Tocqueville Society celebrated reaching its new membership goal for the 2022 campaign at a lively winter gathering sponsored by Dual Temp Company Inc. on Thursday, January 19 at The Wilbur Mansion in Bethlehem. Approximately 150 members and prospects enjoyed tours of the newly renovated mansion, while receiving campaign updates from campaign co-chair Ashley Russo as well as updates on our healthy aging work from Executive Vice President and Chief Impact Officer, Marci Lesko. Russo shared that Tocqueville Society exceeded its goal of 70 new members for the campaign, while also adding more than 40 new workplace partners overall.
On Wednesday, January 11, the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley (UWGLV) AmeriCorps VISTAs volunteered at the Bethlehem Emergency Shelter as a MLK Day of Service project. The VISTAs prepared and served 70 meals to the shelter guests.
“Helping the guests gave me the opportunity to see the impact of our actions and ensure that low-income individuals get access to fresh food,” shared Rebecca Prisco, Nonprofit Capacity Building VISTA.
Bethlehem Emergency Shelter (BES) is a faith-based partnership that provides a network of care and hospitality, including food services, for the homeless in the community. BES also offers overnight sheltering during the winter season from December to the end of March.
AmeriCorps encourages every VISTA to participate in this day of direct service, benefiting the communities where they serve.
AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program that builds permanent infrastructure in nonprofit organizations in order to help them more effectively bring individuals and communities out of poverty.
United Way Tocqueville Society is an alliance of nearly 350 successful business and philanthropic leaders and their families who share a strong commitment and passion for investing in our local community. Paul Farr, past United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley (UWGLV) board member and 2013 campaign chair, and his wife Kym have been giving their time and investments to United Way for over 30 years. They’re deeply committed to UWGLV because of the real and lasting impact that is made in the community they call home.
“Our family strongly believes in the power of coordinated action and recognizes Tocqueville’s significant contributions toward achieving United Way’s community goals. We have been supporting United Way since 1990 and have gradually increased our involvement with the organization, its nonprofit partners, actively volunteering in Allentown schools and Day of Caring events.”
As an executive with PPL and Talen for 20 years, Paul, now retired, and his teams were involved in United Way Community School programs, Day of Caring, volunteering and mentoring at schools in Allentown and held a number of board roles with partner agencies. Paul is extremely proud to have played a leading role in increasing PPL’s employee and retiree United Way giving commitments during his tenure.
Currently, Paul is a board member of the Cay Galgon Life House, a United Way partner agency, and the Belmont Child Care Association, and Kym has been involved in several projects supporting partner agencies’ donation efforts and programs.
Paul and Kym reside in Center Valley and have six children: Caleb, Ivy, Jade, Jacob, Lily and Noah.
Santa rang in the holidays early this year with a gift delivery to Roosevelt and Sheridan elementary schools, Community Schools in the Allentown School District. For the past 2 years, TeenWorks™, an affinity group of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley (UWGLV), had a gift-wrapping party to wrap the donated gifts for their 3 adopted autistic support classes at Roosevelt. Santa (and his helpers) loaded, delivered and unpacked those gifts plus over 4,000 more and other goodies for students during the third annual Lehigh Valley Labor Council Toy Drive on Friday, December 16.
Santa, aka Allentown Mayor-elect Matt Tuerk with IronPigs’ FeRROUS
Capital Blue Cross, local labor unions and dozens of volunteers met at Capital Blue Cross on Hamilton Blvd in Allentown to prepare Santa’s “sleighs,” which included a Teamster Local 773 trailer, a fire engine and a LANta bus for the big holiday delivery. The vehicles filled with gifts paraded down to Roosevelt Elementary where they met the students, along with surprise guests Santa, aka Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk, IronPigs’ FeRRous and Lehigh Valley Phantom’s meLVin.
“This is a special day; you can see in everyone’s face that this is truly a labor of love,” mentioned John Werkheiser, Labor Liaison at UWGLV.
“This is an opportunity for us to show kids in Allentown that we care about them and love them,” shared Mayor Matt Tuerk. “Roosevelt has a large Latino population, so a favorite moment for me is when I speak to a student in Spanish for the first time and see the shock on their face. They can’t believe Santa speaks their language and I’m so happy to spread that joy,” he added.
“We are here for the long-haul, just to see the smiles from the students. Even though the weather is not great this year, no one’s complaining. We want to support these kids for as long as possible,” stated Gregg Potter, Capital Blue Cross Senior Labor Relations Consultant and TeenWorks™ Board Member.
TeenWorks is made up of a diverse group of local middle and high school students and local members of organized labor. This organization, which operates solely in the Lehigh Valley, began in 1999 as a partnership with the labor community and United Way. The group meets monthly and helps to fund community service projects throughout the Lehigh Valley from various youth groups. Over 500 organizations have received grants of up to $1,000.00 for their projects. In addition to funding projects, TeenWorks board members have a strong group of volunteers who can be counted on to do anything from building shelves to distributing mulch.
TeenWorks and Capital Blue Cross have shared the financial support for Roosevelt for the past 5 years. TeenWorks and Capital Blue Cross entered into this unique relationship over twenty years ago and have produced significant results.
Special thanks to the groups who provided donations/financial support for this year’s toy drive:
Allentown Education Association Allentown Fire Department Allentown Police Department Berks County Labor Council CWA Local 13500 Capital Blue Cross Carpenters Local 167 Dickson Crane Company Fran Loughney IATSE Local 200 IBEW Local 375 JANESCO LANTA Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong Lehigh County Sheriff’s Department Lehigh Valley Cops & Kids Lehigh Valley Labor Council Lehigh Valley Phantoms Lehigh Valley Print Center Lehigh Vally Iron Pigs Muhlenberg Magical Memories Operating Engineers Local 542 Plumbers Local 690 Rotary Club Emmaus Chapter SEIU Local 668 Steamfitters Local 420 Teamsters Local 773 Teamsters Local 773 TeenWorks™ The law office of Cohen Feeley Altemose & Rambo United Auto Workers Local 677 United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley Workers United among others
Photo credit: Marco Calderon Photography and United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley
On November 22, students from The Swain School, a private elementary school in Allentown, partnered with local nonprofit, Joyful Giving, to pack necessity bags for fellow community members. The event was made possible in part through a United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley TeenWorksTM grant of $1,000 secured by Sophia Brancato and Lia Nnenkwo.
Joyful Giving’s mission is to package essential items in an aesthetic way, to bring joy to recipients. These necessity bags, also known as Joy Maker bags, include items such as socks, shampoo, body wash and lip balm. Every bag also includes a piece of chocolate and is tied with a ribbon to mimic the look of a present. Child-focused Joy Maker bags include stickers, fidgets, crayons and a coloring book.
“A Day of Joyful Giving,” is a collaboration between Hannah Votta Coleman, the founder of Joyful Giving, and Darah Donaher, an instructor at Swain School and former TeenWorks member. The two began their partnership in February of 2022 when Darah led Community Service Elective students in creating Joy Maker bags. The pair sought to do a similar event, but by engaging all Swain students in the project this time, and thus held A Day of Joyful Giving on Swain’s Harvest Feast Day.
Students from pre-k to eighth grade lent a hand to their community members by learning the importance of the Joy Maker bags and how to create them.
”The objective of the event was clear—simply to create joy, because that’s the mission behind Joyful Giving,” shared Hannah. “Seeing the students actively engaged while building the bags was priceless.”
“I like being part of Joyful Giving because I love the idea of giving to those who don’t have what I have, and I like to know I’m helping them feel happy,” said Lia, current TeenWorks member.
The students packaged nearly 1,000 bags which will be distributed to Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley, Operation Address the Homeless, New Bethany Ministries, Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital and Community Services for Children.
Meet Nikki, AmeriCorps member representing United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley (UWGLV) at Sixth Street Shelter in Allentown. Nikki works as a Family Resource Center (FRC) Mentor and builds the monthly programming calendar and curriculum for the shelter. Shelter guests can take advantage of the FRC’s amenities during their stay which include computer access, classes, workshops, special events and more.
“Volunteering puts me in different environments and allows me to teach useful skills that our residents may not have access to otherwise,” Nikki shared. “I always wanted to volunteer for an organization that aligns with my personal values and Sixth Street Shelter is just that.”
AmeriCorps is a national service program administered by PennSERVE (Pennsylvania’s State Service Commission), enrolling individuals in national community service positions. AmeriCorps members represent the best of America, tirelessly serving people and communities across the country.
UWGLV is proud to have AmeriCorps members serve in various positions to gain professional experience. Members work closely with United Way staff and assignments are based in the UWGLV office, school districts and nonprofit organizations throughout the Greater Lehigh Valley.
On November 16, Panther Valley Elementary School, a new United Way Community School and the first in Carbon County, held a special Thanksgiving Food Pantry. The pantry provided 260 families with Thanksgiving meal essentials such as turkey, ham, cranberry sauce, corn, potatoes, lettuce, stuffing, Cornish hens and more.
Thanks to funds contributed to the Community Health Department at St. Luke’s University Health Network, Panther Valley was able to purchase hams from Boyer’s Food Market in Tamaqua, PA. Turkeys were donated from private donors and handed out to selected families. Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania helped provide and deliver all Thanksgiving essentials to ensure that all families had what they needed to have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Allentown, PA – A recent survey reports that nearly 150 early childhood classrooms are closed in the Greater Lehigh Valley and over 92% of programs have a staffing shortage. Access to high quality early learning opportunities have greatly decreased, and many families, especially in high-poverty zip codes in the Lehigh Valley, reported being unable to find child care.
Across the state of Pennsylvania, child care providers have faced serious challenges in staffing their facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, low wages for teachers and challenging work environments. These shortages prevent providers from offering the quality care they strive to maintain.
“When child care programs can’t open classrooms or permanently close due to staffing issues, it makes it challenging for parents to work and ultimately places a significant burden on the Lehigh Valley economy and beyond,” Frank Ford, President of St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Campus said. “This issue will only grow more serious as time passes.”
St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Campus operates an Education Action Committee made up of leaders from various organizations throughout the Lehigh Valley. In partnership with United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley (UWGLV), the Education Action Committee will be hosting a Child Care Workforce Crisis Advocacy event at the Sacred Heart Campus for business leaders, elected officials and nonprofits to learn about the local and national child care workforce crisis and its impact on local businesses and our economy and to hear from a panel featuring parents, teachers and child care administrators.
The Child Care Workforce Crisis Advocacy event will be held on Tuesday, December 6, 2022 from 8-10 a.m. in partnership with UWGLV, Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers, The Greater Valley YMCA, Pinebrook Family Answers-Unconditional Child Care, The Children’s Center, Volunteers of America and CAI. Registration is available HERE.
“We’re presenting on the workforce crisis because we believe that to be an issue needing immediate attention; problem-solving would lead to more child care and early learning program slots for children ages 0-5,” stated the Education Action Committee consisting of: Charles Dinofrio, President/CEO, Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers; Betty Druckenmiller, Director of the Children’s Center Volunteers of America; Shelly Feller, Program Manager, Unconditional Child Care Pinebrook Family Answers; Crystal Messer, Vice President of Child Care, Greater Valley YMCA; Renee Stephens, Director, CAI Cares, CAI; and Akshara Vivekananthan, Director, School Readiness, UWGLV.
Earlier this year, hundreds of early learning programs throughout Pennsylvania came together to sponsor and coordinate Child Care Hiring Days for PA that featured on-the-spot interviews at their locations and announcements about their competitive salary and benefits, tuition reimbursement, continuing education and on-the-job training.
“The hiring event was a temporary solution. Now we’re calling all business leaders, legislators, regulatory officials that work for the state of PA and community members in the nonprofit, for-profit and government sectors to get involved. We need continued investments so all children have equitable access to a healthy start,” said Akshara Vivekananthan, Director of School Readiness, UWGLV.
Age-Friendly Lehigh Valley, under the direction and leadership of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, announces an Action Plan to ensure that older adults in the community can thrive mentally, emotionally and physically.
Allentown, PA December 1, 2022 – In an effort to create age-friendly environments in the Lehigh Valley that acknowledge diversity, fight ageism and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to participate fully, United Way and Age-Friendly Lehigh Valley have launched an Action Plan in partnership with Lehigh County, Northampton County, AARP, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and many community partners.
“Our environments play an important role in determining how we age and how we respond to disease, loss of function and other forms of adversity that we may experience at different stages of life, in particular in later years,” said Carmen Bell, Healthy Aging Director, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley (UWGLV). “The goal of this plan is to continue to build communities that treat all residents and visitors with respect, regardless of age, income or physical ability.”
As part of the plan’s creation, the Lehigh Valley became the nation’s first dual-county community to receive certification in the World Health Organization/AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities.
“The Lehigh Valley has a history of success when we work together, and this effort is no exception. With a growing number of residents age 65 and older, we must work together to ensure the Lehigh Valley can best serve all our populations,” added Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong.
Residents who are age 65 and older currently represent 15% of each county’s population, as compared to 13% nationally. Projections suggest that seniors will grow to 22% of the Lehigh Valley population by 2040.
“We offer our continued support and commitment as we launch this action plan. We applaud the leaders and stakeholders who have become champions in the field of aging and are proud to see a growing network of partners who recognize that age-friendly communities benefit everyone,” remarked Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure.
According to AARP, well-designed and age-friendly communities foster economic growth and make for happier, healthier residents of all ages.
“At AARP, we recognize that neighborhoods are where we care for our families, launch new businesses, and plan for the future,” said AARP Lehigh County Associate State Director for Outreach Kellie VonStein. “We are pleased to work in partnership with residents, community leaders and public officials to promote local action so that our communities provide the space, services and opportunities that support people of all ages and abilities as they seek to live healthy, productive, and civically engaged lives.”
Action Plan Goals and Cornerstone Initiatives The Plan is a “living document” developed and vetted by an active and engaged community and serves as a collective community pivot from programs and services targeted to the individual to initiatives designed to serve our community as a whole.
“Providing barrier-free and attainable housing, accessible public spaces and transportation that’s welcoming to walkers, rollers, drivers and transit users enables people to stay independent and active in their community,” said Becky Bradley, Executive Director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.
The Plan serves as a call-to-action to change attitudes toward ageism, equity and inclusion and outlines the community tools needed to ensure that age-friendly programs, services and policy are available and accessible to all. It highlights several key strategies and focus areas, including:
Outdoor Spaces and Buildings: Increase accessibility to the social and physical health benefits provided by parks, trails, open spaces and public buildings. Strategy: Identify, map and communicate key points of access to outdoor spaces and public buildings that organically serve as gathering places and informal sources of information. Conduct walk audits.
Transportation: Increase awareness about transportation options that are in place Valley-wide, including public and private transit and ride-share. Increase safety and accessibility of public bus stops. Strategy: A visible transportation services campaign that provides relevant information in multiple languages and engages the community with positive messaging about staying connected. Increase safety and accessibility of public bus stops.
Housing: Equity in access to housing for all residents. Strategy: Assess the current state and develop viable solutions for equitable and affordable housing.
Civic Participation and Employment: Encourage a positive attitude toward hiring seniors and recruiting volunteers. Strategy: Visibility campaign celebrating older adults and their ongoing contributions. Highlight the benefits of engaging with older adult workers and volunteers. Research attitudes on aging in the region. Create opportunities to showcase the talents of older adults.
Community Support, Food Security and Health Services: Increase awareness about healthy aging in place. Keep individuals connected with family and community. Promote expanded access to services that help ensure that residents’ full range of emotional, social and physical needs are met. Increase food access. Strategy: Visibility campaign for area-wide communication and policy change that supports designation of family members and friends as essential caregivers.
Safety and Emergency Preparedness: Ensure the safety and reassurance of older adults in the event of a personal or large-scale emergency. Strategy: Convene an emergency preparedness coalition utilizing a cross-section of organizations and develop a plan/website.
The Age-Friendly Lehigh Valley Leadership Team is a mix of community leaders who volunteer their time to engage the Lehigh Valley in the Age-Friendly Communities Program under the direction and leadership of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley. Committee members work together to expand awareness of opportunities for residents to voice their opinions on age-friendly efforts. This committee also assists with the oversight, creation and implementation of the Age-Friendly Lehigh Valley Action Plan and will collect feedback in preparation for the next steps.
Allentown, PA – Several Lehigh Valley organizations will offer free Thanksgiving meals to the community throughout November.
United Way’s PA 211 East has compiled a list of the dates, locations and times local residents can celebrate Thanksgiving with a hot meal and warm fellowship. For the most up-to-date listings and information on volunteering at some of these locations, contact PA 211 East by phone at 2-1-1 or visit PA211East.org.
Most meals do not require reservations, unless otherwise indicated.
Tuesday, November 22
The Salvation Army of the Lehigh Valley 810 Turner Street, Allentown 1 – 3 p.m.
Thanksgiving Day: Thursday, November 24
Lehigh Valley Conference of Churches 457 W. Allen Street, Allentown 12 – 1 p.m.
New Bethany Ministries at Mollard Hospitality Center 341 W. Fourth St., Bethlehem 12 – 1 p.m.
Verona Pizza 401 Mahoning Street, Lehighton 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Meals are boxed and for to-go only.
