Category Archives: Volunteer

Thanksgiving Events for a Good Cause – Cycling, Yoga & More

With Thanksgiving just one week away, one of the questions that pops up around this time of year is “where can I volunteer to help serve a holiday meal?” In addition to volunteering, here are some Thanksgiving events around Pittsburgh that support great local causes. Know of other events that should be on the list? Please share in the comments below.

Pedal for the Pantry 2018 – Food drive bike ride/race

Sat. 11/17 – for those who like to bike in the cold

This one caught my eye on Facebook because of the image posted on the Facebook event. Pedal around Pittsburgh picking up items for a Thanksgiving dinner and drop those items off at the Wilkinsburg Food Pantry, earn points and win awesome prizes. Check out the Facebook page for some of the very nice prizes including swag from BikePgh and a bike that was donated by Golden Triangle Bike Rental.

Saturday, November 17, 2018
The race starts at 2 pm, afterparty at 5 pm
Register online here. More details here.

44th Annual Thanksgiving Eve Community Meal – Volunteers & Donations Needed

Wed. 11/21: for anyone who can lend a hand or donate a few dollars

This one is near and dear to my heart. A friend who grew up helping with these dinners asked me to help out a few years ago. I showed up late, which ended up being helpful because they needed someone to take over on the dishwashing. (Life lesson – it is never too late to show up to volunteer). This meal started as an Eagle Scout project – offer up a free, home-cooked Thanksgiving meal. Last year over 100 volunteers showed up and helped to cook and serve dinner for 200 people. It is a beautiful thing when neighbors come together to share a meal. Every little bit helps if you want to volunteer for an hour that is great. If you can donate $10 that is helpful too. Last year 64 people made a donation to the GoFundMe page, I’m hoping we can beat that number this year.

Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Volunteer – anytime after 10 am
Dinner 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Location: First United Methodist Church Social Hall, the entrance is on Centre Ave above the Toy Lending Library, across from Panera.
Volunteer Sign Up here – http://bit.ly/2OHsFHv
Donations can be made on the GoFundMe page here – http://bit.ly/2OHszQ9

YMCA Turkey Trot

Thur. 11/22: for runners/walkers who want to burn a few calories and support the YMCA

Thursday, November 22, 2018
8:00 am – 1-mile walk
8:30 am – 5k and 5-mile race
The races start at PNC Park

Giving Thanks – Thanksgiving Day Yoga + Live Music to Benefit 412 Food Rescue

Thur 11/22: for anyone who needs some gentle yoga before a big meal

100% of the proceeds from this class will be donated to 412 Food Rescue. This gentle yoga class will be accompanied by live guitar music.

Thursday, November 22, 2018
9:00 am
BYS Yoga Collective, 1113 E Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203
See the Facebook event for details

Downtown Walk-in Program for Homeless Needs A Data Entry Volunteer

I received this email from the Pittsburgh Food Bank today. I thought I would share in case anyone was looking for a way to get involved with some volunteering.

Data Entry Volunteer Needed

The First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh has been serving the needs of the downtown population for over 250 years. Their Walk-in program assists the homeless, almost homeless, poor and others every fifth week as part of a rotation with other downtown churches.

Volunteers provide food bank food, toiletries, lunch and other services to those who ‘walk-in’ seeking help. Volunteers also provide critical administrative support and this is where YOU come in! First Presbyterian Church is in need of:

Seeking: Volunteer data entry person.

Dates: Monday June 2 – Friday June 6

Monday July 7 – Friday July 11

(ongoing, every 5 weeks)

Time: 11:00 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Where: 320 Sixth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

If you are interested in helping, please contact Jon Muha, Walk-in Ministry Co-chair, at 724-831-3847.

More Volunteer Opportunities in Pittsburgh

If data entry isn’t your thing and you are looking for other places to volunteer check out Pittsburgh Cares, which is an organization that exists to match volunteers to organizations that need help.

Volunteering in Pittsburgh – MLK Day of Service

Looking for 2019 MLK Day in Pittsburgh events? Check out this list on Very Local Pittsburgh.

Earlier this week we were asked a question about where one can volunteer in Pittsburgh.

@iheartpgh thoughts on places to volunteer in #Pittsburgh?

— NewUrbanHipster (@NewUrbanHipster) January 15, 2014

We received a similar question last month and we are happy to connect Pittsburghers who want to volunteer with organizations that need help/.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day offers a great place to start. Pittsburgh Cares is an organization that exists to be a matchmaker between people that want to volunteer and groups the need volunteers.

MLK Day – “a day on, not a day off”

Here is some history on MLK Day as a day of service from MLKday.gov

In 1994, Congress designated the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday as a national day of service and charged the Corporation for National and Community Service with leading this effort. Taking place each year on the third Monday in January, the MLK Day of Service is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service – a “day on, not a day off.”

Where to Volunteer in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Cares is your go-to website to find ways you can volunteer on MLK Day and every other day of the year.

Pittsburgh Cares is helping to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior by organizing volunteer service projects on MLK Day, January 20, 2014. This year, our focus will be on intergenerational volunteering. Youth, teens, college students, adults, and seniors will be joining together in a day of service.

There are still MANY projects left that need volunteers on Monday. If you can spare a few hours there are many organizations that can use your help. Here are just a few of the volunteer opportunities:

You can check out a complete list of all of the MLK Day opportunities on Pittsburgh Cares here.

Hey yinz guys! What the heck is a Redd Up Zone?

Mayor Ravenstahl with Troop 73 and Andy Masich, who adopted one of the first Redd Up Zones in Lawrenceville. Photo from the servePGH website.

Maybe you’ve seen the signs around town declaring a certain area as a “Redd Up Zone.” If you’re not from Western Pennsylvania, you might even be asking yourself what on Earth “redd up” means. Basically it’s Pittsburghese for cleaning or tidying up something, a notion former mayor Luke Ravenstahl wanted to apply to Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods. Click here for the Post-Gazette article on how Redd-Up Zones were started.

Instead of the city doing most of the work itself fixing up communities, organizations and businesses can adopt a street and recruit volunteers to help them with year-round cleanups. All groups, from companies to schools to churches, are encouraged to participate by adopting zones, but they must commit to at least four cleanups per year, for two years.

Photo from The Clean Pittsburgh Commission website.

By partnering with The Clean Pittsburgh Commission, Citizens Against Litter, Citiparks, and the Department of Public Works, the city will, in turn, provide the materials needed to spruce up that section, such as trash bags, gloves, brooms, hedge clippers, safety vests, and more. It will also pick up the trash for free and prove two signs that display the name of the organization that adopted that zone.

Redd Up Zones are a great way for local organizations to not only help out the community, but to get recognition for doing so. And since all the necessary materials can be borrowed from the city, it’s easy for volunteers to get involved.

You can get more information on helping out, either by volunteering your time or adopting a street, by visiting the Redd Up Zone website, calling 412-255-2280, emailing servepgh@pittsburghpa.gov, or getting in touch with your local community association. You can also see a map of which streets have already been adopted here.

Paddle Without Pollution: Nominated for Canoe & Kayak Magazine’s ‘Paddle With Purpose’ award

Local non-profit (and I heart PGH favorite!) Paddle Without Pollution is up for an award celebrating the best philanthropic effort involving paddlesports. You can vote for the best “Paddle With Purpose” contender, plus those in other categories, until this Sunday, June 30, by visiting the Canoe & Kayak Magazine awards page.

The group was nominated by their fellow paddlers and peers and winners are honored at the annual ceremony, held this year on August 1 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Paddle Without Pollution gets canoeists, kayakers, and paddle boarders together to clean the rivers, streams, wetlands, and lakes of Pennsylvania. In 2012, they removed 15.3 TONS of litter from waterways during 13 cleanup events.

They also provide a watershed/paddling education program for inner city youth that teaches paddling skills, ecology, and proper nutrition, as well as other pollution prevention and education programs.

View their upcoming cleanup schedule and register to help clean up local watersheds! And don’t worry if you don’t have your own kayak or canoe, a few are available to borrow from their own fleet for those who sign up early enough. You can also donate money to their cause on their website, via PayPal.

Stay up-to-date on upcoming events and see photos from past ones, plus other news and happenings, by liking their Facebook page.

Click here to vote!

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IheartPGH: a blog about Pittsburgh and people who love this city