July 2008, Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton edition of The Union News

Labor supported Teen Works conducts meeting and votes to provide funds for projects

By PAUL TUCKER
theunionnewsabe@aol.com

REGION, June 10th- The Teen Works Board of Directors held a meeting at the United Auto Workers of America (UAW) Union Local 677 building on Mack Boulevard in Allentown. At the meeting, the organization voted to help fund four community projects being conducted by area teens or school groups from throughout the Lehigh Valley.

Unions and labor organizations in the Lehigh Valley contribute funds that is donated to area teens through grants that are involved with a project to help the region. The program is a agency of the Greater Lehigh Valley United Way. All funds donated by the labor organizations are used to support the Teen Works program.

School students ask the Teen Works Board of Directors for financial help to conduct a community project in the Lehigh Valley. Under the program teen(s) must first complete an application for the financial help. The maximum grant the teens can receive from the organization is $1,000.

Boy Scout Troop 362 member David Harrington of Bethlehem received $1,000.00 from the organization to repair the playground at Wesley United Methodist Church in Bethlehem. The youth will repair and paint a fence at the playground and place mulch around the area.

Boy Scout Troop 431 member Patrick McTish of Macungie received a grant of $400.00 from the organization for his project at the Poole Wildlife Sanctuary in Emmaus.

His project is to renovate and restore a garden that has deteriorated at the wildlife sanctuary. The goal is to improve the garden by performing general cleanup of weeds and invasive plants, hanging up birdhouses and creating more seating space at the garden.

Boy Scout Troop 29 member Levi Matyus of Easton received a grant of $1,000 for his community project.

The project is to clean-up and improve the parking area at the Lions Park on Bushkill Drive in Forks Township. The youth also will add guard-rails to define the parking lot and have new gravel added in the area.

The final community project to receive funding was to help the Visual Impairment and Blindness Services (VIABL) of Bethlehem to help pay for the printing of holiday cards that will be sold to the public to raise funds to help the visual impaired.

VIABL received $1,000 from Teen Works.