Mark Napierkowski and Mike Hosfeld returned on September 24, 2026 to update the club on Mercy School for Special Learning, an Allentown school founded in 1954 by the Sisters of Mercy that serves about 50 students, ages 5 to 21, with intellectual and developmental disabilities, at a cost of $40,000 per student, with no student turned away for inability to pay.
Mark explained that last year's Radiothon and Spaghetti Dinner raised over $93,000, which funded a new PAES Lab: a simulated workplace inside the school where students clock in, use real tools, and build job-readiness skills across 6 career tracks.
Mike, who directs the school's 30-year-old Job Works program, described how the lab feeds into real job placements with community partners such as ATAS International, Redner's Markets, and Get Joy, sharing success stories of graduates who moved into paid employment. This year's funds will launch a new art therapy program for student mental health, and the team promoted the second annual Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser on October 17, sponsored by 790 WAEB News Radio, along with the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program, which lets Pennsylvania taxpayers redirect state tax liability to the school for a 90% tax credit.
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