WILKES-BARRE, PA – The Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania (FSA) recently received a $6,000.00 grant award from the Community Giving Foundation: Berwick that supports the nonprofit’s Pennsylvania 211 Northeast / Help Line program that provides free information and referrals to emergency health and human services.
The grant award from Community Giving Foundation: Berwick represents significant backing to FSA’s PA 211 NE / Help Line, a free and confidential information and referral service that helps people in Berwick face life’s challenges by connecting them to local resources. The 211 service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year. The service saves time and frustration by eliminating the need to navigate a maze of health and human service agencies by organizing all available resources in one localized database.
Contacting 211 connects people to highly trained professionals who can address a diverse set of needs. The database provides information that connects people with vital services to address food and housing insecurity, crisis management, emergency shelter, vaccination sites, health clinics, domestic violence, utility and rent assistance, home-delivered meals, mental health, drug and alcohol services, and much more.
“At Help Line/PA 211 Northeast we are always looking for ways we can better serve the community. This grant will assist us in being able to expand and grow to be able to serve as many individuals and families as we can. Growing our team, acquiring necessary equipment and expanding our programs is what we strive to accomplish.” stated PA 211 NE / Help Line Director Aimie Voelker.
The Community Giving Foundation began as the Berwick Health and Wellness Fund in 1999 after the sale of Berwick Hospital. In 2003, it became a regional foundation and was renamed the Community Giving Foundation in December 2020. Today, the foundation has more than 300 funds and about $80 million in assets to serve a 5½-county service area. Annually, the foundation, including the Community Giving Foundation: Berwick, awards more than $2.8 million in grants for the betterment of the region.
A group of involved and concerned members of the community established FSA in 1895 in order to provide diverse services that empower children, individuals, seniors and families to reach their full potential by building healthier relationships, and ultimately stronger communities.
Today, FSA’s programs provide services to residents in 17 counties, including Bradford, Clinton, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Monroe, Montour, Northumberland, Pike, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Wayne and Wyoming counties. Any resident in PA 211 NE’s coverage area can access PA 211 NE / Help Line by calling 211, texting 211 (898-211, plus a zip code), or by logging on to www.pa211ne.org.
For more information about FSA or to support its programs, please log on to www.fsanepa.org, call, (570) 823-5144, or email, families@fsanepa.org.
The Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania received a $6,000.00 grant from the Community Giving Foundation: Berwick in support of the nonprofit’s Pennsylvania 211 Northeast / Help Line program that provides free information and referrals to emergency health and human services. PA 211 NE / Help Line is a free and confidential information and referral service that helps people in Berwick face life’s challenges by connecting them to the local resources they need. The 211 service is available 24 hours a day days a week, 365 days a year.
Photo: (left to right): Kara G. Seesholtz, President and CEO of Community Giving Foundation President. Aimie Voelker, PA 211 NE / Help Line Director.