Voices For Independence

📣 ATTN ERIE FRIENDS: Just to clarify, our upcoming Disability Pride Erie event is SEPARATE from our regularly-scheduled Consumer Pig Roast in August.

🟩 Disability Pride Erie is a standalone event being held on July 7 in downtown Erie at Perry Square from 10am-2pm. This event is free to the public and will host resource tables, entertainment, guest speakers, and have a food truck on site.

🟦 Our annual Consumer Pig Roast is being held here at our Erie office in August, and as always, entry will be by invitation only-- if you are a VFI consumer, you can expect your invite postcards to arrive in the mail in the coming weeks!

😊 Have a great weekend, and we hope to see you all at BOTH events!

📣 It took just a little while to get photos of everyone, but trust us-- this is worth the wait! Join us in celebrating VFI's latest Caregiver(s) of the Month! Today's post features THREE of our dedicated caregivers for the month of April-- one in Erie, one in Oil City, and one in Washington!

🎉 CONGRATULATIONS to Nate Privott, Linda Melin, and John Mucha! Please read below to learn more about what makes these incredible caregivers stand out, and why they are all amazing Caregivers of the Month!

• Nate is a great example of what it means to go “above and beyond” as a caregiver here at Voices for Independence. His commitment to his consumers is tremendous-- he says, "I'm just taking care of my people," but what is second-nature to Nate is truly remarkable to those around him. Nate hasn’t missed a shift since he started at the beginning of the year, and is always on time. Nate works hard to make things better for everyone, especially the consumers. Even more impressively, he works doubles regularly to ensure that those around him are taken care of. Working so often while maintaining such a high level of care is what makes Nate such an amazing employee.

• Linda exemplifies what a caregiver should be. She shows up to work on time, as scheduled, and rarely calls off. Linda manages requests for schedule changes on behalf of her consumer and has great communications skills. She provides ample time to fill any of her shifts for a PTO request, and is always more than willing to pick up short-notice shifts either later in the day or on weekends, in addition to her regularly scheduled hours. Linda has demonstrated time and time again why she is more than worthy of receiving our Caregiver of the Month award.

• John is always extremely professional, always communicating clearly and thoroughly, especially when it comes to relaying information regarding the schedule of the consumer he serves. He always makes it a priority to ensure that the individual he serves has the very best care at all times. John also not only manages his schedule, but also the schedule of the nurses who come in to serve the consumer-- and he does all of this while maintaining a positive attitude. Always polite and understanding, John truly embodies all of the incredible traits that a caregiver should display.

🙌 To Nate, Linda, and John, we are so thankful to have you on our team-- your hard work and dedication mean the world to us, and to those you serve.

📞 If YOU would like to be considered for the Caregiver of the Month award, or if you're a consumer and would like to nominate your caregiver, simply call and speak to your assigned PAS Supervisor directly.

⚠️ Due to a planned power outage scheduled for the entirety of the work day, our Erie office is planning to be closed tomorrow, Friday, June 5. HOWEVER, please note that we will still be holding our regularly scheduled Wiffle Ball and festivities outdoors! Restrooms will still be functional, with lighting.

📞📧 Office staff will still be available by phone/email, working from home. If anything changes or the outage is rescheduled, we will keep you all informed via our social media channels.