of locations in the Abingtons, but a single place has not been solidified.

“If it’s something we can do, we like to contribute,” said John DeAngelis, Chairperson of Architectural Drafting & Design Technology, “It was fun to put it together. It’s a planning and fundraising tool for them.”

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