NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Highlights PITTSBURGH, PA 1323 Forbes Avenue PERMIT NO. 1235 Pittsburgh, PA 15219-4700 (412) 471-2600 Summer 2014 222 Nazareth Drive Belle Vernon, PA 15012-9303 Clients Honored for their Years of Service (724) 684-3630 Family and friends were invited to Life’sWork for the Client Recognition The mission of Life’sWork of Western Ceremony and Luncheon, one of the most anticipated events of the year. PA is to continue its comprehensive and On May 16th, 33 clients were recognized for their years of dedicated innovative role of assisting persons service. with disabilities or other barriers to Day in and day out these individuals and the rest of the clients have the employment to achieve independence opportunity to further develop their workplace skills. While working at and dignity through productive Life’sWork they gain pride and dignity, not to mention earn a paycheck. employment opportunities. Work anniversaries are an important achievement. The clients at Life’sWork that are celebrating their employment milestones have a lot of Contributors: reasons to be proud and their years employed are just one of them. Adam Cagle The clients that were honored look forward to the event all year and Tasha Pokrzywa have a remarkable combined total of over 535 years of working at Life’sWork. The annual Client Recognition ceremony is a momentous occasion We are Proud to Announce our New Board Chair and New Board where program specialists and other staff members who work closely with the clients get a chance to praise each honoree in front of family, Members! friends, and staff. It is a celebration of each honored individual who Life’sWork would like to thank Brett Randall for his past service as board chair. have become a part of our family over the years and their journey to He will remain on the board as a voting member and we are achieve independence. excited to still have him involved. Life’sWork Participates in the Pittsburgh Summer Youth Employment Program We are happy to announce our new board chair, Brian Heery, from Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc. Life’sWork was chosen as a community-based worksite for the Pittsburgh Life’sWork and Mitsubishi have had a relationship for over Summer Youth Employment Program. The PSYEP provides a six-week 12 years that came about because of Brian’s desire to help employment opportunity to disadvantaged youth, ages 14-21. The program, provide opportunities for people who want to work. which will run from June 30th - August 8th, is provided by the City in order to We would also like to welcome two new board members. Stephanie Winer- engage youth and community agencies in summer employment. The youth Schreiber from Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC and John Durant from Huntington National Bank selected work approximately 30 hours a week and gain valuable work are the newest members of the Life’sWork of Western PA board. experience, earn wages, and contribute to Pittsburgh’s economic growth. Life’sWork was selected as a community service worksite for the program We are excited to have each of you help us in achieving our mission! based on several factors reviewed by an independent panel. One of the factors used to determine program funding is the diversity of worksites offered by the organization. At Life’sWork, based on the youth’s interests they are able to choose from fields that include culinary, horticulture, marketing, administrative and some work in our Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream PartnerShop. Life’sWork is happy to work with the City of Pittsburgh and all of the participating youth, together we can “use the summer to make a difference”. Youth Program Participant Pursues His Dreams One of Life’sWork’s greatest success stories will soon be heading out west to pursue his dream of obtaining a law degree and fighting social injustice. Life’sWork Career Achievement Award Delvin Turner, 24, grew up just a short distance from Life’sWork in the Hill District. “I This Award was established in 2003 and is presented to an individual who has excelled was always aware of the great work Life’sWork did, having had several family members go through the program,” he said. Prompted by those same family members, in their career and has served as a mentor to individuals with disabilities or barriers to when he was 13 Delvin entered the Life’sWork Project Choice program as a shy and employment. introverted teen. He was later referred to the Ben and Jerry’s Training program which has proven to help youth become more focused, have higher self-esteem, and develop socially. Through the Ben and Jerry’s program Delvin not only thrived but he exceeded expectations by becoming a trainer to his peers, taking on leadership responsibilities, and embracing his status as a role model for other participants, eventually moving up to an assistant manager. The confidence Delvin developed transferred to his educational pursuits where he funded his tuition at Central Catholic High School through an academic scholarship and while a senior at La Salle University was selected as one of 20 students to attend the Trials Program at Harvard University’s Law School. Upon graduation Delvin returned to Life’sWork not as a program participant but as a youth counselor. “Life’sWork set me in the right direction to achieve success and now I want to help others accomplish their goals,” he says. This July The James F. Delvin will leave Life’sWork as a youth counselor and head to California where he will attend law school at UCLA in The Joseph F. Compton the fall. He plans to study civil rights law and said at a young age, while learning about Thurgood Marshall, he realized Mulach, Jr. Award Humanitarian Award that through the practice of law he could fight against the racial inequalities he witnessed around him. Generational The Joseph F. Mulach, poverty, education levels, employment, crime and incarceration are just a few of the issues he hopes to address in his The James F. Compton Jr. Award, established in future endeavors as a civil rights lawyer. Humanitarian Award 1976 to honor a leading was established in 1992 industrialist, Everyone at Life’sWork is confident in his determination and work ethic to accomplish all the goals he sets for himself. to honor the memory of philanthropist and former And while Delvin is quick to thank his counselors, Angela Huffman and Randy Kienzle as well as Life’sWork’s the former Chairman of Chairman of the Board is President and CEO, Everett McElveen for supporting and being a mentor to him, we know that there are many youth the Board for his many presented annually to that have benefitted from Delvin’s service at Life’sWork. years of dedicated recognize a person who service and enlightened As someone he looked up to, Thurgood Marshall said, “None of us got where we are by pulling ourselves up by our has helped to make life leadership. The Award bootstraps. We got here because somebody- a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony, or a few nuns- bent down and more meaningful for recognizes the efforts of helped us pick up our boots.” persons with disabilities. a corporation in While he may be physically leaving he will always be part of the Life’sWork family, good luck Delvin! improving the quality of Life’sWork Ben and Jerry’s PartnerShop Keeps Getting Better! life for persons with disabilities through The Life’sWork Ben and Jerry’s PartnerShop has experienced one of its busiest enhanced employment summers yet and the summer is just beginning! White House Dinner in Pittsburgh Menu 2014 prepared by opportunities. Chef Moeller Starting off with a bang, we celebrated Free Cone Day on April 8th, serving 5,015 scoops of ice cream! The line went all the way down the block but people didn’t have to wait long, the Life’sWork youth were able to get them scooped, served and on their way! This summer Ben and Jerry’s is also one of the Life’sWork worksites for the Pittsburgh Summer Youth Employment Program which provides youth with the opportunity to gain work experience, earn wages and contribute to the local economy. The youth even had the chance to serve some of our animal friends, the Furries. Each year Pittsburgh plays host to the largest Furry Convention in the world, a gathering of human-size animals that enjoy exploring the city. It is no surprise that they love Ben and Jerry’s and our summer For more information on donating or attending the event please contact Adam Cagle at youth participants arrived just in time to make sure they were taken care of! www.lifesworkwpa.org www.lifesworkwpa.org Third Annual Every Voice Counts Concert Featuring Crystal Bowersox A White House Dinner in Pittsburgh On February 28th Life’sWork hosted its third annual “Every Voice Counts” Concert Life’sWork will once again host a fabulous White House Dinner in Pittsburgh ™ on at the Rivers Casino. This year’s concert featured American Idol contestant Crystal Thursday, September 18, 2014. This glamorous black tie affair is the re-creation of a Bowersox for an evening of music, fun, and dancing. A V.I.P. reception was held White House state dinner. This year the event will be held at the Grand Ballroom of the before the performance to honor the recipient of the Leonard Weitzman Client of Southpointe Hilton Garden Inn and prominent news anchor Sally the Year award, Verna Leasher for her steadfast dedication and outstanding work Wiggin will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies.