PITTSBURGH FOUNDATION FUND HOLDER DICK WUKICH says everyone should make pottery. They would feel the clay in their hands, and they would have a sense of accomplishment. The effect of it, he says, would help mend a fractured world. The Slippery Rock artist taught pottery classes at Slippery Rock University for
43 years and has been a potter since he attended North Braddock Scott High School until 1961.
ERIKA JOHNSON’S PASSION FOR THE ARTS, conservation and social justice in Pittsburgh shines through in everything she does. She joined The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Program and Policy Department as an administrative coordinator in April.
“Erika brings a wealth of understanding about our local nonprofit community to the Program staff,” says Michael Yonas, director of the Foundation’s research and special initiatives.
AN AUDIO BOOK AND VIDEO SERIES reinterpreting a book by Pittsburgh’s first African American medical doctor, an artist residency at the Pittsburgh Glass Center exploring plasma and neon light in glass, and a graphic novel about the experiences of growing up as a Black girl are among 27 ambitious projects to receive funding from the Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh grant-making program so far this year.
PENNSYLVANIA IS AGING and the caregivers are exhausted. That’s because the state offers no paid family and medical leave program when workers need time off to care for elderly or disabled relatives, for newborn babies or newly adopted children, for sick children, or even for themselves after a serious illness.
The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Small and Mighty program awarded When She Thrives a grant of $12,000 in 2019. The funds will be used to secure an office space to serve as a central, stable hub for all of their services and to implement an emergency small grants program to provide small one-time grants of $50 to $250 to single mothers.
The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Small and Mighty program awarded St. Paul's Meals on Wheels a grant of $15,000 in 2019. This grant will be used to increase the number of low-income and homebound clients served by helping to cover the $5 fee for clients who cannot afford it.
The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Small and Mighty program awarded a $15,000 grant to Garfield Community Farm, a program of Open Door Presbyterian Church. The farm was founded in 2008 to grow and provide affordable produce to the Garfield community.
The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Small and Mighty program awarded Mooncrest Neighborhood Programs a grant of $15,000 in 2019. The funds will help fund a staff member for the organization’s immigration outreach services. Outreach workers from Mooncrest Neighborhood Programs serve as an important resource for Latino families, helping them navigate vital services, such as housing, medical care, legal aid, and school registration.
Giving now while the market is up makes it possible to take an income tax deduction for the full fair market value of shares — and avoid long-term capital gains tax on the appreciation.
Category 5 Hurricane Dorian was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to make landfall in the Bahamas. Its destruction is still being evaluated, but the death toll continues to rise and the United Nations estimates more than 76,000 people are now homeless in the Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands.
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA IS, arguably, the center of the football universe. Now, with a grant from The Pittsburgh Foundation and the Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research, the region is poised to become a world leader in the study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease. Scientists hope that the athlete-focused brain bank will help researchers understand if and how traumatic brain injuries on the field may affect dementia, Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
ON DEC. 31, 2015, The Daily News rolled off the presses for the final time, and its home city, McKeesport, along with other Mon Valley communities that had been served by the newspaper for 131 years, became a news desert, deprived even of basic obituaries of local residents.
FUELED BY AN ABUNDANCE OF TEAMWORK, a group of about 30 high school– and college-age students took part in a seven-week program meant to encourage next generation philanthropy. The Youth Philanthropy Internship — a partnership of The Community Foundation of Westmoreland County, The Heinz Endowments and the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies — brings together young people from across western Pennsylvania to address the most pressing issues in their communities.
The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Small and Mighty program awarded Coraopolis Community Development Foundation $15,000 in 2019. The organization primarily serves individuals who are experiencing food insecurity by offering a food pantry and a community garden to provide immediate food relief.
The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Small and Mighty program has awarded Stem Coding Lab, Inc. a 2019 grant of $15,000. With this grant, STEM Coding Lab will continue growing the knowledge base of students who participated last year by increasing the difficulty of the course load and hiring a part-time staff member to engage an additional 50 to 100 students at the basic level of programming.
The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Small and Mighty program awarded Shepherd Wellness Community a 2019 grant of $15,000. The funds will be used to expand program participation and outreach to engage more individuals living with HIV/AIDS.
The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Small and Mighty program awarded Nabhi Christian Ministries a grant of $12,000 in 2019. Nabhi Christian Ministries was established in 1996 in response to the needs of families impacted by the gang violence in Pittsburgh’s black community.
The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Small and Mighty program awarded the Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh $15,000 in 2019. This grant will support development and education for the Bhutanese youth; assistance to families, girls and women navigating systems and accessing services; and connecting older adults to services.
As a philanthropic first responder after last year’s mass shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue, The Pittsburgh Foundation gained expertise it never wanted. Now, as the one-year anniversary is marked, the Foundation’s new leader commits to long-range work countering white supremacist, fear-of-the-Other ideology that has led to carnage across the country.
Join Black artists, cultural organizations and creatives for the inaugural Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh Symposium, Sept. 19 and 20 at the MuseumLab on the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh’s North Side campus.
