Pittsburgh Cares volunteers joined the Wampum Chapter and the Independence Conservancy for the Great American Clean Up of Pennsylvania at Watt’s Mill and Gamelands 285. The group was able to remove over 180 tires, two couches, some chairs, a microwave, a couple of TVs, a bathroom sink, and close to sixty garbage bags full of trash from along the trails. Dave Brewer, the Trail Work Coordinator, described the project as “probably the dirtiest trail work session I’ve ever been involved with” while noting that the efforts of the volunteers truly paid off as they were able to make a tremendous impact on the area. Pittsburgh Cares is so grateful to have volunteers willing to put in hard work and get dirty to accomplish spring environmental/beautification projects!
Notre Dame Club
The Notre Dame Club of Pittsburgh celebrated through service in the month of May. This month was designated the “Hesburgh Month of Service” in honor of Father Ted Hesburgh (former President of the University). Club members participated in seven projects throughout the month to benefit different Pittsburgh nonprofits. They also sent a group from their Young Alumni Club to help plant a community garden with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy as a part of Hands On Pittsburgh 2009. Thanks Notre Dame Club of Pittsburgh!
Bellefield Presbyterian Church
Through Pittsburgh Cares, volunteers from Bellefield Presbyterian Church found a great way to give back to their community while enjoying the beautiful weather! These volunteers helped wheelchair-bound residents of Marian Manor spend a pleasant Saturday afternoon at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. Without these energetic escorts, the residents would not be able to take summer trip such as these. Marylee Lawrence, the Volunteer Director at Marian Manor, said that the volunteers were the best and loved their willingness to help with anything. Residents and volunteers alike enjoyed the outing and thought the Polar Bear exhibit was “beary” wonderful!
Pittsburgh’s Mustaches 4 Kids
Daniel and Andrew Pollick have found a very unique way to raise awareness and resources for one of their favorite charities. These brothers organize Mustaches 4 Kids-Pittsburgh where participants grow mustaches to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Throughout the month of March, they have been completing volunteer projects, soliciting donations, holding fundraisers, and growing facial hair. Through Pittsburgh Cares, this year’s mustache-clad volunteers helped out with events such as the WQED TV Pledge Drive and the 2nd Annual Race for Grace (benefitting the Reflections of Grace Foundation).
Andrew expressed his thanks for everyone that helped make Pittsburgh’s Mustaches 4 Kids a success, “Both my brother and I agree that volunteering is in important way to stay positivity involved in our Pittsburgh community. Our parents taught us to always surround ourselves with good people. And with support from our church community of St. Lawrence O'Toole, support from our places of employment, and most importantly, support from our friends, we feel that we had a chance to share the love and blessings in our lives with others. Our utmost respect goes to everyone that helped us with this project, especially Stephanie and LeAnn from Make-A-Wish. We like to do good things, and we certainly like to have a good time. Mustaches 4 Kids was the perfect venue for us to combine the two.”
Universal Volunteerism
This February (2009), visitors from India participated in a Pittsburgh Cares in-house project benefiting various local youth and senior residential care facilities in order to learn how the organization works with corporations helping their community. These visitors were invited to the United States through the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program. Their local program was arranged by the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors and focused on corporate social responsibility as practiced by Pittsburgh regional companies. The participants included representatives from the South Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI), the Civil Society Organization (CSO), and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) as well as heads of foundations and corporate social responsibility leaders in companies such as JSW Steel Limited (Mumbai) and Ambuja Cement Limited.
Gail Shrott, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors, said, "I recommended to the group’s Washington, DC, based program officer that Pittsburgh Cares would be an excellent organization for the group to visit to learn more about volunteerism and how corporations encourage their employees to help their community. The visitors were thoroughly impressed by Pittsburgh Cares and hope to use what they learned about the organization to develop more volunteer programs in India.” Thank you to all who participated in this unique project!
ASSET Inc. – Making a Difference in Science Education
ASSET Inc. (Achieving Student Success through Excellence in Teaching), located on the South Side of Pittsburgh, is an organization that impacts their community by improving teaching and learning through science education. This January, Karen Ahearn and Sade Creighton from ASSET Inc. opened their doors to participants on the Pittsburgh Cares Neighborhood Diversity Tour. This narrated tour, in celebration of the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., included the sampling of various foods and beverages, the exploration of locally- owned businesses and education on how local nonprofit organizations support our region.
When the tour stopped at ASSET Inc., tour members had the opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at everything they do, including a tour of the Materials Support Center where science kits are prepared that directly improve science teaching and learning in the classroom. Tour participant Simi Singh said, “My favorite part of the tour was visiting ASSET. It was really interesting to see all of the science materials getting packed for use in different schools. Pittsburgh is lucky to have organizations like this.”
A New Way To Celebrate The Holidays
Instead of having yet another holiday party or gift exchange, Noranne Yarbough and her friends have found a new way to celebrate the season- by improving and supporting their community through volunteering. This year, Noranne and long-time friends Rhayna Coon, Kadia Givner, Chaquaila Wilson, Starr Stuckey, and Tiffany Baker joined residents at the Reformed Presbyterian Home in creating holiday decorations and festive cookies. They worked with residents of this local senior care facility to create holiday crafts to display in the Home’s rooms and hallways. Thanks to this compassionate group, the residents had a blast decorating cookies to be served as an extra special treat at dinnertime that night.
In the past, they have done various volunteering projects benefiting organizations such as the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank and the Simon Foundation. Pittsburgh Cares is so thankful to have groups such as this giving back and spreading hope during the holidays. As Noranne puts it, “We all have been blessed with so much that whenever we have a chance to give a little piece of ourselves to someone else it is a wonderful feeling. Also it is such a positive way to display our love and friendship for one another to others.”
Giving Thanks
Krystyn Snyder and her family graciously gave of their time during the holidays to help the Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community serve over 150 Thanksgiving meals. They spent their Thanksgiving morning decorating the center, setting up supplies, and sorting prepared foods. In addition, they decorated and packaged festive cookies to be distributed with the meals at the Brashear Center. Thank you to Krystyn and her family for participating in Pittsburgh Cares' Seasons of Service!
Families Lend a Helping Hand During the
Holiday
Season of Service
Many thanks to all of the families who participated in Pittsburgh Cares' Holiday Season of Service, as well as the companies who donated to the two month long initiative. Projects ranged from assisting with Auberle's Santa Workshop to playing bingo with elderly residents living at Marian Manor. Pittsburgh Cares salutes The Baron Family, The Columbus Family, The Gooderham Family, The Heck Family, The Gresh/Pospychala Family, The O’Connor Family, The Rice Family, and The Snatchko/Kramer Family for giving of their time and talent this past holiday season. For Pittsburgh Cares’ Holiday Season of Service/Family Cares initiative, 815 volunteers were engaged, 198 projects were completed and 2,440 volunteer hours were logged!
Pittsburgh Cares volunteers joined the Wampum Chapter and the Independence Conservancy for the Great American Clean Up of Pennsylvania at Watt’s Mill and Gamelands 285. The group was able to remove over 180 tires, two couches, some chairs, a microwave, a couple of TVs, a bathroom sink, and close to sixty garbage bags full of trash from along the trails. Dave Brewer, the Trail Work Coordinator, described the project as “probably the dirtiest trail work session I’ve ever been involved with” while noting that the efforts of the volunteers truly paid off as they were able to make a tremendous impact on the area. Pittsburgh Cares is so grateful to have volunteers willing to put in hard work and get dirty to accomplish spring environmental/beautification projects!
The Notre Dame Club of Pittsburgh celebrated through service in the month of May. This month was designated the “Hesburgh Month of Service” in honor of Father Ted Hesburgh (former President of the University). Club members participated in seven projects throughout the month to benefit different Pittsburgh nonprofits. They also sent a group from their Young Alumni Club to help plant a community garden with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy as a part of Hands On Pittsburgh 2009. Thanks Notre Dame Club of Pittsburgh!
Through Pittsburgh Cares, volunteers from Bellefield Presbyterian Church found a great way to give back to their community while enjoying the beautiful weather! These volunteers helped wheelchair-bound residents of Marian Manor spend a pleasant Saturday afternoon at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. Without these energetic escorts, the residents would not be able to take summer trip such as these. Marylee Lawrence, the Volunteer Director at Marian Manor, said that the volunteers were the best and loved their willingness to help with anything. Residents and volunteers alike enjoyed the outing and thought the Polar Bear exhibit was “beary” wonderful! 
Daniel and Andrew Pollick have found a very unique way to raise awareness and resources for one of their favorite charities. These brothers organize Mustaches 4 Kids-Pittsburgh where participants grow mustaches to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Throughout the month of March, they have been completing volunteer projects, soliciting donations, holding fundraisers, and growing facial hair. Through Pittsburgh Cares, this year’s mustache-clad volunteers helped out with events such as the WQED TV Pledge Drive and the 2nd Annual Race for Grace (benefitting the Reflections of Grace Foundation). 
This February (2009), visitors from India participated in a Pittsburgh Cares in-house project benefiting various local youth and senior residential care facilities in order to learn how the organization works with corporations helping their community. These visitors were invited to the United States through the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program. Their local program was arranged by the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors and focused on corporate social responsibility as practiced by Pittsburgh regional companies. The participants included representatives from the South Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI), the Civil Society Organization (CSO), and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) as well as heads of foundations and corporate social responsibility leaders in companies such as JSW Steel Limited (Mumbai) and Ambuja Cement Limited. 
ASSET Inc. (Achieving Student Success through Excellence in Teaching), located on the South Side of Pittsburgh, is an organization that impacts their community by improving teaching and learning through science education. This January, Karen Ahearn and Sade Creighton from ASSET Inc. opened their doors to participants on the Pittsburgh Cares Neighborhood Diversity Tour. This narrated tour, in celebration of the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., included the sampling of various foods and beverages, the exploration of locally- owned businesses and education on how local nonprofit organizations support our region. 
Instead of having yet another holiday party or gift exchange, Noranne Yarbough and her friends have found a new way to celebrate the season- by improving and supporting their community through volunteering. This year, Noranne and long-time friends Rhayna Coon, Kadia Givner, Chaquaila Wilson, Starr Stuckey, and Tiffany Baker joined residents at the Reformed Presbyterian Home in creating holiday decorations and festive cookies. They worked with residents of this local senior care facility to create holiday crafts to display in the Home’s rooms and hallways. Thanks to this compassionate group, the residents had a blast decorating cookies to be served as an extra special treat at dinnertime that night. 
Krystyn Snyder and her family graciously gave of their time during the holidays to help the Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community serve over 150 Thanksgiving meals. They spent their Thanksgiving morning decorating the center, setting up supplies, and sorting prepared foods. In addition, they decorated and packaged festive cookies to be distributed with the meals at the Brashear Center. Thank you to Krystyn and her family for participating in Pittsburgh Cares' Seasons of Service! 
Many thanks to all of the families who participated in Pittsburgh Cares' Holiday Season of Service, as well as the companies who donated to the two month long initiative. Projects ranged from assisting with Auberle's Santa Workshop to playing bingo with elderly residents living at Marian Manor. Pittsburgh Cares salutes The Baron Family, The Columbus Family, The Gooderham Family, The Heck Family, The Gresh/Pospychala Family, The O’Connor Family, The Rice Family, and The Snatchko/Kramer Family for giving of their time and talent this past holiday season. For Pittsburgh Cares’ Holiday Season of Service/Family Cares initiative, 815 volunteers were engaged, 198 projects were completed and 2,440 volunteer hours were logged!