ACHIEVA Awarded $30,000 From Birmingham Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Amy C. Wild, Director of Marketing and Communications
412-995-5000 ext. 515
awild@achieva.info

ACHIEVA AWARDED $30,000 FROM BIRMINGHAM FOUNDATION
TO SUPPORT RESPITE PROGRAMS

Pittsburgh, PA – ACHIEVA, a leader in providing lifelong services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, has been awarded $30,000 by the Birmingham Foundation to support ACHIEVA’s respite services.

Respite gives family members a break from caring for a loved one with disabilities, allowing them to do many of the tasks that are normally taken for granted such as doctor’s appointments, grocery shopping, visiting with friends or other family, or even spending quiet time alone. Because respite provides temporary relief from the stress that families may face, these services can also help to support family unity while preventing abuse and neglect. ACHIEVA’s in-home and out-of-home respite services are also important in helping a person with intellectual or developmental disabilities to build new relationships and move toward greater independence.

Nearly thirty years ago, ACHIEVA was the first agency in the region to provide comprehensive respite services for people with disabilities and their families. Today, respite is ACHIEVA’s most requested service—and the most asked for service statewide, according to the Allegheny County Respite Coalition.

“We believe that expanding quality respite care services is important to the broader community as well as the families that ACHIEVA serves,” explained Mary Phan-Gruber, MSW, executive director of the Birmingham Foundation. Funding from this Foundation is targeted to South Side families.

ACHIEVA, formerly Arc Allegheny, is the largest nonprofit organization in Western Pennsylvania serving adults and children with disabilities and their families.  Founded in 1951, ACHIEVA supports nearly 7,000 children and adults with disabilities annually through advocacy, community services, education, special needs trust  and family supports.  ACHIEVA is committed to excellence in lifelong care and education for people with disabilities and their families. 

The Birmingham Foundation is a private, independent foundation created in May 1996 with assets from the sale of The South Side Hospital. The foundation is dedicated to health-related and human services grant making in the south neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Over $7.2 million has been distributed to 124 nonprofit organizations since the foundation’s inception.