SCRANTON, Pa. — Art, science, and a whole lot of love come together at a business in Scranton.
The owner has opened the doors to the neighborhood's children and provided a place for them to create and grow.
It's called "Da Market on Jackson" and is the brainchild of Rashida Lovely.
Every weekday afternoon, Rashida and the market welcome the neighborhood's children.
The dance studio, turned market, turned community center is a lot of things to a lot of people in west Scranton.
Rashida's background is as diverse as the market. She's a biologist who used to work in the pharmaceutical industry. She also has a degree in art and has taught dance for decades. That background comes out in the afterschool program.
"We really push things like mathematics and the other sciences, especially environmental science. But that creative aspect—the visual arts and the drawing, sculpting, even music—we try to encourage the children to participate in that because you need to work both sides of your brain, not just one," Rashida said.
While the kids work their brains, Rashida works her heart. Her children are grown, but the afterschool kids have joined the family.
"Probably to just about the entire community, I'm a second mom, not just to the kids, some of the parents, too! But I really do enjoy that part. In a community, you don't just need that authoritative figure who is at a distance. You really need that love component. So, I'm glad to be able to give it," Rashida added.
Snacks, homework help, and a creative outlet are always on the agenda. But parents told Newswatch 16 that the benefits are more long-term and less tangible.
"I think for them looking up and seeing someone who is accomplished. They can be like, 'I can be like that, I can be like her, I can achieve any dream that I wasn't to achieve.' Not only that, it gives them a sense of security in their community that there's someone who cares about them that looks like them," said Channel Kearse, who sends her three children to the afterschool program at Da Market on Jackson.
The afterschool program is also free.
Although that may seem like a bad business model, Rashida tells Newswatch 16 it has been anything but. The families support the business while she enriches their children's lives.
"I think that's been the key for me. I try to make myself invaluable, because of that, the community supports my efforts," she said.
And Rashida Lovely certainly is invaluable.