Safe in Style

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Mallory Draisma

Life’sWork would like to extend our deepest expression of gratitude and thanks to the North Pittsburgh Quilters Guild (NPQG). NPQG generously donated over 300 unique hand sewn masks. They arrived right when we needed them the most! This helps us to ensure the safety of our clients and staff as they begin to return to our facilities. Thank you for offering us the resources we need to operate with the safety of our clients in mind!

Requiring masks in our facilities is just one of the ways we are taking action to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We implemented temperature checks and screenings for everyone who enters our facilities and are practicing diligent cleaning and sanitization for all surfaces and areas. In addition, work stations are set up for social distancing and we implemented limits on the number of clients in the building at once. We also developed policies for staff safety to limit potential spread of the virus.

Our clients were excited to come back to work, and we want to ensure that all of our services operate with their safety at the forefront. It is extremely important to us that our clients and staff stay and remain as healthy as possible; we cannot thank NPQG enough for helping us to implement our safety policies in style. Lots of time is spent cutting, assembling and sewing the masks and we appreciate all of your hard work, time and generosity!

Life’sWork Is On The Move

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Mallory Draisma

We are thrilled to share with you some exciting news about the future of our organization!

For some time, the leadership at Life’sWork has been conducting a systematic evaluation and assessment of our building on Forbes Avenue. The services we provide, particularly to the clients in our Direct Employment program, have evolved since we first opened our doors here in 1970; many of our clients now have the opportunity to spend much more time outside of our facility, whether in integrated work settings at businesses throughout the region as part of our Small Group Staffing Solutions program, or engaging with many different organizations through community participation experiences alongside peers and staff.

As a result, the space we have on Forbes Avenue is no longer ideally suited to meet our current and future needs. In order to provide the highest quality services to our clients, we began looking into a variety of options. It became apparent that relocation would be the most advantageous economic choice and would allow us to modernize our operations so that we can best serve our clients.

Map showing the location of Duquesne University, Uptown neighborhood, and new site on the South Side — Life’sWork is moving across the Monongahela River to Pittsburgh’s South Side.

The Weitzman Building on Forbes Avenue has served us well for nearly 50 years. The facilities were designed to fit the specific needs of our organization, including being fully accessible and barrier-free for clients with disabilities. It has allowed us to grow and expand in ways that were likely never imagined by the team who broke ground in the Uptown Pittsburgh neighborhood in the late 1960’s. We are looking forward to continuing the work that we do at our new location in Pittsburgh’s South Side, where we have found a space at the River Park Commons development on Sidney Street that will allow us to create a more engaging environment for our clients and staff.

The space is being customized specifically for Life’sWork to meet our programmatic and our clients’ needs. We are very excited about the facility and feel very confident this will be a positive change for our organization. The transition to the new space will take place in the late spring of 2020 and we anticipate completing our move prior to June 30, 2020. Until that time, our daily operations will remain the same at the Forbes Avenue facility.

River Park Commons building with the 23rd Street bridge in the background — The new Life’sWork headquarters will be in the River Park Commons business complex at 2403 Sidney St.

Duquesne University will buy the building and campus facility on Forbes Avenue. The school plans to construct an 80,000 square foot building for its new College of Osteopathic Medicine. Construction will begin in 2021 and they plan to open in 2023. We are proud that this new development will be so beneficial to all of our neighbors in the Uptown community and the City of Pittsburgh; it is a win all around!

The quality of our services will not be affected. Our goal for this relocation is to better serve our clients in a more holistic way, offering more opportunities to engage with one another as well as the Pittsburgh community.

We are excited about this next chapter in Life’sWork’s near century of service and are looking forward to continuing our mission and evolving to meet the needs of those we serve.

Al Philips Retires After 28 Years

Posted on March 4, 2019 by imagebox

It is with mixed emotions that we announce that one of Life’sWork’s longest serving and most dedicated professionals – Al Phillips – has decided to retire. We are happy for Al – for he has earned a richly deserved retirement; but are saddened because we will miss Al, very much.

Al joined what was then known as the Vocational Rehabilitation Center (VRC) in October of 1991 – and over the past 28 years Al, in his role as a workforce development specialist and instructor of the Commercial Cleaning and Custodial Services Training Course, has served this organization and most importantly literally thousands of clients with care and distinction.

Life’sWork held a luncheon on Thursday to toast Al for these years of service. Fellow staff members said goodbye to Al and shared memories of their time working together over these past three decades.

Al’s impact at Life’sWork is immeasurable and his presence here will be greatly missed.

From all of us at Life’sWork and everyone he served through the years, we would like to thank Al for his dedication to our mission and to wish him well in his next chapter in life.

Life’sWork Clients Invited to Duquesne Basketball Game

Posted on February 13, 2019 by imagebox

Love, Scherle & Bauer, P.C. was kind enough to provide Life’sWork with free tickets to today’s women’s basketball game at Duquesne University against the Saint Louis Billikens. A group of clients and a few staff bundled up and braved the cold to watch the Atlantic 10 match up at the A.J. Palumbo Center.

Everyone enjoyed the exciting game that came down to the wire. Elisha, from Life’sWork, even made an appearance on the Jumbotron with her dance moves!

We would like to thank Duquesne University for the donated tickets. Community events like this provide an excellent experience for our clients to explore the world beyond their job sites and engage with our community.

If you are interested in providing a community engagement opportunity for our clients, feel free to contact Chris Phelps at cphelps@lifesworkwpa.org or at 412.-471-2600 ext. 330

Life’sWork 2018 Client Halloween Party

Posted on October 31, 2018 by imagebox

Parties and dances have been a staple at Life’sWork for quite some time, but in 2018 we decided to kick things up a notch with a more diverse line-up of client events that went above and beyond the typical parties we’ve been having.

Thanks to the Autism Caring Center, we were able to provide our clients with food, drinks, and dessert for this year’s Halloween Party. Our clients were also able to enjoy some unique entertainment with the addition of cornhole, a photo booth, and the most exciting game of Bingo you’ve ever seen!

We would like to once again thank the Autism Caring Center and wish everyone in the Life’sWork community a Happy Halloween!

Life’sWork Business Service Division Gears Up for Holidays

Posted on October 25, 2018 by imagebox

The holiday season is a busy time at Life’sWork. Our business services division takes on seasonal jobs to help local businesses with the extra workload during this part of the year. Whether it’s greeting card mailing or calendar assembly, our clients are always ready for the new challenge.

This year, we are fulfilling a job for Macy’s, one of the biggest department stores in the area. Our third-floor production workshop is packaging the gift boxes that will be given out to Macy’s customers with their holiday purchases. Macy’s is a festive place this time of the year, with thousands doing their shopping there daily. The colorful gift boxes are a holiday staple for a Macy’s patron.

If your business or organization has an extra holiday project, Life’sWork is here to help.

Our clients can assist with assembly and packaging, and our mailing department is equipped to handle every step of the mailing process to ensure your holiday greeting cards are delivered on time. This includes processing your mailing list, sorting, postage, and delivering the mailing to the post office.

Don’t let the stress of overwhelming workloads and shipping deadlines ruin your holiday.

For more information about our business services, contact Babs Sefiane at (412)-471-2600 ext. 261 or bsefiane@lifesworkwpa.org

Life’sWork of Western PA partners with Black Locust Lumber in Sustainability

Posted on October 9, 2018 by imagebox

This fall, Life’sWork of Western PA has launched a partnership with Black Locust Lumber. The new business relationship will provide our clients with the opportunity to assemble Black Locust’s wooden sustainable Proflow pavers and prepare them for production at our main facility.

Black Locust Lumber is a global company focused on green materials manufacturing a safe, sustainable alternative to traditional lumber. The company has strong environment sustainability ties to Pittsburgh; other projects include the Frick Environmental Center and the Falk School of Sustainability and Environment at Chatham University.

“This project opens the doors to many opportunities for people with disabilities by working with companies that are focused on sustainability in the Pittsburgh region,” said Timothy Parks, Life’sWork President & CEO. “And it furthers the agency’s vision of becoming self-sustaining by generating revenue that directly supports our programs.”

Community Engagement Opportunity

Posted on September 28, 2018 by imagebox

A group of Life’sWork clients had the chance to help out with preparations for the Emergency Nurses Association “Discover Pittsburgh” Conference. The education and networking event was held from September 26^th – 29^th at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

The Life’sWork team assembled VIP bags that were given out to the guests attending the Neon Nights Welcome Party. In collaboration with the Mercy Nurse Association and Theresa Sciullo Kaufman with Eventful Event Producers, our clients spent the day out of the building working in a lively, exciting atmosphere helping out a great cause. Thanks so much to all for the opportunity!

Life’sWork Talent Show 2018

Posted on July 16, 2018 by imagebox

It was a packed house at the 2nd Annual Life’sWork Talent Show on June 22. Clients from a variety of different programs here at Life’sWork put on an even bigger variety of acts including comedy, singing, and dancing. Many popular acts returned from last year and many new ones surprised us all. We had no idea some of our clients had such talent hidden inside them and we’re glad we were able to give them a place to express themselves.

We would also like to thank Grand Canyon University for donating food, drinks, and dessert to serve to our clients during the event.