We are so excited to announce a new fun offering for all of our Via families in a joint collaboration with Animal Assisted Happiness (AAH) and funded by the San Jose Mercury News Wishbook:
Join us online to watch, learn, and participate in virtual barnyard interactions. These visits are completely free to you, with no registration required. Simply click the link below and reconnect with some familiar faces, meet new friends, and all learn together.
We know that 2020 has dealt us a rough hand, and we can’t even begin to tell you how much we miss seeing every single one of you on our Via West Campus. BUT, we are very excited to embark on this new adventure with you all, and we hope each visit will bring a smile to your face…until we are able to gather around the fire circle once more!
AAH has been a wonderful partner to Via West over the years – bringing their farm to us for the Fall Festival and countless Via West and Altitude sessions. Their mission is to enrich the lives of youth with needs through barnyard interactions creating smiles throughout their AAH community. We are so excited to be able to partner with them once again.
Below you will find the dates of all of our remaining visits, along with the zoom login, which will be the same for each visit. We will see you soon! If you have any questions, please click here to contact Leslie Davis.
Welcome to the Via Services e-newsletter, The Via Vanguard. We specifically chose this name because Via is always at the forefront of new ideas. We pride ourselves on always searching for new and innovative ways to fulfill our mission of helping individuals with special needs achieve greater self-sufficiency and lead richer lives. We are excited to expand our communications throughout the year to keep you connected as a part of the Via family. We will update you on current and future programs and events, get to know featured Via staff, and we will answer your pressing questions with our Ask Via feature. Below, you will find an archive of all previously published newsletters. Make sure to click the button to subscribe to our newsletters!
Thank you so much to everyone who showed their support on December 1st for Via Services! We raised over $55,000, surpassing our goal of $50,000! Keep reading to learn where those funds will be used. We always welcome continued donations – every extra dollar we earn will go towards the reopening of Via West Campus!
Reopening Via West Campus
2020 was an unprecedented year for Via Services. When the pandemic hit and shelter-in-place orders went into effect in March, Via West was forced to shut down all of our respite and summer camps, which typically serve more than 2,000 kids, teens, and adults with special needs each year. All in-person services, including our First Step occupational and speech therapy programs, were canceled, and our fundraising events had to be postponed. With dramatically reduced revenue, we had to undertake several cost saving measures to keep our organization afloat. These included a layoff of over 50% of staff, salary reductions, adapting to virtual therapy for our First Step program, applying for emergency relief grants, donor support, utilizing reserve funds, and the receipt of a PPP loan.
Via Services has been a staple in the Bay Area special needs community for over 75 years, and we will persevere through Covid-19 and the setbacks it has brought to our organization. But, we can’t do it alone.
We asked for your help to raise $50,000 to prepare for our reopening of Via West Campus, once we are safely allowed to do so. These funds will go directly to hiring new leadership for Via West and Altitude as well as to the recruitment of program managers, health care staff, kitchen and maintenance workers, and quality counselors. Our facilities and supplies will need to be cleaned, replenished, and updated to meet new Covid-19 standards. We will be designing new and innovative programs, lesson plans, and safety protocols to ensure the best experience for everyone that comes to us.
Your donation will ensure that our camps will be ready to welcome you back to the safe, loving, and fun environment that you have relied on for the past 75 years.
Just because Giving Tuesday is over, it doesn’t mean that the giving has to stop! If you would like to still contribute to the reopening of Via West Campus, please click the link below to make a one-time Giving Tuesday donation or click here to set up reoccurring gifts. You may also call 408-243-7861 to donate over the phone! Many employers in the Bay Area will match your donation, so please make sure to check in with your company. Want to pay through PayPal? No problem – Via is a registered charity with PayPal. Click here to begin.
How do I participate?
Just because Giving Tuesday is over, it doesn’t mean that the giving has to stop! If you would like to still contribute to the reopening of Via West Campus, please click the link below to make a one-time Giving Tuesday donation or click here to set up reoccurring gifts. You may also call 408-243-7861 to donate over the phone! Many employers in the Bay Area will match your donation, so please make sure to check in with your company. Want to pay through PayPal? No problem – Via is a registered charity with PayPal. Click here to begin.
Thank you so much to everyone who attended the 25th Annual Via Ball on Saturday, February 29th, and to everyone that supported our event. You helped to make this the most successful Via Ball and fundraising event in our 75 year history as an organization. There are countless people to thank, but we wish to acknowledge our wonderful sponsors.
Click below for photos and we look forward to seeing you again next year!
After careful consideration and based on current guidelines from the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health, Center for Disease Control, and World Health Organization, we have decided to postpone our 4th Annual Poker Tournament, which was to take place on Thursday, May 7th. We made this decision with the health and safety or our families, supporters, and staff as our highest priority.
We are so grateful to the brothers of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity who came to Via West Campus from chapters across California as part of their Ability Experience weekend of November 1-3, 2019. They rolled up their sleeves and worked hard to create an accessible walkway up to the year-round garden, remove brush and debris from areas around the campus and patch holes in our access road. A $5,000 grant from their national office underwrote this work to make it easier for participants to walk or roll up the graded pathway in the company of friends to plant, cultivate and harvest produce and herbs for culinary arts activities.
The brothers worked hard and played hard! They thoroughly enjoyed interacting with participants during meals and snacks, and rocked the night away at the dance. When the brothers departed on Sunday, they left behind new friends and a more accessible special needs camp.
The holidays are upon us and we have two special respite sessions to celebrate in December. December 6-8th is for our kids, teens, and young adults, and we will bring in 13 tons of snow to transform campus. December 13-15th is for our adult participants, and we will have a live band and firefighters to deliver the Christmas tree. Both weekends will have lots of arts and crafts, as well as stocking decorating. Each year, we teach our participants the importance of giving back by stuffing and decorating holiday stockings for a local shelter. This year, we will be donating to West Valley Community Services.
How can you help? Bring your extra, unused toiletries to either of our locations by December 6th! We are in need of the following travel size items:
Shampoo
Conditioner
Soap/body wash
Lotion
Shower caps
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Mouthwash
Dental floss
Socks
Mittens/gloves
Small toys (playing cards, spinners, etc.)
We are also looking for volunteers to help out with the activities during both sessions. Please contact Nic Rodriguez [email protected] for more information.
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