Congratulations to Mr. Jeremy Martin, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award!  Jeremy is the Community Outreach and Faith Relations Coordinator at Habitat for Humanity of Greater Pittsburgh and was instrumental in coordinating a Citywide MLK Day celebration with 300 participants completing on 12 different projects, including home repairs and non-profit support.

Children and adults alike are invited to join us at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh for Design Day, facilitated by national nonprofit KaBOOM!, where we ask kids what they want in their playspace and community members to help us make their dreams a reality.  Mayor Ravenstahl is partnering with the PA League of Cities and Municipalities, the Central Northside Neighborhood Council, KaBOOM!, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield to replace a playground in Allegheny Commons Park and build a new, community-designed playground in its place. 

Congratulations to Ms. Darlene Yanakos, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's Citizen Service Award!  Ms. Yanakos is a graduate of the Fall 2011 Civic Leadership Academy.  She spends her time volunteering at numerous local non-profits, including Urban Impact and the National Aviary.  Most recently, she was appointed by Mayor Ravenstahl to the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority board.

Applications are available for Mayor Ravenstahl's spring 2012 round of Love Your Block, a program that gives ten community groups or organizations a $500 Home Depot gift card and support of City services to carry out their own brand of block revitalization.  Past projects included a popup café, community gardens, a rain garden, memorial restoration, and athletic complex renovation.  Apply here by February 29th!

Congratulations to Ms. Colleen Fedor, the latest recipient of Mayor Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award!  Ms. Fedor is the Executive Director of the Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania, an organization that provides support for mentors and mentoring programs in the Pittsburgh region.

For National Mentoring Month, Mayor Ravenstahl thanked mentors at Allegheny Traditional Academy for their dedication and encouraged them to share their experience with friends and colleagues so that every youth interested in having a mentor can be matched with a caring adult. For pictures of mentors and mentees, including Mayor Ravenstahl, click here. 

Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh is the local affiliate of a national nonprofit, Rebuilding Together, that works to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize communities by offering free rehabilitation and critical repairs to the homes of low-income Americans. Rebuilding Together sent 60+ AmeriCorps members from around the country to Pittsburgh for a week-long celebration of service. Over the past 5 days, they have restored and weatherized 14 homes of seniors, veterans, and disabled residents in North Homewood as a part of the Sustainable Home Improvement Partnership, one of Mayor Ravenstahl's servePGH initiatives. 

On January 13th 2012,  Mayor Ravenstahl joined Mayor Nutter and 20 of his colleagues in sending a letter to all USCOM members highlighting the impact of the Cities of Service Coalition and calling on fellow mayors to establish a 'Chief Service Officer' position within their senior administrations. Check out a copy of the letter here.

Mayor Ravenstahl's Civic Leadership Academy is a free, 10-week course designed to educate City residents about local government and civic engagement here in the City of Pittsburgh.  Click here to apply for the Spring 2012 session. Session will be held each Wednesday evening from March 14 through May 16th.

So far, 77 residents have graduated from the Civic Leadership Academy and have led service projects including revitalizing East Carnegie Parklet, launching a recycling awareness campaign, and supporting the Urban Redevelopment Authority's efforts to improve neighborhood business districts.  

Today is I Am A Mentor Day!  This past March, Mayor Ravenstahl launched the Mayor’s Mentoring Initiative, allowing City employees to mentor a local middle school student during the work week. Ravenstahl answer's the question: WHY ARE YOU A MENTOR? - “I am a mentor because I believe the future of Pittsburgh lies in the hands of its youth.”  To share why you mentor, visit the City of Pittsburgh’s Facebook page and comment on the I Am A Mentor Day wall post.