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VIA assists shelter with supplies, food and funds

February 27, 2021

Village Improvement Association of Rehoboth Beach club members live up to their reputation for being creative, resourceful and generous volunteers, even during a pandemic.

The VIA is a women’s civic and charitable organization dedicated to community improvement through volunteer service.

One member’s compassionate idea coincidentally matched an urgent appeal from a shelter in need of food and critical supplies. The result was a humanitarian project that expanded rapidly and continues today. 

As a memorial to her son Matt, who passed away in 2020, VIA member Susan Siemionko had decided that family members would fill his Christmas stocking with items for people who are homeless. Her grandchildren generously responded, and items started pouring in.

As winter neared, the VIA received a request from an organization housing homeless people in a local hotel. Meals and basic supplies were needed for more than 50 adults and children staying there. 

The VIA’s Civic Engagement and Outreach Committee decided to collect supplies. As a committee member, Siemionko revealed that she and her family had already started compiling many such vital items. As her story spread, reaching friends, neighbors and community members, she received checks and more donations of detergents, hand wipes, toilet paper and other essentials.

Other members began reaching out to local businesses and groups. Accent on Travel provided a contactless drop-off for toiletries and collected 75 pounds of necessities. Tammy Nails donated blankets, towels, and 100 masks. The Rehoboth Sunrise Rotary Club collected $500 in Christmas gift cards for the teens in the shelter. Many individuals donated gifts for the younger children. A group of employees at DuPont made a monetary donation for food. Siemionko’s granddaughter, a member of Middletown Junior National Honor Society, enlisted its help to collect 200 pounds of needed goods.

VIA members assembled the amassed donations and caravanned to drop off mounds of supplies and bedding at the shelter.

To remedy the food problems, the clubwomen created a roster for cooking and meal delivery that would supply nutritious meals once every month to the shelter from December through March, joining other organizations to provide daily food for the residents. One member noticed that on a cold night in January, no meals had been provided; she contacted the Dewey Beer Company, which stepped up to feed everyone at the shelter. Another member noticed an open night, so she and her husband provided dinner that evening.

Knowing about the ongoing struggle to find housing for the homeless, and the lack of affordable housing in the area, VIA board members decided to donate $5,700 to A Sheltering Heart/Lighthouse for Broken Wings, a nonprofit organization led by Toni Short. It currently provides temporary winter housing for 35 adults and 21 children at the hotel. Also, a grant writer was enlisted to assist in further addressing critical housing needs. 

 

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