Members 1st Federal Credit Union recently made a $7,500 donation to A Week Away, a nonprofit organization that provides and finances respite weeks for individuals and families facing a life-threatening illness.
The contribution is part of the credit union’s yearlong 75th anniversary celebration. As part of the celebration, credit union members have been invited to vote for nonprofit organizations they would like to receive donations throughout the year.
A Week Away is a Lancaster-based nonprofit founded in 2014. The organization coordinates and covers all expenses for individuals and their loved ones for the getaways, giving families the opportunity to rest, reconnect and make memories during challenging times.
“We at A Week Away are deeply grateful for the immeasurable impact this gift will have on the families we serve,” Lynn Walker, director community relations & development at A Week Away, said in a statement. “As one 2025 respite recipient shared, ‘I feel like I truly had an opportunity to partake in your founder’s vision to just feel normal for a while. We made precious memories and came back refreshed to continue our journey.’”
By the end of 2024, the organization had granted a total of 250 respite weeks during its first 10 years.
According to information on A Week Away’s website, the respites enable the families “to find the peace and energy needed to continue fighting their disease.”
“What our members chose to do here is truly special,” Sara Firestone, vice president of community & public relations at Members 1st , said in a statement. “A Week Away gives families facing some of life’s hardest moments the gift of time together to laugh, relax and simply be with one another. That is the kind of impact you can’t measure in dollars, and we are grateful to help facilitate that.”
The only requirements for A Week Away, according to its website, is that the patient must be diagnosed by a medical doctor with a life-threatening illness, and the patient must be actively treating their illness.
Applying for a respite week is a two-step process: An online patient application that can be found at https://www.aweekaway.org/receive/, followed by a medical application to be completed by the patient’s medical team. Once the applications are received, the board of directors of A Week Away will review the information and vote.
A Week Away serves 15 counties including: Berks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery counties, as well as Adams, Bucks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Perry, Philadelphia, and York.
The funds donated by Members 1st will help provide more families with the opportunity to have a respite week, covering lodging, transportation, meals and other costs, the credit union said.
Members 1st has nearly 60 branch locations across 11 Pennsylvania counties, including: Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Lycoming, Northampton, Perry and York. In Berks, the credit union has two branches: 4363 Perkiomen Ave. in Exeter Township, which opened in March 2021; and 4620 W. Penn Ave. in South Heidelberg Township, which opened in November 2021.
