Outreach

Team Via takes a very passionate approach to education & enrichment. This is seen in our numerous contributions to local schools & nonprofits with an emphasis on education. It is engrained into our production & operations where every position » is built on a tiered advancement program with frequent cross-training. It is at the heart of our Engineering & other internship opportunities. It is the motivation behind our Sales team lead Via Learning Studio » where we offer free CEUs including several of our own we developed in house.

The highest majority of our community enrichment efforts go to fostering the community around us across the United States. Explore our contribution efforts below to see how we’re giving back to our communities through the efforts of nonprofits & local organizations aimed at improving the lives of others.

Via Seating is committed to both limiting our negative impact on the environment & contributing to protecting the nature around us. Our direct effort to nourishing our local surroundings are best seen in our adoption of & cleaning events for a local trail (see more below). We also contribute to numerous parks & environmental improvement efforts. Additionally, every product we develop goes through a comprehensive Design for the Environment process to ensure we deliver conscientious, sustainable solutions. Read more about our approach to sustainable design here ».

Education & Enrichment . 2013-2022

Every year since 2013, Via Seating has offered the engineering students of the University of Nevada, Reno, a paid internship opportunity. These extensive internship programs are designed to enhance the skills and techniques of these students in various aspects of engineering and manufacturing, including but not limited to problem-solving, design and modeling (CAD), prototyping, 3D printing, continuous improvement processes, manufacturing processes, interdepartmental communications and vendor communications. Selected students get to see Via Seating’s manufacturing setting firsthand and learn about design, engineering, and manufacturing in the contract furniture industry.

The internship programs allow Via Seating to work with diverse mindsets to enhance the outcome of engineering solutions. Students provide Via Seating with new knowledge and insight into the world of engineering, which can be utilized in developing customer solutions and improving products. Some of these students go on to become full-time members of the Via Seating engineering team and take the lead in training the next generation of engineers.

Caring for the Environment . 2021-2022

Spearheaded by our own Michal Powell, Via Seating adopted a local, Tahoe-Pyramid trail. Despite a 3 month a year requirement, volunteers from Via Seating meet once a month to clean & care for our trail. Our first clean up event was December 2021.

Caring for the Environment . 2019

In 2019, the Lakeview Chamber of Commerce reclaimed a bunch of vacant lots throughout Chicago, working with local businesses to convert them into “pop up” parks. Working with our rep group, Sheridan Contract, we planted grass, flowers & trees & donated several Tahoe.h24 landscape furniture pieces to create a new park on Clark & Grace street, one block north of Wrigley Field. It was affectionately named the “Peace Park”.

Fostering Community . 2020

The Via Seating 3D printed 120 mask holders and donated them to our local hospitals to be used by front-line medical staff during the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic.

Fostering Community . 2020

Over 15 of our Via Seating employees joined forces with volunteers and the Innovation Center to sew and donate 816 isolation gowns for Renown Hospital during the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic.

Fostering Community . 2021

Via Seating made a financial donation to the Ronald McDonald House Charities Northern Nevada.

Ronald McDonald House Charities Northern Nevada keeps families close when it matters most: during their child’s illness, accident, or premature birth. Our donors and volunteers provide the gift of togetherness, offering a home-away-from-home for families who need to be together during challenging times.. source: rmhc-reno.org »

Fostering Community . 2021

Via Seating donated task chairs to Faith in Action.

Faith in Action is a local nonprofit that believes in a society free of economic oppression, racism and discrimination in which every person lives in a safe and healthy environment, is respected and included, and has agency over the decisions that shape their lives. source: faithinaction.org »

Fostering Community . 2020

Via Seating donated fabric, leather, desks, and shelving to our local Habitat for Humanity for their Habitat ReStore. Purchases made at the Habitat ReStore helps to fund projects.

Truckee Meadows Habitat for Humanity is part of a global, nonprofit housing organization dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. Habitat for Humanity was founded on the conviction that every man, woman, and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety, and that decent shelter in decent communities should be a matter of conscience and action for all. source: habitatforhumanityreno.org »

Caring for the Environment . 2019

Via Seating donated 2 Sierra.015 tables and benches to the Walker River State Recreation Area for a pollinator garden project. Gardens like these play a crucial role in fostering populations of pollinators including bees, butterflies, beneficial wasps & flies, which all pollinate fruits & vegetables while also reducing pest populations.

Education & Enrichment . 2019

Via Seating donated fabric and other materials to the TheatreWorks of Northern Nevada for use in their local theater program that provides children access to performing arts opportunities and education.

Founded in 2004, TWNN prides itself on being a teaching theater where children and adults work hand in hand in a learning environment. By offering a diverse show selection both in actors and audiences reached we aim to create an environment where all people can enjoy the arts. source: twnn.org/ »

Education & Enrichment . 2018-2019

Via Seating sponsored a capstone project for a team of senior mechanical engineering students from the University of Nevada, Reno for the 2018 Fall and 2019 Spring Semesters. The team was provided with a Swopper^® chair, supplies, and guidance that allowed the team to complete their project in time for Innovation Day, a day for all senior engineering students to showcase their projects.

The College of Engineering is proud to sponsor Senior Capstone Innovation Day, held in the spring of each year, and featuring student projects from all five departments: Chemical and Materials Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. source: unr.edu »

Education & Enrichment . 2018-2019

Via Seating donated fabric and leather to the Education Alliance of Washoe County for their Teachers’ Warehouse. Teachers from the Washoe County School District may access the warehouse and use donated materials for school projects and to furnish classrooms.

The WCSD’s Teachers Warehouse is supported by the Education Alliance through partnerships with businesses and community organizations to provide schools the resources and materials to succeed in the form of donations. source: washoeschools.net »

Fostering Community . 2015-2017

Via Seating contributed 50 stackable Splash chairs with our rep group, Sheridan Contract, to the GiGi’s Playhouse. These furnished their expanded area where they hold free educational and therapeutic programming for individuals with Down syndrome. More on the story here ».

Established in 2008 (and re-established in Chicago’s Northcenter Neighborhood in 2010), GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago is the model for an “urban storefront” location for all GiGi’s Playhouses. Currently, GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago is serving 700 families in the Chicagoland area! Catering to both children and adults with Down syndrome, GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago reaches out to the nation’s third-largest city, as well as many people living in the close-in “shoulder suburbs” of Chicago such as Park Ridge and Evanston. source: gigisplayhouse.org »

Fostering Community . 2015-2017

Via Seating contributed turkeys and food that helped create Thanksgiving food baskets, assisting 20 families for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Further, in June 2017 Via Seating donated a Swopper^® Classic to be raffled at the Spanish Springs High School’s fundraiser golf tournament.

Participation in high school athletics fosters success in later life. In October, 2015 Via Seating donated a Genie chair for the SSHS Soccer Team Silent Auction fundraiser benefiting youth sports here in our community.

Fostering Community . 2017

Via Seating donated 3 chairs in April 2017 to the local Tu Casa Latina.

Tu Casa Latina is a nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian forms of relief for immigrant women, men, and children who are victims of crimes, domestic violence, abuse, and trafficking in northern Nevada. source: tucasalatina.org/ »

Education & Enrichment . 2016

In August, 2016 Via Seating donated 2 chairs for the annual AIA Northern Nevada 26th Annual Denny Askew Memorial Golf Tournament. The American Institute of Architects Northern Nevada utilized the proceeds from this tournament to support their multiple scholarship programs for local students attending architecture school and toward their continuing education programs.

The AIA Northern Nevada’s Scholarship Program was established in 1994 by local architects who wished to reach out to students and help their progression into architects. The Chapter has been awarding scholarships in varying amounts each year since 1995. source: aiann.org/ »

 Fostering Community . 2016

Via Seating donated 83 chairs in December 2016 to Bristlecone Family Resources.

Bristlecone Family Resources is a private non-profit agency that provides Nevada and surrounding states with the most comprehensive addiction recovery treatment for nearly 50 years. source: bristleconereno.com/ »

Fostering Community . 2016

Via Seating donated 24 Thanksgiving turkeys in November, 2016 to the Evelyn Mount Northeast Community Food Bank.

Evelyn Mount moved to Reno in the 1970’s and started a community food bank to feed the hungry in Reno out of her own home. Since then, her efforts & those of her volunteers have fed thousands.

 Fostering Community . 2015

The Reno Host Lions Club supports numerous community philanthropic activities and programs in support of children and sight conservation through a number of fundraising activities. In June 2015, Via Seating provided a Swopper^® Classic as a donation to the Lions Club Golf for the Sight Charity Auction in their fundraiser golf tournament.

The motto of Lions Clubs International is “We Serve” and the Reno Host Lions have made service their focus since December 4, 1920. Since 1925, when Helen Keller stood before the International Convention and challenged members to become “Knights of the Blind in the campaign against darkness,” Lions have given the highest priority to sight conservation programs. A Lion invented the white cane and Lions started the first school for guide dogs for the blind. source: e-clubhouse.org/sites/renohostnv/ »

 Fostering Community . 2015

In November 2015, Via Seating donated 20 turkeys to the Food Bank of Northern Nevada for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Food Bank of Northern Nevada provides food for families in need through more than 150 partner agencies across northern Nevada and the eastern slope of the Sierra in California. We serve more than 107,000 people every month, almost half of whom are children and seniors. source: fbnn.org/ »