Images provided by Valley Youth House
ALLENTOWN, PA, 6/28/18 – Valley Youth House (VYH) has received a generous in-kind donation from City Center Investment Corp. to benefit homeless youth and families in our community. City Center Investment Corp. donated the contents of the hotel it owns at 9th and Hamilton Streets in Downtown Allentown to benefit the clients of Valley Youth House.
Over 2,000 items from the hotel’s 9 stories were removed by volunteers over a three day span from June 19-21. The donations, which included dressers, tables, lamps, chairs, nightstands, mini-refrigerators, and household supplies, was valued at over $100,000.
This large-scale volunteer project coincided with the United Way’s Day of Caring, which is coordinated by the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley. Volunteers included VYH staff and clients, community members, employees from Mattress Firm and DLP Realty, who also donated a moving truck for the project. Valley Youth House is so grateful for the volunteers who helped move these donations from the hotel to VYH storage facilities to be distributed to young people and their families in VYH programs.
“It’s amazing what a group of like-minded people can do, when we all have a common goal of helping young people who need us. Collectively, we moved over 9 truckloads of furniture and supplies, and we were all so pleased knowing how many young people and their families will benefit from this” said Christina Schoemaker, Vice President of Development & Marketing for Valley Youth House.
“It gives us at City Center great satisfaction that our donation will help furnish homes for youth and families in need within our community,” said J.B. Reilly, president of City Center Investment Corp.
Valley Youth House is a catalyst for youth to achieve their desired future through genuine relationships that support families, ensure safe places, and build community connections. Many of Valley Youth House’s programs support homeless or foster care youth receive stable housing, counseling, and the life skills training to live healthy, independent lives.
VYH’s funding typically only supports the client’s physical housing and not the basic items needed to furnish an apartment that will help youth thrive. This tremendous donation from City Center Investment Corporation will help furnish hundreds of apartments for youth and families in need.
Schoemaker remarked, “We sincerely appreciate the cooperation and coordination that City Center provided throughout this process. This was a huge undertaking that will ultimately change the lives of countless young people. Thank you, City Center, for this generous donation!”
About Valley Youth House
Valley Youth House (valleyyouthhouse.org) does more than just provide homes for Pennsylvania’s vulnerable, abused, and homeless youth. We partner with thousands of individuals each year to build a solid foundation for young people and their families. With dedicated street outreach, housing, counseling, skills training, health, prevention, and intervention services, we empower resilient young people in establishing promising futures.
About City Center Allentown
City Center Allentown is a major mixed-use development that is helping transform downtown Allentown, Pennsylvania, into one of America’s most vibrant urban communities and a regional center of excellence for business, culture and metropolitan living. With Allentown’s new arena, PPL Center, at its core, City Center includes more than 1.4 million square feet among four Class A office towers, the Renaissance Allentown Hotel, STRATA Flats, upscale retail and restaurant space and a coworking space called Velocity. City Center’s total investment in downtown Allentown is $400 million, with an additional $500 million in development of office, residential, retail and green space underway. In 2017, the Downtown Allentown Revitalization District was honored with a Global Award of Excellence by the Urban Land Institute (ULI).
Information provided to TVL by:
Emily Conners
Valley Youth House Development Officer
