Category Archives: Community Resources

Are Your Ready to Vote? Polling Place Locator

: Image by Theresa Thompson via Flickr

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 is election day in Pennsylvania.

On the ballot this Tuesday – Governor, Senate, Congress, State House and State Senate

For more information on the candidates check out the League of Women Voters Guide to the 2010 Elections

Need to know where to vote? Just enter your address below.
Thanks to the New Organizing Institute – an awesome non profit organization focused on using technology in civic engagement – for the heads up on the Google Polling Place gadget.

Arbor Aid – Taking Care of Pittsburgh's Trees

Image via Wikipedia

I know this is short notice for an event but I wanted to highlight this event and the organization that it supports. Arbor Aid is the annual fundraiser for Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest – which is an amazing group that has been working to preserve, protect and plant new trees in Pittsburgh.

You may have noticed that Pittsburgh continues to be ranked highly on list of places to live and one of the many reasons that Pittsburgh is getting high scores for liveability is the green space in this city. In Pittsburgh you can afford to live on a tree lined street. Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest has been working to educate and train city residents to take care of trees in neighborhoods all over the city. Another great thing about this organization is that they are working closely with residents and local government to keep Pittsburgh a shady city.

So, if you are looking for a great evening on Friday – check out Arbor Aid. This event is held on the top floor of the Guardian Storage Building in the Strip District. The event features artwork created from salvaged wood. Continue reading →

Lawrenceville Scavenger Hunt

: Image by ryanrocketship via Flickr

Those crazy kids from Urban Hike like to wrap up the hiking season with an annual scavenger hunt. This year the hunt heads to Lawrenceville.

Spend the afternoon hunting for clues and answering trivia questions with your friends. Take funny photos and compete for awesome prizes while checking out one of Pittsburgh fine neighborhoods.

Urban Hike Lawrenceville Scavenger Hunt
Saturday, October 23, 2010 Continue reading →

Day of Giving – VOTE for Your Favorite Non-profit

UPDATE 10/13: We just made a donation on PittsburghGives.org to BikePGH – which received over 40% of the votes! Thanks to everyone who voted. ALSO – wanted to clarify that the match is a prorated share of the total $500,000 – not a dollar for dollar match – a change from last year. This is still a great way to help your favorite organization boost their fundraising. Donations will be accepted until midnight on October 13, 2010.

===========================

For the second year in a row – the Pittsburgh Foundation is organizing the Day of Giving – on October 13, 2010 the Pittsburgh Foundation will match all donations of $25 or more that are made on their website. This year there are $500,000 in matching funds available.

The donation period lasts from Midnight to Midnight – get your credit cards ready because the matching funds last year went quickly. This is a great way to easily double your contribution to your favorite Pittsburgh non-profit.

2010 Day of Giving from The Pittsburgh Foundation on Vimeo.

Continue reading →

I Heart (PLAN)PGH

: Image via Wikipedia

Did you know that the City of Pittsburgh is in the process of completing a comprehensive plan? Did you know that they want your opinion regarding an array of issues that affect your daily life? Would you like to see better signage when you are riding your bike? What about better public transportation? Do you spend more time on riverfront trails or in your local City park? Are you worried about living in the City and having access to quality education for your children? Or maybe you’d just like to have your recycling services increased. The City is addressing these and a whole range of other issues in its comprehensive planning process: PLANPGH. At the PLANPGH exchange you can take surveys, view documents and comment on plan drafts. There are also public meetings related to each of PLANPGH’s 12 components and a chance to take a survey for each. They’ve completed PRESERVE and OPENSPACE but you can still take the survey for MOVE and the Bicycle Route and Sign Network survey and sign up to be informed as the rest of the components unfold. Here are some fun facts from MOVE:

Of the total working age population of the City, 45% commute to work in ways other than driving alone (carpool, transit, bike, walk, etc.).
With about 1434 miles of streets in the City, that’s about 22.7 feet for each resident.
There are over 700 sets of City steps, many of which are shown on maps as streets. The nearly 44,000 step treads add up to a vertical rise of almost 5 miles!