Champion for Christ – Andy Coleman

February 9, 2022: By Jasmine McKeever – Office of Alumni Relations

 

Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Andy Coleman, the Executive Director at Harmony Day Support. Andy is a Liberty University grad of ’95 and received his Master in Education from LU as well. He originally wanted to go towards guidance in the law enforcement field, however, once he got to school, Andy fell in love with the idea of tying education and psychology together. Throughout the years, he had the opportunity to work in LU’s Academic Affairs for Athletics as well as becoming a professor. Even after these great opportunities, he grew to miss working around people with disabilities. His current role ended up presenting itself and he was able to get back to work with adolescents and adults with disabilities, and try to make an impact in such an underserved population.

 

“Here at Harmony Day Support, we support adolescents and adults with various levels of disabilities. We try to provide a great day, that’s really what we do. We have great staff, committed staff that want to see the best in individuals.” They currently serve 90 individuals from all surrounding counties (Lynchburg, Appomattox, and more). “We are looking forward to expansion in our future and growing and building relationships with other cities and counties where people can be served in a great way.” Andy’s passion for this underserved population shines through in his interactions I observed at the Day Support.

 

Currently, at Harmony, they’re experience dynamic growth, which is incredibly exciting. However, growth usually comes with it’s own list of challenges. Their next challenge is an impressive five-phase approach to build a thriving campus on the same property the Support is already located on.  The campus’ purpose would be for individuals to live on-site, to work (not only there, but also in the community), provide further education in terms of job support, and more. Another part of the five-phase plan is to add a gymnasium and construct a commons area that would consist of 16-20 apartments (for those with disabilities who can sustain themselves individually). The heart behind this entire project is to allow these individuals the opportunity to live their best lives.

 

Andy Coleman also had a few words of encouragement and advice for current Liberty students. He suggests, “The greatest thing that you can do with your time at Liberty is to reinvest, reinvest in your major –  the thing that you are going to do, the career that you are going to go into. Always stay involved, find ways to give back, find ways to get involved here locally and back home. The greatest thing is giving back and using what God has allowed you to have.”

 

To learn more about Harmony Day Support and it’s mission, you can visit harmonydaysupport.org.