Residents who want to give data centers the boot will have a kickball tournament Saturday to support local grassroots environmental groups.
The Lackawanna Citizens’ Overwatch Project will host a Protect Our Valley Kickball Rally fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Sherwood Park, 450 Barnard St., Dunmore. All proceeds will go to Stop Archbald Data Centers, Stop Olyphant Data Centers and grassroots landfill opposition group Friends of Lackawanna, said Aline Browning, a Dunmore resident and founder of the overwatch project.
Registration is $25 per person for teams of five to 12 players; sponsorships cost $100; optional T-shirts will be $15 each with can koozies for $5; and there will be 50/50 raffle tickets. The tournament winner will get a $100 cash prize and trophy.
With residents constantly fighting to oppose data centers, it’s an opportunity to let their guard down, relax and breathe a bit, Browning said.
“We’re stressed all the time,” she said. “It is a 24-hour job to fight these guys, and we have very little resources other than our will.”
Browning founded the Lackawanna Citizens’ Overwatch Project over her concerns of a cancer cluster at the former WEA Manufacturing plant — which later became Cinram — in Olyphant. She started her investigation when her father, Charlie Browning, succumbed to lung cancer when he was 62 years old in November 2023 after having worked at the plant for 25 years from 1985 to 2010.
WEA was once Lackawanna County’s largest employer, originally producing records before moving to high-definition and Blu-ray discs. The plant at 1400 E. Lackawanna Ave. shut down in 2018 and was demolished two years later.
Her investigation into WEA prompted her involvement with data center opposition over concerns of soil contamination, she said.
Founder of the Lackawanna Citizens’ Overwatch Project Aline Browning holds up a sign that reads ‘”No Data Centers” during the Lackawanna County Commissioners’ Meeting held at the county government center in Scranton Wednesday, August 5, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Her father had been involved in a local suicide prevention program that hosted kickball tournament fundraisers, which inspired her to do the same,
“I thought it was a fun way to raise money and bring people together,” Browning said.
The proceeds will be split between the data center opposition groups and Friends of Lackawanna, though Browning noted the Olyphant movement especially needs the help to raise money for its future legal fees.
To purchase tickets or sponsor the event, visit zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/protect-our-valley-kickball-rally.
Interested sponsors can also email Browning at lcopactionnetwork@gmail.com.