Tag Archives: Christmas

24 Gifts of Pittsburgh: Silent Night Ornament

Pittsburgh-ornament-silent-night

I think I first learned of the Light of Life Christmas ornaments from Jane Pitt’s holiday gift guide a few years ago. After I had spent most of December searching for a beautiful ornament that had some sort of story to go with it, and I found nothing. I have included this ornament on our list in case you are looking for a way to send someone a little bit of Pittsburgh for their tree.

This is so much more than just a Christmas ornament. This is a gift that benefits the Light of Life Rescue Mission, a Pittsburgh nonprofit that provides housing and other resources for homeless in Pittsburgh. This is a word of art that was designed by Barb G., a graduate of the Light of Life Women’s & Children’s programs. This is an ornament that was made locally by Wendell August Forge.

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Shop: You can buy this Silent Night Ornament by making a donation to Light of Life here.

Follow: Follow Light of Life on Twitter @LightofLife and Facebook.

Source: Thanks to Jessi Marsh for the suggestion. Follow Jessie on Twitter @LemonScarlet.

24 GIFTS OF PITTSBURGH

Each day in December we are sharing a different Pittsburgh gift suggestion.

  1. Pretzel Hug Pillow
  2. Pineapple Plate With A Purpose
  3. Spalted Maple Kerf Case
  4. Fair Trade Coffee from Building New Hope
  5. Raymond Carver Will Not Raise Our Children by Dave Newman
  6. Everybody Loves Pittsburgh T-shirt

Iconography Class with Immanuel Icons Studio Starts February 7

Simeon Larivonovoff at Artisan (Photo Credit - Artisan's Facebook Page)

Simeon Larivonovoff at Artisan (Photo Credit – Artisan’s Facebook page)

I have been meaning to write about these iconography classes ever since I met the artist last year at the PULSE Alternative Gift Market.  There was also a recent gallery display of incredible iconography during the last First Fridays on Penn avenue.  Artisan hosted a show of works by the Russian Icon painter Simeon Larivonovoff.  I’ve included a short documentary about Simeon Larivonovoff below. I really enjoyed seeing these icons and reading more about the process.  Even if you don’t have an oOrthodox background, it is fascinating to see the time and effort that goes into creating these works of art.

Today seems like a most appropriate day to post about iconography.  Merry Christmas to everyone who is celebrating Orthodox Christmas today.  I will be spending this weekend making and eating pierogi with my father and his cousins who all grew up celebrating Orthodox Christmas.

Pittsburgh Iconography Classes with Immanuel Icons

The spring session for the Immanuel Icons class starts in February in Highland Park.  Details and registration information is available online here.

Saturday Spring Iconography Class:  approximately every other Saturday morning for 8 sessions, 9:30-12:30, $200
February 7, 21, March 7, 21, April 25, May 2, 16, and 30

Students will work on a simple bust of a saint or angel.  To prepare their own board and drawing for the saint of their choice, they may take the two Fall Workshops listed below (optional).  Otherwise, a choice of two saints will be presented on the first day of class and students will use the teacher’s drawing and a purchased board.  $75 materials fee, for first-time students.

If you are interested – Immanuel Icons will be offering a summer iconography intensive from August 3-9, 2015.

Classes are taught by Randi Maria Sider-Rose who has been writing icons for over 15 years and has studied iconography around the globe.

You can follow Immanuel Icons on Facebook here.

Read more about local Pittsburgh iconography in this Post-Gazette article – Orthodox icons are seen as ‘theology in color’ (April 4, 2010)

a little icon of Saint Veronica (Photo credit - Immanuel Icons Facebook page)

a little icon of Saint Veronica (Photo credit – Immanuel Icons Facebook page)

Documentary: The Russian Icon Painter

Pittsburgh filmmaker Julie Sokolow made this documentary about  Simeon Larivonovoff, this film was a finalist for the Life In A Day documentary film project.

Emergency Toy Drive – Late Sunday Update #PGHSavesXmas

I have never loved Pittsburgh more.  Today, and really all weekend – I’ve seen the best of what Pittsburgh has to offer.  And, I didn’t even have time to watch the Steeler game.

Less than 60 hours ago – I put out a call for help on Facebook.  And Pittsburgh – you have stepped up in ways I could have never imagined.  I had no idea what I was getting into.  We aren’t done yet – but I want to tell you what the volunteers accomplished today.

First of all – THANK YOU to everyone who has donated, volunteered and spread the word.  You have made it possible to literally move mountains of toys.

On Saturday at Noon – I spoke with the woman from the East Hills Residents Community Council.  They had basically canceled the holiday party because they had nothing to distribute.  We immediately went to work and moved a truck load of toys from West Virginia into their community center yesterday.  On Saturday night, we put out a call for volunteers – and strangers responded.  I arrived at the East Hills Community Center at noon today – and volunteers – people I have never met, but who had read about the need on Facebook had already begun to sort and inventory.

It took 14 hours, multiple trips to the store, two deliveries of pizza and at least 30 volunteers but I am pleased to report we have completely filled the need in East Hills! Here is what was done today…

  • Prepared toy packages for 275 families – over 575 kids
  • Prepared stocking for all of the kids
  • Prepared gifts for 30 more kids who are part of the Martial Arts Against Street Violence program

The volunteers who showed up at 11 am – stayed until 1am – that is 14 hours of non-stop work.  And these were volunteers from all over the city AND a whole crew of volunteers from the Residents Council who started at 9am.

This was made possible by you – the generous people of Pittsburgh.

There is still more work to be done.  We found out Sunday morning that there are 500 kids on the North Side who need gifts.  I know that we had a whole crew working on this over at Most Wanted Fine Art but we WILL NEED MORE HELP on Monday!!!

Please see the latest posts in the Emergency Toy Drive Facebook Group.   We will definitely need more toy donations.  So keep those coming.

If you are buying toys to donate:

  • craft kits are great
  • games are great because they are good items to share with families – I’m pretty sure we bought every Jenga near East Hills.
  • don’t buy toys that require batteries
  • don’t wrap the toys before you donate them

If you know of someone who would be willing to donate food or pizza for their holiday party on Tuesday – that would be a welcome addition and I can help to coordinate.  Please contact me lindsay@iheartpgh.com.

Here are a few photos from today:

A brief note about East Hills – this is a Pittsburgh neighborhood that is in need – and there is so much help that is needed there.  I hope this is the beginning of a much larger relationship and I ask you to help me tell and share the stories of our fellow neighbors who are often not part of the larger Pittsburgh conversation.  I can tell you right now that there are kids that need beds out there – and I’ve promised to follow up with the East Hills Residence Council about this in January – if you want to help (or if you have a bed you don’t need) – please let me know.

Related articles

Emergency Toy Drive – How You Can Help

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Update Sunday 12/21 8pm:

We still need your help.  This am we identified 500 more kids that need toys.

Here is how you can help:

Donations will also be accepted at Most Wanted Fine Art at the Waterfrontfrom 12-5 PM (They are opening just for this so disregard the website.)

Volunteers needed in Garfield 11-4 to help sort & distribute.

Drivers needed to be on-call during these hours. At least one trip from Waterfront to Garfield around 5 PM.

Donations Most Needed At This Point

– Toys & Gifts for Kids Ages 6-12, all types. We are very low and have to serve over 300 kids in this age range.
– Gift bags for our craft kits from Creative Reuse. We need 50 bags that are at least 8 x 11 and 50 smaller sized bags. We prefer gender neutral, non-denominational bags.
– 50 new tote bags for our homeless youth
– Hand warmers, gloves/hats/scarves, socks for 50 homeless youth
– Food for the Weds Holiday Party for homeless youth (see previous message)
– boxes and bags

The volunteers really appreciate the donations of coffee, sandwiches, cookies and more!

We have a Facebook group for people who want to help – check the Emergency Toy Drive Facebook Group for updates!

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There have been several news articles about this – but here is what you need to know, for some reason there is a toy shortage and a number of local nonprofits do not have toys to distribute for Christmas.  I have joined with several other Pittsburghers to address this ASAP.

What we’re going to do… Collect toys and money and work with all of the organizations impacted to make sure that every need we can meet is met.

How you can help… 

1. Donate money

we’ve set up a Crowdrise page here.  All money raised on this page will be used to address the ugent need, I will provide updates here on this page as I get them.  Click here to donate online.

2. Donate toys – Toys can be donated at Most Wanted Fine Art

Please donate UNWRAPPED toys!  We need to sort and get the right items to the right places.  If we need help wrapping – we’ll put out a call for volunteers.

  • Most Wanted Fin Art Waterfront – Next to Panera
    • Friday Noon-9pm
    • Saturday Noon-9pm
    • Sunday Noon-6pm
  • Most Wanted Fine Art Penn Ave – 5015 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh 15224 — CALL First 412-508-6782
    • Saturday 11am-4pm

mwfa-emergency-toy-drive

3. Spread the word – #PGHsavesXmas

Other ways to help…

  • If you are an organisation that is impacted by this toy shortage and need help – please email me ASAP lindsay@iheartpgh.com.  We have heard that 7 organizations are impacted by this shortage, we only know of 3.  We only want to make sure that kids that need toys are able to receive a toy.
  • If you want to help – join the Facebook Group Emergency Toy Drive
  • Offer to be a toy drop off spot – we’re still working on the logistics – but if you have a public space and would be willing to collect toys, please let us know.

FAQ

Q: What happened, why is there a toy shortage.

A: We’re not sure.  We haven’t had a chance to get the whole story and the organizations that have been impacted are focused on an immediate solution.  We know that there have been a few reports in the news. We can sort this out after we address the immediate need.

Q: Who is working on this?

A: Thus far the following people have come together to work on a solution – we want to coordinate efforts to make sure we’re meeting the need everywhere.  Most Wanted Fine Art, Nina Sauer, Jason Sauer, Pittsburgh Bloggers, Jodi Hirsch, Sue Kerr, Jennifer England, Lindsay Patross

Q; Why is the crowdrise an individual page, rahter than to the non-profit.

A. Crowdrise cuts checks to nonprofits on the 15th of the month.  Given the urgent need – we set this up in a way we can collect moneies and disperse them ASAP.  Currently this is connected to my paypal account – I will provide a full accounting on funds here on IheartPGH for transparency.  If you would prefer to donate directly to a 501c3 organization – we understand and are working on posting a list of those organizations.  If you are a 501c3 Organization and can help us with this – please contact me lindsay@iheartpgh.com – we would prefer that all donations go directly to an organization.

Emergency Toy Drive Updates

Friday 12/19 – 4:30pm

WOW!  Yinz are amazing.  Toy donations are rolling in, in the past 5 hours – we’ve raised over $3400 and counting.  Here are the stats thus far:

  • 8 – # of non-profits that need toys
  • 1470 – kids that we believe we need toys from these 8 non-profits
  • 77 – # of people that have donated money to our Crowdrise page
  • 18 – # of people that have joined the Emergency Toy Drive Organizers Facebook group.

We will be meeting tonight at 6pm to take inventory and get organized for shopping and delivering.  Will post an update with needs later today.

THANK YOU for all of your support!

Friday/Saturday 12/20 – 1:00am – $5642 Raised!

It is really late, but I just got home and wanted to post a quick update about today and what will happen on Saturday.

First of all THANK YOU to everyone who has donated money, toys, tweets and support.  The response has been incredible – $5642 dollars donated in a little over 12 hours!!!

The organizing team met this evening at 6pm to map out a strategy.  We are working to make sure we are in contact with the organizations that were counting on donations from Toys for Tots.

One of the organizations has a toy distribution on Saturday afternoon.  We wanted to be prepared, so Jennifer and Lindsay headed out to pick up gifts for teens.  Everyone that we talked with – every employee at Old Navy and even the security guards were helpful.  We had to stop shopping because the car was full.

We’ve got a huge job to do and we are going to need your help.

Can you help us coordinate efforts with others? We really want to make sure we get the toys to the organizations that need the most help.  Lots of people are responding to the news – if you know of of a group that has received donations or needs donations – please let us know.

Here is what we need help with on Saturday:

  • More Gift Donations
    • We are looking for new gifts only
    • Please do not wrap any of the gifts
    • Gifts for Teens – we are most concerned about having gifts for older kids (ages 10-16) – if you would like to donate a gift, please consider something for an older kid
    • Bring donations to Most Wanted Fine Art at 5015 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224
  • Sorting the donations – come to Most Wanted Fine Art and help us sort items by age group
  • Drivers/Shoppers – we think we are going to need to do a lot more shopping. This will go faster if we can have some more folks with cars come along.
  • Tag removal – almost everything we bought today has price tags, we could use help getting those off.
  • Larger staging area – Most Wanted Fine Art has been so incredible to step up and lend their space, but depending on how much we have donated and how much we can get out on Saturday – we may need more space.  If you know of a secure space that we can use for a few days, let me know.
  • Delivery volunteers – not totally sure what the need for this on Saturday will look like – but when we are ready to deliver the toys to the organizations we are going to need some help.

If you would like to volunteer or want more updates – join the Facebook Group.

 Sunday 12/21 10am – Toys and Snacks Needed

We’re making a list, and checking it twice! So much goodness.

Things we need today:

  • Here is what we need:
    • Gifts for older kids – books, craft kits, ear buds, scarfs, hats,
    • snacks, juice boxes, etc.  – several groups were canceling holiday celebrations, so we’re working to make sure they have party food
  • Donations can be delivered to
    • Most Wanted Fine Art Penn Ave
    • Most Wanted Fine Art Waterfront – next to Panera
    • East Hills Residence Council Community Center – 2291 Wilner Drive in Penn Hills – I will be there Noon-4pm
  • Volunteers are welcome to help at Most Wanted Fine Art or East Hills Community Center
    • We will have the Steeler game on at Most Wanted Fine Art

Check out the article in the Post-Gazette about the response!  We were also featured on WTAE last night. Have not found the clip online yet.

If you would like to volunteer or want more updates – join the Facebook Group.