Mission

Our mission is to empower people with disabilities and their families to grow, develop, and thrive by providing essential skill-building, therapeutic, and recreational programs.

Vision

Via is a deeply values-driven organization. Our core values are a powerful statement of who we are as an organization and our promise to our clients, families, and community.

Love: Love is the foundation of everything we do and is ever-present in our interactions with clients, our relationships with their families, and our engagement of our staff and the community.

Family: We form valued relationships with our families and their loved ones by understanding their needs and collaborating with each on their unique journeys of growth and development.

Trust: Your trust in us is essential; we strive to earn it every day by ensuring the safety and dignity of all those in our care.

Quality: We provide expertly designed, high-impact, life-changing programs and services.

Inclusion: We believe in, and actively promote, a community of diversity, equity, and inclusion that embraces all people and celebrates their differences.

Partnership: We actively seek innovative, value-added partnerships with other organizations to meet the needs of our clients, their families, and the community.

History

Because school was not mandated for children with disabilities in the 1940’s, the single mother of a 13-year-old boy with cerebral palsy had to leave her son alone every day in a wheelchair by the window. Two women noticed the boy and approached the mother to provide help. Soon, they were carrying him and his wheelchair down two flights of narrow stairs for short field trips and city excursions, expanding his horizons.

The women were soon helping five people with disabilities. Generous people and organizations donated transportation and a vacant house. With borrowed chairs and tables, the growing group of volunteers provided lunch, entertainment and day activities.

That act of generosity led to the creation of the Crippled Children’s Society, an organization that would become Via Services.