Category Archives: Fundraisers

Pitt-starter: Piebird – More Pie for Pittsburgh

pie-bird-logoPiebird has been baking up sweet treats for Pittsburgh restaurants since 2011.  They are planning to open a storefront on Butler Street in Lawrenceville in 2015 and needs your help to support the purchase of upgraded commercial pastry kitchen equipment including ovens, mixers, refrigerators, cookie sheets, and all of other essentials that are necessary to make sweet treats.

I have selected this Kickstarter to share for two reasons…

1. Who doesn’t like pie?

2. Super creative Kickstarter perks – I give Piebird extra points for creative thinking on the thank you gifts – I believe this is the first time we’ve seen underwear as a thank you gift.

  • $25 – Salted Caramel Sauce – Share your support and we’ll share annalee’s legendary salted caramel sauce! During the opening week of the kitchen, stop in, say hello, and we’ll reward you with a jar (share if you must).
  • $50 – Underwear… yep, exclusive, limited edition, screenprinted Piebird undies! (who needs another t-shirt) oh, and we’ll thank you in our video
  • $500 – Private Dessert Party for you and 15 friends Share your support and we’ll share annalee’s legendary salted caramel sauce! During the opening week of the kitchen, stop in, say hello, and we’ll reward you with a jar (share if you must).

Click here to contribute to the Piebird Kickstarter Campaign

You can follow Piebird on Twitter @PieBirdPGH

Pitt-starter: Less than 24hrs to Help DuoScreen Reach Goal

duo-screenPitt-starter is our series of blog posts on Pittsburgh related crowdfunding campaigns.  You can check out past Pitt-starter posts here.

It is down to the wire for this one, but Pittsburghers are good at lastminute comebacks.  DuoScreen is a Pittsburgh startup that is part of the ThrillMill incubator in East Liberty.  I have had the opportunity to get to know the founders of DuoScreen over the past 10 months and I really like these guys.  Not only will they sit around and let me talk about social media for hours, but they have a great ideas, they are super nice people.

Also, I think that DuoScreen is a great idea for a product.  Developers and social media geeks like me often work from a laptop and a second screen.  I am currently sitting at my desk at work writing this blog post using my laptop and extra monitor.  DuoScreen is a portable second screen that works with most laptop sizes and allows you to bring your second screen with you.

Check out the video for the DuoScreen Kickstarter below and you can support the DuoScreen Kickstarter project here.  Help these guys launch their business and pick up your own DuoScreen at a special Kickstarter price (and be sure to follow @DuoScreen on Twitter).

More Pittsburgh Kickstarter Campaigns

DuoScreen is just one of several Kickstarter campaigns for Pittsburgh startups that are in the process of raising funds.  Click here to check out a list of some other local Kickstarter projects.

house of gold before and afer

Pittstarter – A Gentle Demolition of The House of Gold

Update 9/24 – Just 24 hours left til the Kickstarter deadline and the artist needs to raise $12,000.  Click here to go directly to the Kickstarter page for the House of Gold.

I learned about the House of Gold project over the summer and I wanted to share this Kicstarter project that only has a few more days to reach the funding goal.   Artist Dee Briggs lives next door to this house on Swissvale avanue. Last year, Dee was able to purchase the house thanks to the Allegheny County Vacant Property Recovery program.  This Kickstart project will help Dee deconstruct the house and re-imagine this site as a space for the community.

I think it is an important project for Wilkinsburg and Pittsburgh in general as it sparks a conversation about abandoned buildings.  At one point in its history The House of Gold was a corner store – and hopefully will be replaced with a community space and coffee shop in the near future.  This Kickstarter is a great way to help a motivated community member help to transform an abandoned property.

house of gold before and afer

Here are a few of the reasons why I like this project and I think you should consider making a contribution to the House of Gold Kickstarter project…

  1. A Gold House? Which is the perfect color for a building in a city that loves the color scheme of black and gold.  I like the idea of using gold paint to show this abandoned house in a new light.
  2. Telling the history of the house – take a few moments to check out the House of Gold website.  The artist has put together an incredible history of the house and the people who used to live here.
  3. Wilkinsburg – I have been driving down Penn Avenue for my entire life and most recently found myself wondering what would become of the Penn Lincoln Hotel.  What once was a meeting place of people had been abandoned and in the past few weeks was torn down.  How did a historic building, that was a thriving hub become a forgotten neighborhood?  Check out some of these photos from AbadonedOnline.net of the Penn-Lincoln Hotel before it was demolished.
  4. Gently demolition – take a moment to watch the Kickstarter video – it is worth the two minutes of your time, and Dee does a much better job of telling the story than I could here in a blog post.  I really like the idea of gently and carefully dismantling this house.  As much as I would love to save every old building in Allegheny county, some really do have to come down and the idea of carefully taking apart the building and separating out the historic pieces for reuse elsewhere, while reducing what would need to go into a landfill makes sense to me.

And this project has event been shared by the Kickstarter staff Twitter account…

If you would like to support this project – click here to make a contribution to the House of Gold: A Gentle Demolition Kickstarter project.

Yinztern Catherine is applying for the Millennial Trains Project!

When I read

You might remember last July when Lindsay applied for the Millennial Trains Project with her idea The United States of Pittsburgh. She received a tremendous amount of support and I’m hoping you’ll be able to donate to my campaign too!

I’m going to explore local independent bookstores and public libraries at each of the stops along the trip. Libraries and bookstores are such cornerstones of communities and I want to discover what places in other cities are doing to engage their neighborhoods. I also want to tie it all in with the digital age by seeing the extent that libraries and bookstores use modern technology and social media to get people involved.

My ultimate goal is to share lots of stories, ideas, and photos with everyone and bring some amazing possibilities back to Pittsburgh. I really believe the level of community engagement in Pittsburgh is one of the things that makes it special and such a great city.

Southern map

This year the train stops in Los Angeles, Albuquerque, Kansas City, Louisville, Chattanooga, Atlanta, and Miami, and takes place March 16-26.

I’m almost halfway to my goal and am really excited about possibly going on this trip! Any donation amount would be helpful and I would be incredibly grateful. Sharing my campaign with as many outlets as possible is also super important to it succeeding. All funds must be raised by February 15th, but if I reach my goal by February 1st, they will pay for my plane tickets!

You can read more about my project, donate, or share via the following link: http://crowdhitch.millennialtrain.co/campaign/detail/2550

They are also still looking for applicants so if you have an idea, you should apply too!

Thank you, wonderful I heart PGH readers!

Why Kevin Sousa’s Superior Motors Kickstarter campaign epitomizes everything we love about Pittsburgh

Here’s an obvious fact: Pittsburgh’s identity was, and still is, deeply entwined with the steel industry. After all, we’re nicknamed the Steel City, which we’re reminded of whenever prime time football comes to town and floods our televisions with images of steel mills, by the numerous Pittsburgh-related projects that are given names referencing steel (for example, our own Steel of the Week), and whenever we pass through any of the formerly-thriving steel towns.

But those of us who have lived in, worked for, and loved this city for any significant amount of time know how very much more there is to Pittsburgh. And most importantly, we recognize the enormous potential of what it still can become.

That’s why Pittsburgh is responsible for the most-funded restaurant project on Kickstarter to date– local chef Kevin Sousa‘s Superior Motors in Braddock, Pennsylvania.

Braddock, Pennsylvania

Braddock, Pennsylvania. Photo from 15104.cc.

The story of Braddock is woeful. The once-thriving town, home of both Andrew Carnegie’s first steel mill and his first public library, was hit hard in the 1970s and ’80s by the collapse of the steel industry and a rising drug and gang problem. 90% of the population eventually fled the area and much of what once was now is simply deserted. The state of Pennsylvania has declared Braddock a “distressed municipality” since the ’80s.

Then came “America’s coolest mayor”: John Fetterman. The dynamic and engaged mayor has received national recognition for his unwavering commitment to rebuilding and reinventing the town– and most importantly, for his faith that a better Braddock is within reach and worth fighting for.

Photo from Braddock Redux.

Photo from Braddock Redux.

With an emphasis on improving the lives of the borough’s young people, Fetterman has attracted a promising creative and artistic force to Braddock. While there’s much work still to be done, testaments to his success include: the conversion of an abandoned church into the Braddock Community Center, home to the Braddock Youth Project; Braddock Farms, which grows organic produce on 10 acres of repurposed over-grown lots and is tended to by area kids; the opening of the studio UnSmoke Artspace; and much-anticipated brewery startup The Brew Gentlemen.

Sousa’s Superior Motors hopes to bring more of that needed revitalization to Braddock. Named for the former car dealership it will occupy, the restaurant is nothing short of revolutionary. Braddock currently doesn’t have any operating restaurants and Sousa is not only looking to open one in the area, but to engage and drive the community with its operation.

Superior Motors is aiming to strengthen Braddock through food, farming, art, and more.

Superior Motors is aiming to strengthen Braddock through food, farming, art, and more. Photo from Superior Motors Kickstarter.

Truly exemplifying fresh, local, and farm-to-table, most of the produce will be sourced from Braddock Farms, as well as the thousands of square feet in planned rooftop gardens and greenhouses. The nearby apiary, which provides beekeeping training to local youth, will provide honey, and local chickens will be the source of eggs for the restaurant.

But most impressive is what Sousa plans to do for the actual community. Superior Motors will not only offer Braddock residents with substantial dining discounts but also free professional culinary training and opportunities. A hostel located next door will be used to offer no-cost housing for some employees who are selected to train and learn at the restaurant. Sousa hopes Superior Motors will feed and strengthen the current community ecosystem of local businesses, residents, and visitors.

Farmer Marshall Hart working at Braddock Farms. Photo from the Superior Motors Kickstarter.

Farmer Marshall Hart working at Braddock Farms. Photo from the Superior Motors Kickstarter.

So on Sunday, with less than a day and a half left in the Superior Motors Kickstarter campaign and still $70,000 short of a goal of $250,000, anticipation grew. Was there the possibility that this innovative project, set in a town we all want to see succeed, would not be funded?

That’s when Pittsburghers truly came together. Retweets, posts, emails, and articles. The purported power of social media, in action. “Kickstarter” was trending on Twitter in Pittsburgh, behind only “Downton Abbey” in popularity. People watched the donation figure slowly climb with the fervor of a hotly contested election. Sousa himself rightfully couldn’t sleep.

Because of this final push by the community, Superior Motors not only reached and surpassed its goal with nearly a day to spare, but has received an additional $40,000 grant from Rob Stephany of The Heinz Endowments. Sousa emotionally thanked the nearly 2,000 supporters “for reminding [him] what an altogether inspiring place it is that [he is] lucky enough to call home.” He even admitted that we made him cry.

Chef Sousa at the Braddock Youth Project training class at the community bread oven. Photo from the Superior Motors Kickstarter.

Chef Sousa at the Braddock Youth Project training class at the community bread oven. Photo from the Superior Motors Kickstarter.

When indie rock band Frightened Rabbit came to town for the Thrival Music Festival in September, they commented on how much they enjoy playing here because Pittsburghers genuinely love their city and are so proud to be a part of it. How right they were.

We’re a tight-knit, thoughtful, and involved community that genuinely believes in bettering our city, be it through the successful and established medical and education sectors, a vibrant and innovative startup community, or the booming food and drink scene (Bon Appetit recently named Pittsburgh its “next big food town”). Even Lindsay, the creator of I heart PGH, had her cross-country train trip with the Millennial Trains Project successfully funded because of the incredible generosity of Pittsburghers.

We all see something worthwhile in Superior Motors. Something that will better Pittsburgh and Braddock. Something else to prove that we’re more than just a former steel town. And we’re helping to make that a reality.

 

The Kickstarter campaign is over but follow Kevin Sousa on Twitter for updates on Superior Motors.