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Dec 9, 2025
Penn-Trafford alum launches nonprofit to give back to hometown
TribLIVE
Penn-Trafford students Andrew Baker (back left), Biaggio Petrini, Bryce Porter, Santino Caruso and Brady Porter (front left) with alumnus Andrea Lonzo-Porter. . (Courtesy of Andrea Lonzo-Porter)
Penn-Trafford alumnus Andrea Lonzo-Porter was raised to understand the importance of helping others.
"I come from a very, very large family," she said. "We've always helped each other any way we could, whether it was time, money, just showing up. It taught me the importance of taking care of other people."
Lonzo-Porter aims to spread that spirit of giving through a nonprofit she founded in May, PT Giveback -- which will support students at Lonzo-Porter's alma mater.
"My husband and I thought, 'Why not take this family model and make it more communal and see what we could come up with?'" the Penn Township resident said. "That's how PT Giveback was born. It was to extend the same sense of spirit and caring and generosity that we were raised (to give)."
Nonprofit will support high school's 'Caring Closet'
PT Giveback is accepting donations from the community to fill student needs that might otherwise go unmet, she said. For example, the nonprofit's funds could be used to help a student attend a school dance, play a sport or join a club.
"Those activities, they shape you," she said. "They help you prepare for life, and they give you opportunities and experiences."
The nonprofit also will help stock the high school's Caring Closet -- a supply of clothes, shoes, formal wear and hygiene products available to students in need, free of charge.
The closet was started several years ago as part of a student's senior project. Family and consumer sciences teacher Alison Siniawski has since managed the closet for students.
The Caring Closet is typically used by students twice a week, Siniawski said. It helped dress 10 students for the homecoming dance this year and three students for graduation in 2024-25.
Winter clothing is a regular need for students, Siniawski said.
"Winter
