This is one of my favorite posts to write every year. Six or seven years ago, an old friend posted on Facebook that volunteers were needed to help cook and serve a Thanksgiving-Eve meal. I showed up and helped to wash some dishes and I have gone back to volunteer every year. You can read my Facebook post from November 26, 2014, it is probably the best summary of my experience.
The congregation of Albright has been hosting this free meal for 42 years. It is a big old Thanksgiving dinner, turkey, stuffing, and all of fixing. The meal is… Read the rest
Three years ago, on Thanksgiving eve, I was asked via a Facebook post from a friend to volunteer to serve food at a free Thanksgiving dinner. I had no idea when I walked into the kitchen, that I was walking into much more than a dinner.
One of the many things I have learned from writing this blog, is the importance of meeting and talking with your fellow neighbors. While I am thankful that this blog, (the Facebook page, Twitter & Instagram accounts, and many local MeetUp groups) have made it possible to share more Pittsburgh stories, I am most… Read the rest
One of the many good people that I have gotten to know through writing a blog about Pittsburgh, it Scott Smith, owner of East End Brewing. The tagline for East End Brewing is “Buy a Good Friend a Good Beer.” Not only does East End Brewing make some good beers, but they quietly do lots of good stuff for the community. Last Christmas, when I was working with lots of other good Pittsburghers to deliver literally thousands of toys in time for Christmas, Scott sent a tweet offering to lend a hand. Within hours, he showed up with truck, pallet… Read the rest
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… Read the rest
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.… Read the rest