Via Gives Back – Via Volunteers Give Thousands of Hours Each Year at Local Agencies
October 20, 2009

BETHLEHEM, PA – When you volunteer, you give part of yourself – your time, talent, energy and skills. When you volunteer, you give back to your family and friends, to your neighbors, and to your community. When you volunteer, you know that you have made a difference in your community and in someone’s life.

Via’s Community Connections program facilitates relationships between individuals with disabilities and the communities in which they live. Via connects people to their community through volunteer, recreational and educational activities. Through volunteering, participants in Via’s program learn important social and work skills and provide 21 community agencies with valuable services.

“Adults want to be valuable, active, and productive members of their community,” said Musselman.

“Via helps individuals discover preferences and volunteer activities in their community to participate in as independently as possible. These experiences help people develop interpersonal relationships, explore vocational options and learn the importance of giving back.”

Via staff work with individuals to learn what types of jobs they like to do and then work with agencies and the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley to match with agency needs. This year, 49 Via Community Connections consumers contributed 4,090 hours of service to 21 agencies in the Lehigh Valley.

Volunteer Agencies (49 volunteers at 21 agencies for 4,090 hours):

• 6th Street Food bank
• 6th Street Shelter
  Boys and Girls Club
• Children's Home of Easton
• Concern
• Crayola Factory
• Crime Victims Council
• Good Shepherd
• Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce
• Heartland Hospice
• Jewish Community Center Allentown
• Lehigh Valley Arts Council
• Lehigh Valley Health Network
• Luthercrest
• Meals on Wheels
• Moravian Hall Square Retirement Community
• Phoebe Home
• Planned Parenthood
• ProJect of Easton
• Salvation Army
• Turning Point

Via of the Lehigh Valley is a non-profit human service agency that provides services for children and adults with disabilities like autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome. Serving the community since 1954, Via’s staff help individuals and families from birth through retirement focusing in Children’s Services, Community Connections and Employment.

Via works with children up to age three in their homes and daycares to address disabilities and delays. Via finds jobs in the community for adults and provides coaching and training for successful employment. And Via helps people, from teens to those at retirement age, connect and live in their community by volunteering, participating in leisure activities, and finding or purchasing affordable, accessible housing. Via fosters and advocates the concept of inclusion and choice within schools, neighborhoods and communities, personal relationships, and employment. Via believes that personal satisfaction and dignity are achieved through individual success and independence and is committed to helping people live full and productive lives. Visit www.ViaNet.org to learn more about Via’s services.

For more information, contact:
Lisa Walkiewicz, Communications Director
L.Walkiewicz@vianet.org | 484-893-5390