Summer 2013

Hampton1975 Ferguson RoadAllison Park, PA 15101412-487-6316, option 1

MillvaleMillvale Community Center, 2nd Floor416 Lincoln AvenuePittsburgh, PA 15209412-487-6316, option 2

North BoroughsAllegheny General Hospital, Suburban Campus (Bellevue)100 South Jackson Avenue, 2 SouthPittsburgh, PA 15202412-307-0069

O’HaraLighthouse Pointe500 Chapel Harbor DrivePittsburgh, PA 15238412-449-0151

Pine (Community Auto)11490 Perry Hwy., Suite 7Wexford, PA 15090724-443-8300

Office HoursMonday through Friday, 9 AM - 4 PM(Other times by appointment only)

email: help@nhco.orgwebsite: www.nhco.org

Mission: North Hills Community Outreach is an interfaith organization addressing the needs of people in crisis, hardship and poverty.

Vision: Northern Allegheny County is a sharing community where no one is cold, hungry or alone.

Fay Morgan, Executive Directorfpmorgan@nhco.org

The Connector is published three times per year and mailed to 25,000 local addresses. You can help us save postage and printing costs by signing up to receive the newsletter electronically by emailing help@nhco.org.

North Boroughs Site Expands

“Bridgette,” a single mom, recently came to the North Boroughs office for help. She was frightened, unemployed, and facing eviction and utility shut-offs. Bridgette enrolled in NHCO’s long-term family development program and attended free WorkAble employment workshops. Now, she is newly employed and working toward self-sufficiency.

We recently expanded our North Boroughs service site to help more families! The expansion doubles our office space…now we can provide more services and increased privacy for the struggling families who come to NHCO for help. We changed pantry hours to include afternoons every other Thursday, making it easier for many, including seniors and those with disabilities, to get to the pantry during daylight hours.

Our partnership with West Penn Allegheny Health System made the expansion possible. WPAHS rents space to NHCO for $1 per month. NHCO has maintained a presence in Bellevue since 1997 and has been at AGH Suburban since 2000. Last year the North Boroughs site served 1,359 families, providing $131,193 in food, housing and utility assistance.

“North Hills Community Outreach works tirelessly to make sure those who have fallen on difficult times have the basic resources that can help them resume meaningful and productive lives,” said West Penn Allegheny Health System executive Kim Sperring. “We are proud to support a program that makes such a tremendous difference in the lives of so many people each year.”

jlkissel@nhco.org

Susan Edwards, one of our North Boroughs

volunteer receptionists, shows off part of the new

space in the satellite located inside AGH Sububan in

Bellevue. Services available from this

site include a food pantry, utility help, rental assistance,

legal help, employment services, long-term family

development, caregiving for seniors and more.

Volunters

Here are just a few of our volunteer opportunities:

Garden! Open volunteer hours, Mondays & Wednesdays, 10 am to 2 pm through September 1. Help is also needed to harvest, package and deliver produce from the garden to NHCO pantry in Bellevue on Wednesday afternoons. Contact Rosie at rmwise@nhco.org or 412-307-0069.

Contact:Linda Robins412-487-6316Option 2, x3215lkrobins@nhco.org

2

Please join us for an overview of volunteer opportunities. If you’d like to volunteer but can’t attend one of these sessions, please contact Linda.

YOU CAN VOLUNTEER

¾ July 11, Millvale, 10-11am ¾ August 6, Community Auto, 6-7pm ¾ September 12, Allison Park, 6-7pm

Information Sessions

Community Auto! Car Care Workshop Instructors; Drivers (pick up cars and/or client); Marketing (make calls and deliver fliers.) Very flexible. Contact Liz at emedwards@nhco.org or 724-443-8300.

Faith in Action! Volunteers are needed to assemble smile bouquets and make deliveries and short visits with NHCO care-receivers. You must be able to pick up the bouquets Monday afternoon July 22 by 4pm or Tuesday morning July 23 at McCandless Floral, 8105 Perry Highway, McCandless, PA 15237. Please contact Cathy at clpschirer@nhco.org or 412-307-0069 by Tuesday July 2 if you are interested.

Open Your Heart to a Senior! Seniors in your neighborhood need a friendly, caring person who can visit, help with light yard work, or drive them to a doctor appointment or the grocery store.

Call 412-307-0071 or visit www.openyourhearttoasenior.org. Make a difference today!

Tax Volunteers Help Workers Save Money

For the first time, NHCO North Boroughs office offered Free Tax Return Preparation in cooperation with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services. The free service was offered for low-income workers with joint incomes up to $40,000 or individual incomes of up to $20,000.

An excellent team of volunteers prepared 33 federal income tax returns for workers whose annual gross income averaged $14,092. The federal tax rebates totaled $45,832! Thirty-nine percent of the returns had Earned Income Tax, totaling $20,410. Workers received at least $2,486 in state refunds (only three state returns were prepared) and $1,700 in property tax/rent rebates.

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped these workers receive their tax refunds!

We welcome volunteers of all abilities, interests and ages. Ellie Haas

helps at our annual Pasta Dinner.

3

Perfect Pasta Dinner

Friend Raisers and Fund Raisers Forward our Mission

Thanks to all who came out to enjoy pasta, desserts, and great music by Slim Forsythe during the seventh Annual Pasta Dinner in Millvale on April 12. Big thanks to Pastor George Mendis for his leadership in the kitchen once again, and to the 36 volunteers, including helpers from First National Bank, for ensuring our guests had fun and left with full stomachs. The event raised more than $3,300!

Sunny Marathon SundayNHCO had a great showing at the Dick’s Sporting

Goods Pittsburgh Marathon 2013! Gretchen Jezerc was our high fundraiser, raising $1,550. Super Smash Gang relay team, made up of North Allegheny High students, placed first in the co-ed division and second overall! Thanks to all 32 runners, who together raised nearly $10,000!

Mini Masters Major Fun!On May 16, 120 attendees joined NHCO for the 12th

annual Mini Masters Miniature Golf Tournament at the RMU Island Sports Center, Neville Island. Special thanks to WPXI’s Brittny McGraw for serving as the event emcee and to Althea and Oscar Worthy, Paul Cusick, Susan Edwards, Elaine Hatfield, Jo Stone, and Ed Dietz for their outstanding contributions.

Thank you to our Gold Golf Sponsors PNC Bank, S&T Bank and WesBanco. The mini-green jacket went to Mary Sue Rozum, who had the lowest score. The Best Team award went to Bob Leitsch, Bonnie Leitsch, Don Marchese and Peggy Marchese.

Generoasta Coffee in Warrendale has a simple mission: Do Good. Have Fun. Drink Coffee. Generoasta raises awareness and funds for local charitable organizations. NHCO is honored to be an inaugural charity partner! Generoasta hosted a flower and gift sale May 11 to benefit NHCO’s garden. The event raised $4,240!

Thank you to the following generous donors:

Mother’s Day Flower and Gift Sale

Best Feeds Garden Center North

City StemsEnglish Lane NurseryFred and Jane Bartsch

GreenhousesFreedom FarmsHahns NurseryHerman J Heyl FloristHome Depot-Cranberry Twp.McTighe’s Flower and Garden

MarketPhelps Nursery NorthSewickley Creek

GreenhousesSoergel OrchardsSylvan Gardens LandscapeAER Photography Ranju Arya

Tom BakerHarishwer BalasubramaniLea Bridi Morgan BridiNathan BrouwerApril BrouwerAlec ChristensenDr. Christopher KomanCaroline CwalinaMichelle DumoulinHal English Chris LochnerMichael GoodAlena GrecoNicholas GustJohn Gust

Naomi HarlessTim HuffmyerGretchen JezercChris LochnerRachael MastersonNicholas McClureRick McClureDan MeehanMarie PalanoDerek PhillipsDavid RishelAlexander RussKarl SankoDerek WangMelissa WertzCaleb Zelanko

Diamond Market- Market Square

Izzazu SalonLa Peri DolciMary Kay Cosmetics -

Kate SafinMy Big Fat Greek GyroNicholas CoffeePrimanti Bros. Square CafeTamariAvon – Gloria BennettBeadforLife – Kathleen

GansterEdward Marc ChocolateJoe Bullick –authorFast Signs- WexfordGeneral Rental Center-

Cranberry Twp.

Thanks to the marathon committee for planning a successful event: April and Nathan Brouwer, Rick McClure, Nicholas McClure, Mike Zerega, and Erin, Karen and Patrick McMahon.

Planning for Marathon 2014 starts in the fall! If you’d like to run or serve on our committee, contact Linda at lkrobins@nhco.org or 412-487-6316, opt 2.

Thanks to Generoasta staff and owners, and the following volunteers: Lynne Braun-Warth, Linda Dahl, Betty Lee Frankovich, Jeff Full, Lorraine Hoover, Eric Kofmehl, Rebecca Lindenberger, Diana Schulties, and Dick Spahr.

Team Hampton represented NHCO in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon 2013 and included State Representative Hal English, left.

4

Kids love to play in dirt, and what better place to play than in a garden? They can examine burrowing bugs, compare leaves of all shapes and sizes, and witness the miracle of plants bursting forth from tiny seeds. So when Girl Scout Sneha Srinivasan asked permission to create a Children’s Garden at the Rosalinda Sauro Sirianni Garden in order to obtain Scouting’s Gold Award, we said, “We’ll provide the dirt and the kids!” Sneha won a Yes! mini-grant for $250 through Pittsburgh Cares and has led several groups of volunteers including North Hills High School’s Food and Nutrition class, students from Summit Academy, Girl Scout Troop 53238, QUEST kids from Will Allen Foundation, and students from the University of Pittsburgh in preparing an area where children and their parents can grow, tend and harvest a “rainbow” of vegetables. All food grown in the garden is distributed to local families in need through NHCO’s two food pantries. Thanks to Girl Scout Troop 50274, the garden also boasts a new berry patch. The troop prepared the ground and planted strawberries, a very popular item with our food pantry families. Thanks also to Shell and Kohl’s for participating in workplace work days. Welcome to our summer part-time Youth Leaders Alexandrea Brennan (North Allegheny High) and Maggie Cinicola (Oakland Catholic), who will help lead additional garden projects. Funding for these youth leaders is provided by the Grable Foundation.

Garden Blooming with Children’s “Rainbow” Area and Berry Patch

Girl Scout Troop 53238 helped Sneha Srinivasan plant the vegetables in the Children’s Garden. Sneha is teaching children about the importance of growing and consuming organic food.

Thanks to students from North Hills High (pictured above), Shaler Area High, and CCAC Child Development class, and Sisters of Charity of the Nazarene, volunteers Laura Hazelton, Joe Arnold, and the McGinnis family for growing seedlings for our garden.

Want to have as much fun as these volunteers from Shell? Contact Rosie at rmwise@nhco.org or 412-307-0069 to discuss garden work days for your business or group.

5

SHARING HELPS NEIGHBORS IN NEEDSpring Share Brings Cheer to Children

Thanks to 52 wonderful volunteers, 658 local children received cheerful Spring Share Baskets filled with toys, candy and cookies in March. In addition, 411 families received $10 grocery store gift cards to help make their spring holidays a little brighter. Big thanks to lead volunteers Jeanne Muth, Cindy Krauth and Jeff Full, and to Mary Riethmiller, Diana Schulties and Lorraine Hoover for their extra efforts. Thanks to these individuals and groups that made extra special efforts to collect and donate items: Target - McKnight and Pine Creek; Shaler Area Elementary; Barbara Sanford; Mary Beaber; St. Bonaventure; and Social Security Administration - Seven Fields.

Can’t get to NHCO during business hours?

Special Donation TimesNHCO Allison Park will be open for donations:

Saturday, July 20, 9am-12pmSaturday, August 24, 9am-12pmSaturday, October 5, 9am-12pm

If every household, business and civic group donated just $1 to NHCO each time they received our newsletter, we would have another $75,000 a year to help local families in need! Think of the possibilities!

NHCO offices and the garden need many items! Please see our entire wish list online at www.nhco.org.

Below are just a few of the items we need:•10’ x10’ canopy tent•6’ x 4’ dry erase board

•Straw! The garden uses 150+ bales a season. •Child-sized gloves/shovels/rakes/hoes/watering cans

•Home Depot or Do It Best gift cards•4-way brass hose splitter & rubber hoses (higher quality)

•Rotatiller

To donate to the garden, please contact Rosie at rmwise@nhco.org or 412-307-0069.

All other donations, including financial, please contact Cheryl at clenglish@nhco.org or 412-487-6316 opt 1.

Wish List

Back-to-School Items NeededWhen the school bell summons students back to class, not all children in our area will be prepared. The cost of one or more backpacks and all the required supplies can be a significant burden on already struggling families. You can help local children begin the school year right! Through July 31, NHCO is collecting new backpacks and school supplies to distribute to hundreds of local children in grades K-12. Please consider donating:•New backpacks•Notebooks and loose leaf paper•Binders and pocket folders•Pencils, pens, and colored pencils•Pencil boxes and sharpeners•Highlighters, markers, crayons•Glue sticks, rulers, scissors

Donations may be dropped off at any NHCO office, Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm, or at the NHCO Allison Park Food Pantry on Saturday July 20, 9am-12:30pm.

Winter Coat CollectionCool weather blows in soon after the school year begins, and families come to NHCO’s Winter Coat Shop for warm coats. Please consider donating a new or gently worn coat and help families stay warm this winter. Children’s and adult XL and XXL sizes are especially needed. Due to space limitations, coat donations are accepted during September and October. Thank you!

For more information on Sharing Projects to receive help or help others,

visit www.nhco.org or contact Vicki at 412-487-6316 opt 1,

or vdburst@nhco.org.

Stay up to date on our wish list and volunteer needs: Like us on Facebook at “North HIlls Community

Outreach,” “Open Your Heart to a Senior” and “Rosalinda Sauro Sirianni Memorial Garden.”

Follow us on Twitter @NHCOhelps, @NHCOgardens, and @NHCOmmunityauto

6

Here are just a few ways people are helping our neighbors through the mission of NHCO. EVERY effort helps to make northern Allegheny County a sharing community where no one is cold, hungry or alone! Thanks to:

¾AW Beattie Career Center’s graduating class of 2013 for their donation of $750 for our Back-to-School efforts.

¾ThinkHardDesign in Tarentum for providing graphic design for Community Auto brochures, fliers and stickers.

¾Hance Daisy Troop #52483 of Pine Richland for delivering six bags of groceries. Young Brother’s Tae Kwon Do of Gibsonia invited the troop to participate in a class to earn their petals for “Respect Myself & Others” and asked the Daisies to collect food in lieu of paying for the class.

¾Bethlehem Lutheran’s “Bethlehem Band” for holding a concert at a Lenten service and raising $231.

¾Alex Audia of State Farm Insurance in Mars and Alan Davidson of Liberty Mutual Insurance in Wexford for helping educate Community Auto buyers about car insurance.

¾Greater Pittsburgh Automobile Association for making Community Auto an associate member and throwing its support behind our mission.

¾Girl Scout Troop Alpha 264 for donating $1,170 raised at their Mother-Daughter dinner.

¾Trader Horn of Wexford for donating six beautiful baskets of flowers for the flower boxes at our Allison Park site.

¾Thanks to all who supported our “Dinner and Mark Twain” benefit: corporate sponsors Dollar Bank and Mars National Bank; Strictly Business Catering; St. Paul’s UMC for providing the venue; Herman J Heyl for flowers and Jones Creations for table linens.

¾Pasquale’s Pizza on Ferguson Road for donating 10 $25 gift cards for families in need to use for food and 20 pizza gift cards for “Dinner and Mark Twain.”

¾Volunteers Jim Block, John Carroll, Robert Plut, Todd Morrow, Tom Jones, Dennis Buirge and Allison Buirge for painting the new North Boroughs space and moving furniture in. Thanks to Westmorland Supply for a big discount on paint!

¾Google for donating 64 SmartPhones for use in disaster relief. Let’s hope we don’t need them!

¾All who donated to our Groupon Grassroots campaign, which raised more than $1,250 for organic mulch for the garden’s fruit trees.

¾Faculty and staff at Franklin Elemenary for donating $185 raised during Jeans Days.

THUMBS UP FOR PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE

Students Read to Raise FundsStudents at Shaler Area Elementary raised $1,255

for North Hills Community Outreach by reading books in an afterschool program called “Words that Serve.” All students were already required to read 25 books throughout the school year. Words that Serve, created by Americorps volunteers Mark Mays, Melanie Egnacheski, and Lauren Kruszewski, encouraged students to read, with the added benefit of learning the power of helping others.

During a 23-day period, 34 students collected pledges for each 1,000 words read. Together, they read 2,866,039 words!

Volunteers Dylan McKinney and Lorraine Hoover served up penne at the Millvale Pasta Dinner in April.

Coyne McDermott collected a cart full of groceries for his 12th birthday. This is the third year Coyne has donated to NHCO in lieu of receiving birthday gifts.

7

Can you display Community Auto fliers in your place of business?

We will provide the fliers and holders!

Please contact Community Auto at 724-443-8300

or visit www.communityauto.org.

Family Development Program Helps Local Mom and Girls

“Jenna” is the mother of two daughters, ages 5 and 6. The five-year-old has a seizure disorder. Jenna came to NHCO with no job, no child support, no food stamps, no food in the house and utility problems. Jenna and the girls received food and participated in our seasonal sharing projects, including Back to School.

Jenna’s circumstances made her a candidate for NHCO’s Family Development program, to receive intense support, help with goal-setting and step-by-step guidance in removing barriers and moving toward economic self-sufficiency.

Since coming to NHCO, Jenna has made great strides toward becoming financially stable. She began working part-time, is saving money and is receiving court-ordered child support from her daughter’s father. NHCO helped Jenna apply for utility assistance grants, food stamps and SSI for her five-year-old.

NHCO will continue to provide Jenna with guidance on a career, budgeting and planning for the family’s future until she reaches self-sufficiency. NHCO’s Family Development program is funded in part by the PA Department of Community and Economic Development.

The WorkAble Career Fair in Millvale on May 22 attracted 97 job seekers! Thanks to our WorkAble partners, Jewish Family & Children’s Services and South Hills Interfaith Ministries, who helped to recruit employers and promote the fair. Thanks very much to employers UPMC, Goodwill, Giant Eagle, PNC, University of Pittsburgh, and Asko Inc. for providing this great opportunity for so many workers eager to improve their employment situations! WorkAble is a free employment counseling and job coaching program available to Allegheny County residents. It helps unemployed adults find and keep income-adequate jobs. Unemployed adults are connected with a professional career counselor who assesses their skills, employment needs, and barriers to employment. Volunteer employment coaches provide support and one-on-one training for resume writing, job searching, interview skills and more. We are grateful to the United Way of Allegheny County for funding the WorkAble program. For employment help, call 412-904-5993. To volunteer, call 412-487-6316 option 2.

Career Fair a Success

HELPING FAMILIES BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENTCars Needed Now for Working Families!

Donate a car. Change a life!

At least 25 families are ready right now to purchase a vehicle from Community Auto. Many more individuals call each week hoping to buy a car that will change their lives. But Community Auto needs cars! Community Auto accepts donated vehicles, has them repaired, and sells them at below market value to local families who need a car to get to work. Vehicles come with a valid, new PA inspection sticker, one-year AAA+ membership, six-month warranty, new cars seats if needed, and post sale advice on maintenance and repairs.

Many families all over Allegheny County are waiting to purchase a car that will help put them on the road to success, like Tia, who purchased her car this spring.

“Marie,” a single mother of a child with a disability, struggles to make ends meet and to walk to the bus stop with her son. She has had to turn down offers for better jobs because they require a car. When her son asks her why they don’t have a car, she tells him, “God will bless us with one someday, and until then He has blessed us with legs.”

Pittsburgh’s Unique Vehicle Donation Program

NORTH HILLS COMMUNITY OUTREACH1975 Ferguson RoadAllison Park, PA 15101-3235

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPittsburgh, PA

Permit #952

My Neighbors Can Count on Me!

Name _________________________________________________

Address _______________________________________________

______________________________________________________

Email _________________________________________________

Phone (in case of questions) _______________________________

Gift Amount/Payment Method $25 $50 $100 $250 Other $ __________________

Check enclosed.

# _________________________________

Expires________________ 3-digit security code ______________

Signature _____________________________________________

You can also make a secure donation at www.nhco.org

Optional Save postage! Please don’t send a thank you letter. My employer will match this gift; my form is enclosed. I wish to remain anonymous. Please contact me about volunteering. Please contact me about including NHCO in my will. This is a commemorative gift:

in honor of in memory of in thanksgiving for

_________________________________________________

Please notify about my commemorative gift:

Name ____________________________________________

Address __________________________________________

_________________________________________________

OR email _________________________________________

NHCO is an IRS-approved 501(c)3 organization. Your donation qualifies as a charitable deduction.Please mail to:NHCO, 1975 Ferguson Road, Allison Park, PA 15101S13NEWS

Free Home Safety Checks for Seniors“Bella,” 78, loves to garden and tend her strawberry patch.

On summer Saturdays, she picks the fruits and bakes pies for her church’s bake sale. As the years go by, it’s getting harder to move around her big house. Rugs trip her, and it’s hard to stand up in the shower. Bella wants to stay in her Avalon home, where she can garden in the summer and bake bread on cold winter days.

Safety for Seniors can help. Trained Safety for Seniors volunteers with Open Your Heart to a Senior conduct a brief but thorough FREE home safety assessment using a written checklist, making recommendations for family members to adjust/remove potential hazards.

Volunteers install smoke alarms (if needed) and leave seniors with a bag of safety items, like a flashlight and fresh batteries, a bath mat, a night light and other helpful items. After the check has been completed, seniors qualify for either a free grab bar or an indoor railing, installed at no charge.

To schedule a free safety assessment, or to become a trained Safety for Seniors inspector, please contact Cathy at clpschirer@nhco.org or 412-307-0069.

Open Your Heart to a Seniorwww.openyourhearttoasenior.orgCall 2-1-1 or 412-307-0071

A program of United Way of Allegheny County