Mayor Ravenstahl’s Office of Service and Civic Engagement is currently accepting applications for 3 year-round AmeriCorps VISTA positions to support the Mayor’s servePGH initiative. Applications are available through Friday, May 25th. Click here for more information and to apply now!
VISTAs (Volunteers in Service to America) commit to serving full-time at a nonprofit organization or local government agency. They work to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses, and strengthen community groups, with the ultimate goal of eliminating poverty in the United States.
Congratulations to Ray Amelio for receiving Mayor Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! Ray co-founded the Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania and currently serves as Co-Chair on the organization’s Board of Directors, helping to provide essential support services to military veterans, service members, and their families. Thank you, Ray, for the great work you do in and around Pittsburgh!
Congratulations to Mary Savage for receiving Mayor Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! A pillar of the Homewood community, Mary can be seen planting and caring for the community’s many gardens- rain or shine. She’s also leading the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh’s Love Your Block project in Homewood, creating another garden space for the neighborhood to enjoy.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and The Home Depot Foundation today announced that the Mayor’s Love Your Block program will receive $130,000 from The Home Depot Foundation, enabling the City to increase the number of Love Your Block revitalization projects from 20 to 50 per year and doubling the grant amount to $1,000 per project. The increased funding allows for an impressive expansion of the program and grants the project voted “Best Block Revitalization Project” with an additional $2,000 for future block enhancements. The continued success of the Love Your Block program resulted in The Foundation’s donation amount to substantially increase from its previous $10,000 donation. The Mayor also announced that applications are available for the next round of 25 projects, which will take place this fall.
Are you interested in finding out what it's like to be a Pittsburgh police officer? Do you ever wonder how Pittsburgh’s firefighters train for emergencies, or how the City takes care of its parks and streets? The Mayor's Youth Civic Leadership Academy is your chance to explore these things, and more! Apply now for the free, 6-week program here.
Congratulations to Raymar Hampshire, the latest recipient of Mayor Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! Raymar is the co-founder of SponsorChange.org and a member of the Mayor’s Service Advisory Council.
Congratulations to Mr. Hugh Terry, the latest recipient of Mayor Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! This is Mr. Terry’s 21st year of volunteering with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, which helps seniors and low-income residents with preparing their taxes.
Congratulations to Ms. Gena Turner, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! Ms. Turner is the Chairwoman of the Elliott Community Group, a coordinator of two Love Your Block projects, and a participant of the Mayor’s Civic Leadership Academy.
Congratulations to Mayor Ravenstahl's Snow Angels volunteers, the latest recipients of the Mayor's Citizen Service Award! This past winter, over 120 caring residents served more than 180 neighbors in need, shoveling their sidewalks throughout the season. For more information on how you can volunteer next winter season, click here.
In his Weekly Radio Address, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl discusses the achievements of servePGH’s first year, thanking all of the 1,000+ volunteers who have engaged in impact volunteerism to make Pittsburgh an even more livable City and sharing a few of servePGH’s many accomplishments to-date. To listen, click here.
To read Mayor Ravenstahl’s servePGH Year 1 Report to the Community, click here.
Mayor Ravenstahl recently celebrated the first birthday of his servePGH initiative, issuing a Year 1 Report to the Community! A lot has been achieved in its first year, as this Cities of Service Coalition's newsletter highlights. Be sure to read the story and catch up on citizen service news from across the country.
For an in-depth look at servePGH's accomplishments to-date, click here.
Congratulations to Ms. Alecia Shipman, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! This April, Ms. Shipman will be opening Dream Cream Ice Cream, a project of Mayor Ravenstahl’s Project Pop Up: Downtown and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. The shop will sell ice cream that benefits local ‘dreamers’, residents who are fundraising for a variety of worthy causes.
Ten organizations from across the City of Pittsburgh have been selected for the second round of Mayor Ravenstahl’s Love Your Block! Check out the complete list of blocks that will be transformed here. This Spring’s projects include an urban literary arts display, community gardens, a façade beautification, a business district revitalization, and vacant lot remediation. Thanks to the Home Depot Foundation for their generous support of this project. Check back soon for more details!
Congratulations to Ms. Tammy Davis, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! Ms. Davis has been mentoring with the United Way’s Be a 6th Grade Mentor program for the past 3 years and is one of the first City employees to volunteer through the Mayor’s Mentoring Initiative. Her support for the initiative has helped the City of Pittsburgh become Be a 6th Grade Mentor’s #1 employer partner.
At last night's annual Meet 'n' Greet Mixer, the Clean Pittsburgh Commission applauded Pittsburgh residents on their tremendous progress in cleaning up our City's neighborhoods, including collecting 1,600 tons of litter over 5 years! Much of this success is due to Mayor Ravenstahl's leadership in neighborhood revitalization, including servePGH initiatives Redd Up Zone and Love Your Block. To read more, click here.
Mayor Ravenstahl’s Office of Service and Civic Engagement is currently accepting applications for 5 year-round AmeriCorps VISTA positions to support the Mayor’s servePGH initiative and 6 Summer VISTA Associates to support Citipark’s Leisure, Learning and Fun summer program. Click here for more information and to apply now!
VISTAs (Volunteers in Service to America) commit to serving full-time at a nonprofit organization or local government agency. They work to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses, and strengthen community groups, with the ultimate goal of eliminating poverty in the United States.
Today marks the first birthday of servePGH! Volunteers and community members came out to The Pittsburgh Project to celebrate by preparing a community garden and enjoying a short ceremony. Thanks to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh for providing delicious birthday cakes!
Mayor Ravenstahl’s servePGH Year 1 Report to the Community was released at the event. If you weren’t at the event and would like to hear about servePGH’s year one accomplishments, as well as goals for its second year, check it out here!
Get the hands-on perspective of one of our hard-working volunteers here.
Congratulations and thanks to everyone who has supported servePGH in the last year; we’re looking forward to an even more exciting Year 2!
Last night, the City of Pittsburgh received the United Way of Allegheny County’s Fred Rogers Good Neighbor Award for being a community leader in workplace volunteerism. Since Mayor Ravenstahl launched the Mayor’s Mentoring Initiative in March 2011, over 50 City employees have joined the Mayor in mentoring a local middle school student. Congratulations to all of the City mentors involved in the Mayor’s Mentoring Initiative!
Happy AmeriCorps Week! Congratulations to Pittsburgh’s AmeriCorps Members and Alumnni for receiving Mayor Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award. Hundreds of AmeriCorps members serve in Pittsburgh each year. In 2011 alone, 375 members made a direct economic impact of over $2 million. To learn more about AmeriCorp’s Impact on Pittsburgh, click here.
March 10-18 is National AmeriCorps Week! In 2011 alone, 375 AmeriCorps members served in 9 Pittsburgh-based programs, creating a direct economic impact of $2,353,401. 4 AmeriCorps VISTA members serving in Mayor Ravenstahl’s Office of Service and Civic Engagement have organized volunteers to beautify 47 City blocks; weatherize and restore 22 homes of veterans, seniors, and disabled residents; and maintain 22 half mile zones of City streets. Click here to read more about AmeriCorps’ impact on Pittsburgh.
Congratulations to Mr. Harry Tolbert, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! Mr. Tolbert is a long-time resident of Arlington who gives back to his neighborhood by repairing local residents' cars for free and shoveling his neighbors’ sidewalks.
Mayor Ravenstahl will share servePGH’s year one accomplishments and future priorities during an event at The Pittsburgh Project (2801 North Charles Street on the Northside), Wednesday, March 21st at noon. His servePGH Year One Report to the Community, highlighting his seven signature initiatives that have been launched since last March, will be hot-off-the-press and ready to read!
Interested in rolling up your sleeves? Come at 10 a.m. and join us in a “Love Your Block” service project to prepare a community garden for Spring planting.
For more details and to RSVP by March 16, click here.
Congratulations to Hope Academy of Music and the Arts, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! Hope Academy provides affordable arts programming and education to our City’s youth, giving many young people the opportunity to train with Pittsburgh’s best performing artists.
Congratulations to Ms. Lindsay Ruprecht, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! Ms. Ruprecht is the Sustainable Community Development Coordinator for ACTION-Housing, Inc. She is also a committed partner of the Sustainable Home Improvement Partnership, one of Mayor Ravenstahl’s seven signature servePGH initiatives.
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.
Click here to read about Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's reflections on 2011. The many successes of servePGH, his high-impact service plan, have made it to #1 on his year-end Top 10 list! Thank you to the 1000+ volunteers that participated in his servePGH initiatives, bringing in Pittsburgh's Third Renaissance through transforming blocks, mentoring middle schoolers, cleaning up streets, and more.
Congratulations to Ms. Dawn Harder, recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's Citizen Service Award! Ms. Harder is the Clean Pittsburgh Commission neighborhood steward for the Carrick community and engages local universities and school groups in neighborhood cleanups.
Congratulations to Mr. Samuel Su, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award. Su is the Keep it Clean, Oakland! Coordinator at the Oakland Planning & Development Corporation. He is also a Civic Leadership Academy graduate and recently coordinated one of Mayor Ravenstahl’s Love Your Block projects, recruiting volunteers to revitalize Frazier Farms and Frazier Fieldhouse.
Congratulations to Mr. Patrick Flynn, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! Flynn is the Member and Community Relations Representative at Riverset Credit Union, ensuring that the credit union’s staff members are involved in at least one volunteer or charity event each month.
Caroline Kennedy recently honored Mayor Luke Ravenstahl with the New Frontier Award “for his commitment to educational opportunity and his innovative service to all the people of Pittsburgh”. Her address discusses the great impact Mayor Ravenstahl is making with his servePGH initiative, as well as the Pittsburgh Promise. Check it out here!
Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Phillips K-5 PTO, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! The group was awarded PTO Today's 2011 Parent Group of the Year National Runner-up for providing the students of Phillips K-5 with fun, creative ways to learn and become civically engaged.
Click here to read the latest edition of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's servePGH e-newsletter. Included are the latest additions to the high-impact service plan, updates on servePGH programming, and a Volunteer Spotlight featuring Kelly Day from Brighton Heights!
Congratulations to Ms. Lisa Ray, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! Ray is the founder of Coats for Kids, a program that provides winter outerwear to children in need. She has distributed over 997 donated items to Pittsburgh Concord K-5 students.
Check out Rebecca Delphia’s interview on Policy That Matters, a radio show airing from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College. Delphia is the City of Pittsburgh’s first Chief Service Officer and is charged with developing and implementing Mayor Ravenstahl’s servePGH initiative. Click here to hear her discuss Mayor Ravenstahl’s commitment to utilizing impact volunteerism as a municipal strategy for addressing local challenges.
Congratulations to Ms. Leshonda Roberts, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! Roberts is a committed member of the Sheraden Kiwanis Club, earning the title Kiwanian of the Year. She’s also a member of the Citizens Police Review Board.
In this week's Mayor's Radio Address, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl calls on Pittsburgh residents to revitalize their neighborhoods using the great tools the City of Pittsburgh offers, including Love Your Block and the newly-launched Redd Up Zone.
Love Your Block awards 10 Pittsburgh groups/organizations with a $500 Home Depot gift card and support of City services to creatively transform a neighborhood block. Click here to check out photos from the Fall 2011 projects!
Through Redd Up Zone, businesses and organizations recruit volunteers to adopt a "Redd Up Zone", committing to year-round cleanups in a designated area as well as tracking neighborhood maintenance concerns for the City to address. Volunteer groups are recognized with street signage and are provided with all the necessary cleanup materials.
Congratulations to today's recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's Citizen Service Award, Mr. Chaz Kellem. Mr. Kellem is the Manager of Diversity Initiatives for the Pittsburgh Pirates and co-founder of Unbreakable Drive. He is a leader in workplace ethics and disability issues and a highly sought after motivational speaker, informing people about the possibilities that life can bring when one has the passion, determination, and motivation to succeed. Thank you, Mr. Chaz Kellem, for your service to the City of Pittsburgh.
Check out the great article on Mayor Ravenstahl's Redd Up Zone program by Diana Nelson Jones in today's edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette! The article highlights this new opportunity for community groups and businesses to receive support from the City to adopt a zone and keep it litter-free for two years. The Heinz History Center in the Strip District and Boy Scout Troop 73 in Lawrenceville have already adopted zones. Applications to adopt zones are being accpeted now at reddupzone.pittsburghpa.gov.
Congratulations to Mr. Ben Lewis, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! Mr. Lewis is the founder and CEO of PurBlu Beverages, a company that aims to make the world a better place by bridging the gap between the non-profit and for-profit worlds. Through PurBlu's GIVE line, ten cents from each bottle sold is donated to a wide range of charities. PurBlu also awarded six Pittsburgh-area groups with GIVE Energy Pittsburgh Prizes, providing funding for alternative energy projects. Check out PurBlu Beverage's website to learn more!
For more information on Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's Citizen Service Award, or to nominate someone, click here!
Congratulations to Ms. Kelly Day, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's Citizen Service Award! Ms. Day is an exemplary model of the positive impact that grassroots community organizing and citizen volunteerism can create. She organized an astounding Love Your Block project that unified residents of Antrim Street and revitalized their block.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl launched a new servePGH initiative, Redd Up Zone, yesterday at Doughboy Square in Lawrenceville. Supported by the Clean Pittsburgh Commission, Boy Scouts of America Troop 73, and the Heinz History Center, Redd Up Zone engages volunteers to enhance Pittsburgh's quality of life through clean streets and blight reduction. Volunteer groups commit to adopting a ½ mile zone for two years, completing quarterly cleanups each year. Click here for more information on how you can join this Citywide redd up effort!
Congratulations to Mr. RJ Thompson, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! Mr. Thompson is a successful social entrepreneur, founding Up To Know Good, LLC and Zola Design, LLC, both of which provide local nonprofits with high-quality marketing tools and strategies. He is also a committed fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Check out Mayor Ravenstahl's Weekly Address to learn about servePGH's new program, in partnership with The Home Depot Foundation, the Urban Redevelopment Authority, and the Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development. The Sustainable Home Improvement Partnership will repair, rehab, and weatherize homes of low-income vetarans, disabled residents, and seniors in targeted East End neighborhoods.
Congratulations to Mr. Emmai Alaquiva, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award! Mr. Alaquiva is the founder of Hip Hop on L.O.C.K., an after-school program that gives youth the opportunity to work together to create a hip hop record, learning leadership and business skills in the process.
Today Mayor Ravenstahl joined The Home Depot Foundation, the Urban Redevelopment Authority, and Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development to announce the Sustainable Home Improvement Partnership. This program is a new opportunity for volunteers to lend a hand to neighbors-in-need by working under the guidance of notable home repair agencies to restore the homes of vulnerable citizens. The parternship will repair and weatherize the homes of veterans, seniors, and disabled residents in targeted East End neighborhoods. We thank The Home Depot Foundation for their support of low-income homeowners in Pittsburgh’s East End!
For more info about the Sustainable Home Improvement Partnership and a complete list of partners, visit our Sustainable Home Improvement Partnership webpage.
Congratulations to Mr. Nicholas Foley, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award. Mr. Foley has recently been named the Boys & Girls Club of America’s 2010-2011 National Youth of the Year. As a part of the Boys & Girls Club’s community for the past 10 years, he has logged over 1,500 service hours!
Congratulations to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award honoree Mr. Abraham Taleb. As a co-founder of social enterprises TerraShift and ReWork, Taleb connects young professionals with socially impactful career opportunities. In his role as Project Coordinator for Pittsburgh Pipeline, Taleb strengthens career preparedness among urban youth.
Starting this month, 60 City of Pittsburgh employees, including Mayor Ravenstahl, will be mentoring local middle school students through the Mayor’s Mentoring Initiative! Big thanks to every one of these committed, caring City employees. Click here for more information on this exciting opportunity.
Not a City employee, but still want to offer your ears and heart to a local student? Check out bea6thgradementor.org for information on how you can help a local 6th grader navigate the road to success!
Participants are only three weeks into Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Fall 2011 Civic Leadership Academy and have already learned a great deal about the City of Pittsburgh’s operations and resources. The Finance department had the class attempt to cut $10 million from the City’s budget, the Urban Redevelopment Authority inspired the participants to think about creative uses of vacant land, and the class helped answer some of the Mayor’s Office’s toughest questions regarding youth policy, sustainability, and neighborhoods. Thanks for all of your great ideas and for your commitment to the City of Pittsburgh, Civic Leaders!
Congratulations to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award honoree Mr. Henry Reese. Reese is a co-founder of City of Asylum/Pittsburgh, an organization devoted to providing a safe haven for writers under political threat. He is also the publisher of the Northside-based magazine Sampsonia Way, which showcases both local and global writing.
Last weekend volunteers came out to Elliott, West End Village, Garfield, Brighton Heights, and Squirrell Hill for Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's Love Your Block volunteer work days! Click here to see photos from the various events.
Some highlights include veterans cleaning a memorial in time for the Veterans Day celebration in the West End, children delivering flowers in hand-painted pots to neighbors on Hillcrest St., the Mayor visiting the site of a future rain garden on Antrim St., and transforming a demolition site into a beautiful butterfly garden in Elliott. Thank you to the many community leaders and volunteers that have partnered with the Mayor in keeping our City beautiful!
Check out the great article on Mayor Ravenstahl's Love Your Block program by Diana Nelson Jones in her City Walkabout blog for the Post-Gazette! The article highlights the upcoming Love Your Block events scheduled for this weekend. Mayor Ravenstahl will be visiting Antrim Street on Saturday morning to check out the beautification project hosted by the Brighton Heights Citizen Federation. Volunteer at an event near you from now through the end of October. For a complete list of events, click here.
Congratulations to Mr. Chris Cooke, the latest recipient of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's Citizen Service Award! Mr. Cooke is the Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Urban Leadership Service Experience (PULSE), an organization committed to developing young community leaders. Read more about PULSE here.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award is a special award that honors individuals and organizations that demonstrate a strong commitment to addressing local challenges and improving the quality of life in the City of Pittsburgh. Click here to nominate yourself or an individual in your community. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award recipients will be honored with a City of Pittsburgh Proclamation and a personal letter of thanks from Mayor Ravenstahl.
Congratulations to the latest recipient of Mayor Ravenstahl’s Citizen Service Award, Mr. Ernie Dettore, who is being recognized for his dedication to play and childhood education in our great City. Mr. Dettore serves on the education advisory board for the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and has published numerous articles on childhood education.
Many transformational block revitalization projects are taking place during September and October across the City. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's Love Your Block program asked community groups what they could do with a $500 Home Depot gift card, provided by The Home Depot Foundation, and full support of City services. We were amazed at what they came up with and are so excited to see the results! Be sure to stop by to visit or volunteer at an event near you! Click here for a complete list of events.
Listen to Mayor Ravenstahl discuss the start of the Love Your Block projects during his weekly radio address here!
At an exciting press conference last Thursday, the Youth Futures Commission called on citizens of Pittsburgh to serve as middle school mentors through the United Way’s Be a 6th Grade Mentor program. Mayor Ravenstahl, as a part of the Futures Youth Commission, is helping lead the way with the establishment of the Mayor’s Mentoring Initiative. Along with serving as a mentor himself, the Mayor is providing City employees the opportunity to mentor during the school day.
The United way has a national goal of 1 million volunteers and they are looking to Pittsburgh to fulfill 4,000 of those slots! Serving as a 6th grade mentor is just one way that you can “Be 1 in a Million". To find out more about other opportunities or further details on 6th grade mentoring, call the United Way’s helpline at 2-1-1.
Congratulations to Eric Boerer, Advocacy Director at Bike Pittsburgh, for receiving Mayor Ravenstahl's Citizen Service Award! Boerer has worked hard to create bike-friendly streets throughout our City, as well as provide free resources to all Pittsburghers. The Award proclaimed August 26th, 2011 "Mr. Eric Boerer Day" in the City of Pittsburgh.
On August 24th, the Mayor's Youth Civic Leadership Academy completed a beautification project in East Carnegie Parklet. The students and many volunteers, including officers from the Zone 6 Police Station, planted flowers, cleaned up litter, and painted park equipment. Their hard work and motivation is commendable.
Congratulations to Mike Hepler, President and CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania, for receiving Mayor Ravenstahl's Citizen Service Award! With Hepler's leadership, the Boys and Girls Club recently opened The Zone, a new social enterprise in Lawrenceville. The retail store and cafe offers local teens employment and the chance to learn management and leadership skills.
The servePGH Newsletter has just been launched! Catch up on all things servePGH, including Mayor Ravenstahl's five service initiatives: Love Your Block, Mayor's Mentoring Initiative, Civic Leadership Academy, Redd Up Zone, and Snow Angels.
Continue to stay in the loop by subscribing to the Newsletter and other updates here.
Eleven organizations from across the City of Pittsburgh have been selected as Pittsburgh's first-ever Love Your Block awardees. Check out the complete list of blocks that will be transformed in the Mayor's Weekly Address from July 29th or the recent Post Gazette announcement! The Fall 2011Love Your Block projects include public art, a popup cafe, community gardens, vacant lot remediation, a high school service project, and much more. Volunteer work days will take place throughout September and October. Thanks to the Home Depot Foundation for their generous support of this project. Check back soon for more details!
Congratulations to the Mayor's Youth Civic Leadership Academy class of 2011! After six weeks of learning the ins and outs of local government and civic engagement, twenty-one young Pittsburghers have graduated from the Mayor’s inaugural program. The young graduates will be giving back to the City by revitalizing a playground in East Carnegie. Look for a freshly painted swing set, beautiful flowers, and a clean, green area later this month!
Mayor Ravenstahl has honored Dr. Audrey Murrell with his Mayor’s Citizen Service Award. Dr. Murrell has worked to enhance workplace diversity and fight discrimination by offering pro bono expertise to community organizations and committing to leadership development. She has also served across the City of Pittsburgh as a volunteer consultant and mentor. Congratulations, Dr. Murrell!
The Mayor's Fall 2011 Civic Leadership Academy applications are in, and we can’t wait to start the Mayor’s free program on September 14th! Mayor Ravenstahl created the Civic Leadership Academy to foster more informed, effective and engaged community and civic leadership in the City of Pittsburgh. Participants will spend 10 weeks going "behind the scenes" of City government and learning from the highest City leadership how they can participate in Pittsburgh's revitalization.
Click here to learn more about the Civic Leadership Academy and how you can participate.
