United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley is pleased to introduce the 2023 AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associates cohort! We have 14 members serving at 9 community partner sites who will be making an impact in the Greater Lehigh Valley through implementing high quality summer learning programming and reducing food insecurity through distribution of summer meals.
They are pictured here left to right: Caroline Nelson (GV YMCA), Tyssina Bright (Southside Bethlehem Public Library), Seyla Velez (Freedom Schools), Tessa Grotzinger (Kellyn Foundation), Maeve Reilly (GV YMCA), Roemello Miner (Freedom Schools), Benjamin Miller (Allentown Public Library), Ello Soto (Allentown Health Bureau), Collin Christein (Freedom Schools), Elizabeth Leiser (LVHN, 17th and Chew), Destiny Nowell (Fine Feather Foundation), Caitlyn Anders (GV YMCA), Leila Hurley (Jim Thorpe Rotary Summer Program), Jose Rivera (Fine Feather Foundation).
For more information on AmeriCorps VISTA opportunities, visit our AmeriCorps page.
Allentown, PA – To offer rapid support to the individuals and families affected by the May 29 fire in the 900 block of Ferry Street in Easton, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley and Greater Easton Development Partnership have established the Ferry Street Fire Fund. The community groups have united quickly to raise funds and coordinate relief efforts for victims of the fire with partners including Lehigh Conference of Churches and Third Street Alliance for Women & Children, among others.
The fire destroyed or significantly damaged 16 homes, displacing 33 residents including nine children under the age of 18 and two senior citizens. The American Red Cross Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter provided relief to the impacted residents in the immediate aftermath of the fire including shelter, food and emergency supplies. Now, United Way and Greater Easton Development Partnership will work with partners to provide long-term assistance with 100% of funds going to aid those affected by this disaster.
“We understand that most families have lost everything and will not be able to return to their homes. At United Way, we respond to the urgent and emerging needs of our community,” said David Lewis, President, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley. “Through this partnership with trusted and effective partners in the Easton community, donors can take comfort in knowing that their funds will be properly managed and used only for those affected by the fire.”
Donations can be made online at www.unitedwayglv.org/firefund or via mail (checks payable to UWGLV, 1110 American Parkway NE, Suite F-120, Allentown, PA 18109 – attention “Ferry Street Fire Fund”). Additionally, individuals interested in making a donation can text “EASTON” to 40403. Gift card donations are also encouraged.
“Greater Easton Development Partnership and its West Ward Community Initiative welcome this partnership to bring both emergency support and funds to the families impacted by this fire,” said Jared Mast, Executive Director, Greater Easton Development Partnership, who lives one block from the site of the fire.
“Lives have been turned upside down in a terrible way, and we hope this partnership helps to start to set things right,” added Mast.
For additional information or questions on the fund, contact Erin Connelly at 610-807-5723.
Capital Blue Cross and WomenUnited members gathered for an evening of cocktails and connections.
Tours of Capital Blue Cross’ Connect Health and Wellness Center were offered, there was musical entertainment by Jake Kiligas and hors d’oeuvres and a signature cocktail were provided by Zekraft. A night to come together to lead the charge and inspire change.
Allentown, PA, May 25, 2023 — As we step onto the other side of the pandemic, we see that many working families are still struggling and need support. United Way of Pennsylvania (UWPA) unveiled a new report showing that 42% of Greater Lehigh Valley households are struggling to make ends meet. These households, called ALICE® (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed), earn more than the federal poverty level, but still cannot afford basic necessities like housing, childcare and food.
On May 4, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley’s (UWGLV) Public Policy and Advocacy Committee hosted the bi-annual Legislative Meet and Greet in Allentown with state and local elected officials and nonprofit leaders. During the event, UWGLV and UWPA representatives presented the report and reviewed the policies in place to strengthen the regional nonprofit ecosystem to help the families still struggling. Over 75 guests attended the event including: Allentown School District Superintendent, Dr. Carol Birks, Representative Milou Mackenzie, Representative Zach Mako, Representative Jeanne McNeil, Representative Steve Samuelson, Jake Glessner on behalf of Senator Boscola and Sabrina McLaughlin on behalf of Senator Fetterman.
The report, ALICE in the Crosscurrents: COVID and Financial Hardship in Pennsylvania, released through United for ALICE®, reveals that 117,000 households – 42% of families in the Greater Lehigh Valley – are living in poverty or are struggling to afford the barebones essentials. They are working and paying taxes, but not earning enough to be financially stable.
Kim Amsler, Director of Mission Advancement at United Way of Pennsylvania and PA 211, also spoke to legislators and shared the most significant data points from the data report.
The findings demonstrate that the percentage of households considered ALICE has slightly decreased in Lehigh County but has risen in Northampton and Carbon counties. Carbon County bears the most significant rise in ALICE households, with a 12% increase from 2019. It also gave insight into financial stressors such as the end of pandemic assistance and increasing cost of basic needs.
The Legislative Meet and Greet gives the opportunity for policy makers to better understand UWGLV’s advocacy techniques for financially struggling families in our community. Through advocacy efforts, United Way supports a platform of polices that will make an immediate and lasting impact on families that are currently struggling to survive, including:
Expanding access to early childhood education
Eviction prevention and affordable housing initiatives
On Friday, April 28, United Way supporters Juliet Vestal Buckley from Bethlehem, and her husband Robert, were presented with a $10,000 cash prize courtesy of Brown-Daub Dealerships. The Buckleys are the grand incentive prize winners of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley’s (UWGLV) 2022 Campaign.
Dedicated supporters of United Way and the community since 2018, the Buckleys will donate the prize back to the organization to fund solutions that impact well over 130,000 people throughout the region.
“United Way provides us with an easy way to channel all our giving to the impact areas that need it most. Given the economy right now, we wanted to continue the Daub’s legacy of generosity and pay this forward by keeping the money in the community,” Juliet said when asked why they decided to donate their prize money.
As a long-time member of United Way’s Cornerstone Society, Brown-Daub Dealerships has been one of the organization’s most dedicated partners and support many events throughout the year. United Way’s Cornerstone Society consists of 19 generous and deeply committed partners that help our community with annual contributions of $100,000 or more. For the past nine years, Brown-Daub has provided a significant incentive prize of $10,000 cash or a new vehicle for donors who contributed to the campaign at a certain level, which encouraged individuals to give more.
“Since I’ve joined the United Way Board of Directors, I’ve seen firsthand how much hard work and effort goes into where funds are invested to make the most impact. It’s an honor to support United Way and the community by offering these incentive prizes to encourage increased giving for so many years,” said Tom Daub, President, Brown-Daub Dealerships.
Juliet is the Vice President, Corporate Benefits and HR Administration at B. Braun Medical Inc., a United Way Cornerstone Society member for nearly 20 years.
“Dedicated partners like Brown-Daub and B. Braun are the cornerstones of our community, and we’re extremely thankful for the transformational impact their organizations and employees have made throughout the community for the past 20 years,” stated Paul Hurd, Chief Philanthropy Officer, UWGLV.
Also giving back to the community is First Prize winner Sean Bird, partner with Deloitte & Touche LLP from Charlotte, N.C. Originally from Lebanon, PA, Sean is deeply committed to giving back to his community as a dual Tocqueville Society member in Lehigh Valley and Charlotte. He was presented with $2,500 in Wegmans gift cards in April. With his wife and children, Sean chose to donate the gift cards back to five UWGLV-supported organizations to help alleviate food insecurity. New Bethany Ministries, Northeast Community Center, Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley, ProJeCt of Easton, Inc. and Community Action Lehigh Valley’s Second Harvest Food Bank will each receive a $500 Wegmans gift card to support their food pantries and meal centers.
Second Prize winner, Russell Giordano of Bethlehem Area School District, was presented with Lehigh Valley IronPigs Dugout Suite courtesy of BSI Corporate Benefits at a school board meeting at the end of April. Russell is the Chief Human Resources Officer and long-serving Executive Cabinet Member for the Bethlehem Area School District. After dutifully serving the district for over 10 years, he will be retiring at the end of this school year to spend more time with his family.
Individuals who became an Everyday Hero by contributing at least $365 to UWGLV’s 2022 Campaign became eligible to win one of three incentive prizes:
Grand Prize: $10,000 provided by Brown-Daub Dealerships, presented to Juliet and Robert Buckley;
First Prize: $2,500 in Wegmans gift cards, presented to Sean Bird;
Second Prize: Lehigh Valley IronPigs Dugout Suite courtesy of BSI Corporate Benefits, presented to Russell Giordano.
First Prize Winner Sean Bird with Emily Parker, UWGLV
Patti Nappi, BSI; Second Prize Winner Russell Giordano; Shaun Marakovits, UWGLV; Corinne Kavounas, BSI
“Thank you to Brown-Daub, Wegmans and BSI Corporate Benefits for encouraging the spirit of giving and for their continued support of UWGLV,” added Hurd.
With 13 consecutive years of growth, United Way’s 2022 fundraising campaign raised $22,642,018 to provide critical solutions in the areas of education, healthy aging, food, housing, mental health and emergency services. The 2023 campaign is currently underway through March 31, 2024.
Photo credit: United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley
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About Brown-Daub Dealerships Brown-Daub has grown from a single Chrysler Plymouth franchise purchased in 1936 by William J Daub and Thomas M. Brown into the Lehigh Valley’s largest auto group. Currently led by the third-generation owner, Thomas A. Daub, Brown-Daub is celebrating 86 years of servicing and supporting the community with its nine new car franchises, commercial truck center and auto body repair shop. For more information, please visit www.browndaub.com.
The weather did not disappoint for our second Tocqueville gathering of 2023. New and seasoned donors were welcomed to the beautiful home of Mike and Mandi Tuskes in Easton. Hints were dropped in the invitation that the vibe would be cool and casual, but no one expected the beach in the driveway, a jet ski or custom pizzas made to order in the outdoor oven.
There was plenty to celebrate, including another record-breaking campaign and number of new Tocqueville families. Incoming Campaign Co-Chairs, Tony and Adrienne DaRe, had an opportunity to share their early thoughts about this year’s campaign and rallied the crowd to continue the positive trajectory of both Tocqueville membership and donations.
Our heartfelt thanks to Mike and Mandi, whose commitment to United Way, generosity and excitement truly elevated the entire experience.
Photo caption: Lehigh Valley Leaders kick off new initiative at Catasauqua Park to increase pedestrian safety (l to r), Lamont McClure, Northampton County Executive; Carmen Bell, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley; Mayor Matt Tuerk, City of Allentown; Kellie VonStein, AARP PA; Phillips Armstrong, Lehigh County Executive; Mayor Barbara Schlegel, Borough of Catasauqua; Becky Bradley, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission; Kristen Wenrich, Bethlehem Health Bureau.
To ensure that walking is safe, accessible and convenient for all, Age-Friendly Lehigh Valley and partners will conduct walk audits of Lehigh and Northampton County neighborhoods in an effort to improve community walkways and increase accessibility.
Catasauqua, PA, April 25, 2023 – More than ever before, older adults are choosing to bike and walk instead of driving, making them a growing share of the nation’s pedestrians and cyclists. However, reports show that from 2010 to 2019, drivers in the U.S. struck and killed 53,435 pedestrians — an average of more than 14 people each day, and an estimated 137,000 pedestrians were treated in the emergency room for nonfatal crash-related injuries in 2017.
To ensure that walking is a safe, accessible and convenient alternative for people who cannot or choose not to drive — and to reverse the trends in pedestrian fatalities and injuries — United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley (UWGLV) and Age-Friendly Lehigh Valley (AFLV) have partnered with AARP PA and Lehigh Valley Planning Commission to conduct a walk audit to improve the community walkways, increase accessibility and help build transportation infrastructure.
“Our goal is to have an active community fully connected by pedestrian networks, allowing all residents to have equitable access to services and resources or an alternative mode of transportation,” said Carmen Bell, Sr. Director, Healthy Aging, UWGLV.
Partners launched the new initiative during an event at Catasauqua Park with support from the Lehigh and Northampton County Executives, mayors of the city of Allentown and the Borough of Catasauqua, as well as the Bethlehem Health Bureau.
“As Northampton County grows and ages, it’s very important for us to have the trails accessible to the population. It’s a fundamental necessity for us to participate in a program like this,” shared Lamont McClure, Northampton County Executive.
A walk audit is an activity in which participants observe and evaluate the walkability of a location to identify and document if and how pedestrians can safely travel along streets and trails as well as navigate intersections. Walk audits benefit all pedestrians and cyclists, including people in wheelchairs, those who are blind, persons with disabilities, those pushing strollers and many more.
“Walk audits are about more than just sidewalks and crosswalks – they’re about creating communities where people can move around safely and with ease,” said Kellie VonStein, AARP Pennsylvania State Associate State Director of Outreach and Advocacy in the Lehigh Valley. “By focusing on walkability, the Lehigh Valley is investing in the health, safety and well-being of its residents.”
Walkability has an impact on chronic diseases, injuries, pollution, aging in place and a local economy. Walk audits support the implementation of the region’s active transportation plan, Walk/RollLV, which provides a clear vision of how walking, rolling and other forms of active transportation fit within the larger transportation network. They will also provide data to support regional transportation infrastructure investments into the pedestrian network, ultimately improving safety along sidewalks, intersections and roadways.
“The Walk Audit program allows us to gather information that can better inform transportation investments and improve the Lehigh Valley’s pedestrian and ADA accessibility. This will significantly advance the goals of FutureLV: The Regional Plan and Walk/RollLV: Active Transportation Plan as well as support a safer and more equitable transportation system,” said Becky Bradley, Executive Director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.
“We can’t do this alone. We must all work together to make our neighborhoods safer for pedestrians, and that comes from making investments, enforcing laws and educating our public,” stated Mayor Matt Tuerk, City of Allentown.
In livable communities, people of all ages can safely walk for fitness and to get where they need or want to go. AFLV and partners aim to make Lehigh and Northampton neighborhoods more walkable by identifying the roads and intersections that should be walkable and crossable but are instead dangerous for pedestrians.
“Community health is a top priority for our city, and we are excited that United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley is leading the way,” added Bethlehem Mayor Willie Reynolds.
“I’m really proud to support this initiative to expand and maintain our walkways. We must make sure we have accessibility for our seniors, those without access to transportation and all of our population,” said Phillips Armstrong, Lehigh County Executive.
Lehigh Valley walk audits will begin in April and continue through November. Community Walk Days will be scheduled throughout the spring, summer and fall.
Women United is proud to support ProJeCt of Easton Inc.’s Family Literacy and Parent Education Program. The program utilizes a “teach the parent, reach the child” model to assist parents in becoming the first and most important teacher, promote a child’s success in school and advance the family educationally and economically. ProJeCt shared success stories of three students and their families who have greatly benefited from the Program.
Jacqueline joined her family in the United States just four months ago. She and her granddaughter, Zoey, attend ProJeCt’s Parent Education and Early Childhood Education classes every day. Jackie’s goal is to utilize the literacy strategies taught in her Parent Education class to support her grandchildren’s success in school. As an active participant in the Program, Jacqueline increased her vocabulary in speaking, listening, reading and writing on the intermediate level and broadened her understanding of American culture in a short time.
Esmeralda, mother of three, is working hard to keep life stabilized for her family despite various health issues. With the goal of earning a G.E.D., she attends classes at ProJeCt while her youngest son, Emmanual, participates in the preschool program. Through the Family Literacy and Parent Education Program, Esmeralda and Emmanual get to work on literacy development together in the classroom. The Program gives Esmeralda the confidence in teaching and advocating for her children’s success in school and helps prepare Emmanual for his transition to kindergarten.
Yariana attends ProJeCt’s adult literacy class for English skills while her two-year-old son, Diego, participates in the preschool program. Diego initially struggled with being separated from Yariana, so the teachers created an opportunity for them to learn and play together. During that time, Yariana practiced the teaching strategies she learned in the Parent Education class and incorporated speaking opportunities and other educational aspects during their playtime. Thanks to ProJeCt, Yariana has advanced from Intro to English class to the Advanced ESL class and feels more confident as her child’s first teacher. Diego no longer struggles with separation from Yariana, and now looks forward to playing with his new friends in the preschool program.
Thank you for joining the ’50s Sock Hop, an age-friendly event that promotes inclusion and intergenerational social interactions. Community tables were present to promote services and programs, along with refreshments, dancing, basket raffle, health screenings, art activities and a photo booth.
As part of its 2022 United Way campaign, Crayola launched a $100K Challenge – an opportunity for Crayola employees to designate monetary contributions from Crayola to the United Way-funded agency of their choice.
Participating Crayolians were chosen at random from a raffle system. The winners received entry points for the exclusive raffle based on their 2022 United Way contributions and participation. Two Crayolians were selected to give away $10,000 and 16 were selected to give away $5,000.
Some of the benefiting organizations include Bethlehem Area School District, Domestic Violence Service Center, Easton Area Community Center, Miller-Keystone Blood Center and United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley.
