https://topworkplaces.com/publication/post-gazette/

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Fashions will be provided…[read more]

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Pittsburgh, PA, March 25, 2019: 

Sean and Mandi Casey have been named as the 2019 winners of the Ken Wagner Award for Outstanding Service. The award will be presented at the Emmaus Kentucky Derby Gala on
May 4, 2019 at the Pittsburgh Westin Hotel.

The Ken Wagner Award is given annually to someone who has demonstrated a life of service, humility, and dedication to helping others. The award is named after the late Emmaus co-founder Ken Wagner, whose commitment to improving the quality of life for people with intellectual disabilities led to the founding of the Emmaus Community in 1989, along with his wife, Lorraine Wagner. The Emmaus Community provides community-based homes and services for people with intellectual disabilities in the Pittsburgh region.

Sean and Mandi Casey were chosen as this year’s winners by a selection committee comprised of community members, members of the Wagner family, and Emmaus staff. According to Emmaus Executive Director Karen Jacobsen, “the committee was inspired by the Caseys’ tireless dedication to the Miracle League of the South Hills, where they serve as President and Vice-President.” The Miracle League is an international organization that strives to “bring the game of baseball to children who may have never had the opportunity to play on a real field. By building a custom-designed field with a cushioned rubberized surface to help prevent injuries, wheelchair accessible dugouts and a completely flat surface to eliminate any barriers to wheel-chair bound or visually impaired players, the field has eliminated the challenges that prevent many children from playing the game of baseball.” Sean Casey is a former Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers, and Boston Red Sox. He and his wife, Mandi, set out to bring a Miracle League to his hometown in the South Hills in 2008.

Ms. Jacobsen notes, “The Miracle League has played in enormous part in the lives of many Emmaus residents, as well as other children and adults with disabilities in the region. Sean and Mandi made this possible. It brings people with and without disabilities together over a common love—baseball. This sharing of lives speaks to the Emmaus mission, and especially to the life of Ken Wagner, whose vision for people coming together is at the heart of our Community. We’re very excited to present this award. I couldn’t think of two more worthy recipients than Sean and Mandi Casey.”

The Emmaus Community of Pittsburgh is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing permanent homes, respite care, and advocacy to persons with intellectual disabilities in the Pittsburgh region.

Executive Director Karen Jacobsen is available for interviews.  Contact 412-381-0277 or kdjacobsen@emmauspgh.org.# # #

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Pittsburgh, PA, May 25, 2018: 

Bethel Park resident Erin Gannon was awarded the Golden Quill Award in the Radio/Podcasts category for her video, “She Set Them Free: Retiring Exec’s Role in Improving Life for Disabled,” produced by Unabridged Press. Hosted by The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, the Golden Quills competition recognizes professional excellence in print, broadcast, photography, videography and digital journalism. Gannon was selected from a group of five finalists and received the award at a ceremony held at The Rivers Club on May 24, 2018.

          The winning piece was part of a larger media project called “Look Who’s Here!: All Abilities Media,” which features media created and produced by people with disabilities in collaboration with the founder and producer of Unabridged Press, Jennifer Svweda Jordan. Gannon, alongside colleague Mark Steidl (also a Golden Quill winner), was a founding host of the show. As both a woman with Down syndrome and an employee at Achieva, an organization that provides services for people with disabilities, Gannon was interested in using her voice to offer an often unheard perspective in the media world. Jennifer Svweda Jordan has a parallel career as a Direct Support Professional at the Emmaus Community of Pittsburgh, an organization “where people with and without disabilities share their lives.” Jordan met Gannon when she had the opportunity to work as a Direct Support Professional in her home in Bethel Park, which is supported by the Emmaus Community. They discovered a shared interest in media, and from there, the project was born. “Look Who’s Here” was launched in July of 2017.        

For more information, please contact Karen Jacobsen at 412-381-0277.   

The Emmaus Community of Pittsburgh is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing permanent homes, respite care, and advocacy to persons with intellectual disabilities and other developmental disabilities in the Pittsburgh region.

Executive Director Karen Jacobsen is available for interviews.  Contact 412-381-0277 or kdjacobsen@emmauspgh.org.# # #

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East Liberty’s Rodman Street Baptist Missionary Church, Emmaus Community of Pittsburgh, & Korean Student Volunteer Group Celebrate Music, Faith

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Pittsburgh, PA, August 2, 2016:

On the morning of July 31st, the Rodman Street Baptist Missionary Church in East Liberty was bursting with song, as three diverse communities came together to celebrate the intersection of music and faith. The Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church, affectionately known by neighbors as “The Street,” has been part of the East Liberty neighborhood for more than a century and includes a vibrant music ministry. The Emmaus Community of Pittsburgh is a South Side-based non-profit that provides permanent homes and services for people with intellectual disabilities. The Friends of Emmaus are a group of Korean high school students from Vincentian Academy, North Allegheny High School, and Fox Chapel High School who have formed a volunteer group to build friendships and support the residents of Emmaus. All of these groups came together on Sunday to share their gifts in a special Worship and Arts Celebration at the Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church.

When the Rodman Street minister welcomed the guests on stage, Carl Doerr sat at the keyboard. Carl was not always a musician. He came to the Emmaus Non-Residential Program in hopes of learning some new skills and making new friends. Erhard Schrancz, an Emmaus Direct Support Professional who works with Carl, asked if he had any desire to learn a musical instrument, and Carl expressed an interest in the keyboard. Erhard found a keyboard for Carl and set out to find a way to teach Carl to read and play music in a way that fit his needs. Seeing Carl’s intellectual disability as a difference, not a barrier, Erhard developed a new kind of music, transcribing the notes of the songs into colorful shapes and applying matching labels to the keys. He then set out to teach Carl some of his favorite songs.

After practicing every day for four months, Carl has enjoyed several opportunities to perform for an audience. He first performed with the musicians from Rodman Street at an Emmaus Community Night in the South Side in the Spring, where the Praise & Worship Team performed for the Emmaus residents. Watching Music & Arts Director Alton Mitchell play the keyboard, Carl was motivated to work harder and expressed his desire to perform at Alton’s church. Alton welcomed the idea, and on July 31^st, Carl was invited to play at Rodman Street’s Worship and Arts Celebration and was joined on stage by the congregation’s Praise & Worship team and a three-part string and clarinet ensemble from the Friends of Emmaus group, including Thomas Kim, Suhye Park, and Cuna Kim. Carl counted off for the musicians with his fingers, and the other musicians joined him as he played “Amazing Grace” and “How Much I Love Jesus” on his keyboard, with Erhard guiding him through the music. Afterward, he bowed, and the congregation stood to applaud the efforts of all the musicians.

Many were moved to tears by Carl’s determination and the support of the student volunteers. Afterward, Alton Mitchell, invited Carl and MiRan Surh, Emmaus’ Director of Community Relations, to speak about Emmaus. Carl thanked everyone for coming, and MiRan noted that the celebration exhibited much diversity, “including people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and abilities,” but that “in faith, we all become one.” Many individuals with intellectual disabilities whom Emmaus serves attended the celebration, and the Rodman Street church members welcomed their guests with open arms, encouraging everyone’s full participation in the service. There were many diverse communities and abilities present that day, and their shared faith and love of music brought them together for a truly unforgettable morning in East Liberty. As one congregant declared, “Amen!”

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