Category Archives: Community Resources

Trees Matter in Cities – Tree Pittsburgh Featured on National Blog

Trees are important in cities for many reasons – they look nice, provide shade, clean the air. But have you ever stopped to think about who takes care of the trees? Sometimes they need a little tender loving care, and sometimes they need someone to advocate for them – that’s where Tree Pittsburgh comes into the picture.

Tree Pittsburgh is a non-profit organization that you need to know about. Tree Pittsburgh was started in 2006 (it used to be called Friends of the Pittsburgh Urban Forest). Tree Pittsburgh runs several programs to care for existing trees and to plant more trees in the city of Pittsburgh.

Tree Pittsburgh’s Tree Tenders

Tree Pittsburgh also runs the Tree Tender program and has trained over 1300 Pittsburghs to help take care of our locat trees.

The next Tree Tender Class starts on Saturday, February 22, 2014. Details and registration are available here.

Alliance for Community Trees InterView With Tree Pittsburgh

The national non-profit ACTrees (Alliance for Community Trees) has just posted an interview with Tree Pittsburgh’s executive director -Danielle Crumrine. The interview highlights Pittsburgh’s Urban Forrest Master plan and how other cities can develop their own plans. Continue reading →

Jeremiah’s Place – Pittsburgh’s First Crisis Child Care Center

Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak stopped by Jeremiah’s Place this evening and shared this photo:

Meet the team at @jeremiahsplace, Pittsburgh’s only crisis nursery. More info: http://t.co/PlZjySCIHJ pic.twitter.com/SI8ZbQeOf0

— Natalia Rudiak (@nataliarudiak) January 18, 2014

This has been on our list of ideas to share – this creative solution to a common problem is the result of lots of cross sector communication.

Jeremiah’s Place is a brand new non-profit that is just opening in Pittsburgh. Jeremiah’s Place is what is referred to as a crisis nursery – a safe place that offers last minute child care to families that need help in an emergency situation. Continue reading →

Mon 11/18, 5pm is the Deadline to Apply for City of Pittsburgh Transition Teams

Bill Peduto at Union Project (Photo credit: TheNoxid)

If you read one post on IheartPGH this year – I hope it is this post. There are some very exciting and important things happening right now that are important in the future of this city.

In January 2014, Bill Peduto will become the next mayor of the City of Pittsburgh. Mayor-Elect Peduto has pledged to make his administration transparent and knowledgeable. There is a lot of interesting stuff happening around the transition from the current mayor to Bill Peduto and the transition team is working very hard to make sure as many people as possible are a part of the process. Continue reading →

Meet Your New Mayor – Bill Peduto’s Excellent Adventure @ Manor Theater – Mon. 11/11

English: Flag of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Image created by uploader based on and image at the North American Vexillological Association web site and other images on the web. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last Tuesday, we went to the ballot box and Bill Peduto was ellected to be the next mayor of Pittsburgh. One of the reasons why I think Peduto is a great choice for Pittsburgh is the amount of time he spends studying other cities .

I have personally had the opportunity to learn about cities that are similar to Pittsburgh through GLUE (the Great Lakes Urban Exchange). GLUE was founded by a Pittsburgh native and a Detroit native with the purpose of bringing together folks from rust-belt cities, cities that are all struggling with similar post-industrial revolution problems. I’ve attended GLUE conferences in Buffalo, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh and had the opportunity to learn about how other cities are tackling problems that Pittsburgh is also trying to deal with. [Some of the GLUE supporters continue to share articles and ideas on the GLUE Facebook page here. We are working to put together a future GLUE conference – keep an eye on the GLUE Facebook page for details]. Continue reading →

Zombies Save Pittsburgh – A Halloween Party for A Good Cause

Can Zombies Save Pittsburgh? With your help yes! (If you are just looking for details on the Zombie Halloween Party scroll to the bottom of the page – keep reading for details on how and why I think you should check out the party).

For the past few holiday seasons, IheartPGH has joined with other bloggers to help a Pittsburgh non-profit – Community Human Services (CHS) – make sure that some of the less fortunate Pittsburghers have some holiday gifts. I was happy to support this project and over the past few years I have learned a lot more about CHS and the incredible and important services they provide.

Last year, at the holiday party I had the opportunity to chat with a woman who works for CHS and works with the kids in Allegheny County that have signed themselves out of the foster care system. These are 18 year-olds that don’t have families and many don’t have a place to live. CHS works to get these kids housing and to give them at least some sort of a holiday gift.

I have been thinking about the best way to write about CHS and their upcoming Halloween Party – and then I read this article in the Tampa Bay Times this afternoon – Amid churchgoers, an orphan pleads for a family, October 7, 2013. And I burst into tears. Please take a moment to read this story. I was struck by how along this kid felt and I’ve been thinking all day about what I can do about this. While I am not sure what I can do to help Davion find a family in Florida – I can help to support a Pittsburgh organization that is working on these issues right here.

Fortunately, you don’t have to wait until December to support CHS! This Saturday, CHS is hosting what is sure to be an incredible event, No One Survives Alone, a zombie themed Halloween Party – this Saturday, October 19, 2013. The party is going to be at Clear Story Studios – which is an incredible office space located on the South Side. Music by DJ Zombo, a beer bar sponsored by Yuengling, specialty cocktails with Fortis Vodka and Bluecoat Gin, appetizers from Whole Foods, Red Oak Cafe and Catering.

No One Survives Alone
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Clear Story Studios
$50 – in advance, $60 – at the door

Other ways to help:

Like CHS on Facebook
Make a contribution to CHS
Stay tuned for CHS Holiday fundraiser details – and let me know if you want to help plan the holiday party!