Monday, October 24, 2011
The Vista School Selected To Receive $25,000 Award From EMC Insurance Foundation
HERSHEY, PA – Today, the EMC Insurance Foundation announced their selection of The Vista School (“Vista”) as one of four charities to receive a $25,000 grant in the final phase of the 100 Ways of Giving program sponsored by EMC Insurance Companies in celebration of the company’s centennial. Keystone Insurers Group, a North Carolina company with offices in Central Pennsylvania, nominated Vista for an initial $1,000 grant award, making Vista eligible to compete with 90 other charities across the United States for one of four $25,000 awards.
The Vista School will use the grant award to offset costs related to a new indoor pool, to be used for aquatics safety and physical education programming at Vista’s Hershey, PA campus. “Some of the greatest challenges facing the autism community are risk of drowning death, due to lack of swimming skills and danger awareness, and health-related issues due to limited physical activity,” said Mike Jarman, founder and President of The Vista School’s Board of Directors. “All of these concerns can be addressed with the development of appropriate swimming programs for individuals with disabilities. This gift will benefit our school and community tremendously.”
Earlier this year, the EMC Insurance Foundation awarded $1,000 grants to 91 non-profit organizations selected by top EMC insurance agencies. Those non-profit organizations competed through online public voting on the EMC 100 Ways of Giving website for one of the four additional $25,000 grant awards. The Foundation awarded the $25,000 grants based on public votes, overall community impact, organizational support, and the population served. The remaining $9,000 was divided between the six other organizations that received the most votes out of nearly 1 million votes cast.
“All of us at Vista want to send our thanks to the EMC Insurance Foundation for this award, and to the employees and leadership of Keystone Insurers Group for their nomination and years of support of our program,” said Jim Bouder, Chief Operating Officer of The Vista School. “We also thank the Keystone Insurers employees, Vista staff, families, and friends who cast votes daily and rallied others to support The Vista School. The excitement and community support we’ve received throughout the past 100 days is simply inspiring.”
The Vista School is an Approved Private School that specializes in educating children with autism using a therapeutic approach known as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). ABA is the only documented effective treatment for autism, with decades of scientific research demonstrating its effectiveness in increasing communication, learning, and appropriate social behavior.
