Press Releases

| News & Events | Press Releases | Events | 2006 Releases | 2007 Releases |

Contact Good Shepherd's Marketing and Communications Department >>

May 6, 2008
Good Shepherd Transitions Thrift Business to VIA

Allentown—Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Via of the Lehigh Valley are working cooperatively to transition Good Shepherd’s thrift operations to Via. With a growing thrift business, Via is well-positioned to incorporate Good Shepherd’s thrift operations, including merchandise, equipment and some employees into their existing thrift store operation. The transition is expected to be completed no later than June 1, 2008.

Good Shepherd operated three thrift stores: 859 Nazareth Pike in Nazareth, 1901 Lehigh Street in Allentown and 2330 26th Street (The RePlace) in Allentown. Via intends to continue operation of the Nazareth store and is negotiating to continue the lease. The Good Shepherd Lehigh Street store closed in April and a new Via Thrift Store opened in the Parkway Shopping Center located at 1538 Lehigh Street. The RePlace is expected to cease operations by June 1.

Merchandise from the two Allentown locations will be transferred to Via. Some of Good Shepherd’s equipment, including donation bins, balers, fork lift and trucks, will be purchased by Via. In addition, several former Good Shepherd thrift store employees have already joined the Via thrift stores’ staff.

Good Shepherd’s three thrift stores were part of its Work Services Division. The thrift store model was developed by Good Shepherd in the early 1980s to support Good Shepherd’s mission to care for people with disabilities. The stores’ original goals were to provide revenue for the organization while providing job training for people with disabilities. Those goals are no longer being met, so the Good Shepherd Board of Trustees made the decision to look for a new owner for the thrift operation.

“To better understand the decision to transition the stores to Via, consider that the Good Shepherd Work Services Division – established 50 years ago – began by providing job training through facility-based employment (a workshop),” says Sally Gammon, president & CEO, Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network. “While Work Services still provides jobs through its facility-based operation, it has shifted its focus to community-based employment for people with disabilities. Rather than training people to work in sheltered environments like the thrift stores, many Work Services clients are finding competitive and sometimes permanent employment with organizations such as Walgreens, Kraft and PPL.”

“We applaud Good Shepherd’s shift in focus to community-based employment for individuals with disabilities,” says Ron Rucker, Via President and CEO. “Via strongly believes that people with disabilities should have the same opportunities to live and work in the communities where they live. Helping individuals find jobs in community settings is one of our core strategies in helping people connect to their communities.

“This opportunity with Good Shepherd fits with our desire to expand our current thrift store operations. It allows us to expand rather quickly and benefit from the large shopper and donor bases Good Shepherd’s stores have built over the years. Via Thrift Stores are a critical component of our strategy to fund our programs for people with disabilities. Expanding into four stores and multiple donor sites strengthens our ability to provide vital services for the individuals and families we serve.”

Via’s growing thrift store division includes their new Lehigh Street store at 1538 Lehigh Street in Allentown, the Via Thrift Boutique in the Westgate Mall which opened last year, and their Fountain Hill thrift store which has been open since 1987. Via’s thrift stores were established in 1975 to provide revenue to benefit Via’s services for children and adults with disabilities. Via’s thrift stores are located at:

Via Thrift Store
In the Parkway Shopping Center
1583 Lehigh Street, Allentown
610-437-1612

Via Thrift Boutique
In the Westgate Mall
2285 Schoenersville Road, Bethlehem
610-868-5610

Via Thrift Store
1401 Broadway, Fountain Hill
610-866-6776

About Via of the Lehigh Valley
Via of the Lehigh Valley is a non-profit human service agency that provides services for children and adults with developmental disabilities like autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and mental retardation. Serving the community since 1954, Via’s staff help individuals and families from birth through retirement focusing in Children’s Services, Community Connections and Employment. Via works with children up to age three in their homes and daycares to address disabilities and delays. Via trains daycare center staff so children with disabilities can go to school and learn with their peers. Via finds jobs in the community for adults and provides coaching and training for successful employment. And Via helps people connect and live in their community by volunteering, participating in leisure activities, and finding or purchasing affordable, accessible housing. Via fosters and advocates the concept of inclusion and choice with in schools, neighborhoods and communities, personal relationships, and employment. Via believes that personal satisfaction and dignity are achieved through individual success and independence and is committed to helping people live full and productive lives. Visit ViaNet.org to learn more about Via’s services.

About Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network
Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is a nationally recognized rehabilitation leader, offering a continuum of care for people with physical and cognitive disabilities and specializing in assistive and rehabilitation technology. More than 36,000 people come to Good Shepherd each year for specialized programs in stroke, orthopedics, brain injury, spinal cord injury, pediatrics, amputation and more. Good Shepherd provides rehabilitation services in 8 eastern Pennsylvania counties. Good Shepherd operates 15 outpatient sites, 4 inpatient sites, a long-term acute care hospital, 2 long-term care homes for people with severe disabilities, an independent living facility, a Work Services division that provides employment training and job placement and a lifestyle products store called Rehability. Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership of Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, will provide post-acute care in the Philadelphia region beginning July 2008. Good Shepherd was founded in 1908 when The Rev. John and Estella Raker invited a disabled orphan named Viola into their Allentown, Pennsylvania, home. Good Shepherd is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. For more information, visit www.goodshepherdrehab.org.