Every dollar donated to WDIY during this year's Fall Membership Drive will help the nonprofit organization Valley Youth House.
WDIY has partnered with Morton Brown Family Wealth who are matching every $100 donated to WDIY during the Drive with a $50 contribution to Valley Youth House. The partnership offers a way for listeners to support two organizations with one donation.
Valley Youth House is a nonprofit organization that describes itself as “a catalyst for youth to achieve their desired futures through genuine relationships that support families, ensure safe places, and build community connections.”
The organization began in 1973 as a single-home shelter offering 24/7 housing and counseling for abused, vulnerable, and homeless youth. Over time, it has evolved into a multi-program, multi-county organization addressing everything from crisis intervention to mental health, housing support, life skills, prevention, and independent living.
Membership donations can be made to WDIY's 2025 Fall Membership Drive here.
Some examples of how Valley Youth House can use $50 to make a positive impact in the community include providing one week's worth of meals and groceries for a young person experiencing housing instability; supplying transportation assistance so a young person building independence can get to school or work; and proving a youth entering one of their emergency shelters with a welcome kit, including toiletries, bedding, and clothing essentials.
Valley Youth House offers a broad continuum of supports, often bridging crisis response, therapeutic support, and long-term stabilization. Some key program areas include:
- Emergency Services / Street Outreach / Synergy Project Provides crisis intervention, outreach to youth in unstable housing situations, distribution of basic needs (food, hygiene items, clothing), connections to shelters and safe havens.
- Housing Programs Offers supervised small-group housing, transitional living programs, independent living support (e.g. SIL, TLP, SIL Plus) and “bridge” housing (for ages 18–24) for youth exiting homelessness.
- Independent Living / Life Skills Supports youth (especially those exiting foster care or with housing instability) in developing life skills, securing employment, managing education, creating residential plans, etc.
- Mental Health, In-Home & School-Based Supports - Includes school-based counseling, trauma-focused therapy, intensive in-home services, family-based interventions, Certified Peer Specialists, etc.
- Host Homes Program - Operates a program in Lehigh Valley to match youth (ages 16–21) experiencing housing instability with vetted host families for temporary housing and supportive relationships.
- Specialized Services For example, maternity group home options for youth ages 16–17, services to youth experiencing human trafficking, etc. (Mental Health Network of Care)
The breadth of Valley Youth House's programs means they're not just a “shelter”—they engage across prevention, crisis intervention, long-term life skills, and permanence (e.g. family connection, independent living).
Youth without safe housing are at significantly increased risk of mental health challenges, exploitation, substance abuse, and involvement in the juvenile or criminal systems. By intervening early and providing relational support + stability, Valley Youth House helps change life trajectories.
WDIY's 2025 Fall Membership Drive began on-air on Monday, October 6, 2025. The drive is the first station fundraiser after the loss of our federal funding following rescission votes in congress over the summer. For WDIY, this decision eliminates $111,000 of our annual funding—roughly 15% of our budget.
Since the loss of funds, WDIY Executive Director Margaret McConnell has announced that the station is responding by reviewing expenses, looking for creative ways to cut our budget that do not impact our programming or community services, examining new revenue streams, and investigating new ideas for revenue generation.
While WDIY fights to restore federal funding, the best way listeners can help the station is by making a donation to our Fall Membership Drive. Every dollar helps.
