‘process,’ part one.
November 20, 2009So, we’re off to a good start. One day, $25. And I’m very excited about this.
Here’s the first agency in conjunction with this whole continuing the ‘process’ campaign that I’d like you to meet. It’s the Woodlands Foundation. They’re doing a lot of really great things for people with disabilities in the North Hills.
PayPal me or e-mail me (or just read here) to find out how to donate. I’m accepting donations until December 20.
Let’s show Pittsburgh Cares that Pittsburgh cares!
The Woodlands Foundation:
Summer camp with an extra special twistThe agenda for a day of summer camp sounds pretty
standard: Swimming, building birdhouses, music instruction, with maybe a little basketball thrown in just for fun.
But summer camp is anything but normal for campers at the Woodlands Foundation, which hosts both youth and adult campers with special needs ranging from chronic illness to mental or physical disabilities.
The Foundation also hosts weekend retreats, social gatherings, and wellness and fitness activities throughout the year.
“A lot of times, there’s not a lot of activities out there for people in wheelchairs,” said Jill Antosz, the Foundation’s manager of staffing and volunteers. “Some of the younger campers attend a typical school and don’t get to see other kids with disabilities. It’s nice for them to get together so they can see that they’re not alone.”
Antosz said the facility, located in the Wexford area, hosts age-specific weeklong summer camp opportunities for kids, youth, and adults, aimed at a wide variety of interests. For some of the older youth, the camp hosts a sports camp, a creative arts camp, and a music camp, each of which enroll 48 campers per week. The adults can learn independent living skills or attend a sports camp of their own.
“We like to bring in local talent to our camps,” Antosz said. “Some of our music instructors are from local colleges. We had a concert with a professional violinist at one of our music camps. And our sports camp is named after (former Pittsburgh Pirate great) Bill Mazeroski.”
While most of the camp’s staff is paid, due to the extent of the personal and hygiene needs of the campers, the volunteers that help out really have an opportunity to make an impact.
“A lot of our sports camp volunteers become referees,” Antosz said. “Some are in there pushing wheelchairs across the grass. Or they might be helping them when playing baseball, catching the ball and handing it to the camper who can then throw it to second base. Music camp volunteers help keep the beat or assist in playing the tambourine.”
And while it isn’t cheap for a family to send a special-needs camper to camp – Antosz said the average cost is $200 per week per camper – the Foundation offers assistance, takes sponsorships from area businesses, and does everything in its power to help campers enjoy a week of fun.
“We never turn families away,” Antosz said. “Obviously our operations cost is more than 200 dollars per week, but we try to not put a financial burden on the families. … The kids and adults love it. They make new friends and meet new people every summer. It’s their little home away from home.”
continuing the ‘process.’
November 18, 2009Last December, I was really excited to have been elected as the Signature Event chairperson for Pittsburgh Young Professionals.
The task that was put before me was to organize a gala-type event to raise money for both a Pittsburgh-area nonprofit and the PYP scholarship fund.
I was excited because planning an event that could help others was something I really wanted to do. Last year, PYP planned a gala event in just six weeks, and it ended up raising more money than we could have anticipated.
And I had a whole year to put mine together. It was going to be fabulous.
I made a connection with Pittsburgh Cares way back in February, which is a fantastic organization that helps connect volunteers with nonprofit organizations in the Pittsburgh area. They agreed to be our partners in the event. My excitement grew.
I got to know more about the organization and some of the nonprofits they work with. Pittsburgh Cares selected five agencies that they partner with (The Woodlands Foundation, South Hills Interfaith Ministries, Global Links, The Bradley Center, and GTECH) to be our event partners, and the proceeds from the event would be earmarked for those five agencies for very specific needs.
I got to know these five agencies quite well. I believe in each and every one of their efforts. And I even spent a day volunteering at one of them, again realizing how much good is really happening in and around Pittsburgh.
The gala event was planned for October 16 at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, and we named it “The Pittsburgh Process.”
We had a ton of support from the community, including guest bartenders like PittGirl (erm, Ginny) and Jim Lokay and Bill Peduto. We had great donations from a multitude of area businesses for our silent auction and food offerings. The Pittsburgh Glass Center was generous enough to donate its entire building to us for the event, free of charge … and it was a fabulous space, at that. DJ Mike Mason offered his services for the evening, also free of charge.
It looked like everything was coming together.
It was a whirlwind night and I was exhausted afterwards, despite having the support of an awesome event committee of five fantastic young women, all of whom went above and beyond the call of duty time and time again. I am being very literal when I say that the event would not have happened without them.
I was congratulated afterwards on the event’s success.
The problem was, however, that no matter how well the event came off, it wasn’t really a success. The goal of the event was to raise money. And well, due to certain situations and politics and consistent frustrations and lack of support that I’d rather not get into right now, we didn’t raise very much money at all.
And so, in my eyes, “The Pittsburgh Process” was not and never will be considered a success, no matter how much fun was had. The point of the night wasn’t fun. The point of the night was to raise money and awareness for some good causes that deserve our attention and support.
That’s where I need your help.
Technically, I’m the chairperson of the committee and the event until December 31. That means there’s still time to fix this … raise some money and make a nice donation to the fantastic folks at Pittsburgh Cares.
The Pittsburgh social media community is fantastic. And I know we’ve been raising a lot of money lately, helping Burgh Baby with the wildly successful Christmas Crazy campaign (which I just donated $15 to today, after I thought I had done it last week but realized the payment never went through) and Abby’s organization of the upcoming food drive and Steelers tailgate party on December 6.
I know it’s a lot asking for you to come through again. But Pittsburgh Cares is an organization that deserves to know that, well, Pittsburgh DOES care.
So … I will collect donations, no matter how large or small, until December 20. You can either send them to my PayPal account (choose Personal, then Gift), actually give me the donation in person, or e-mail me and ask for my snail mail address and mail it to me by check.
My e-mail is carla.swank@gmail com. That’s also the e-mail my PayPal is linked up with.
I will continually update our progress here … as well as tell you a little bit about each of the five partner agencies that I got to know so well. I interviewed someone from each of the agencies prior to the event and wrote a short article about each, so our PYP membership could get to know them better before the event. I feel like the words I wrote fell on deaf ears, so I’m going to reprint them here, one at at a time for the next week or so. Once you get to know these places, you’ll understand why I’m so passionate about finishing the job I was appointed to do. (And … if someone wants to help me set up a better way to collect donations via PayPal, please get in touch with me!)
If you are unable to financially contribute (and that’s OK!), consider signing up at the Pittsburgh Cares Web site to volunteer at one of these agencies’ locations. Signing up to volunteer is simple … and free.
But I would love nothing more than on December 30 to be able to walk into the Pittsburgh Cares’ offices and hand them a check, showing them that Pittsburgh really does care.
Because time and time again, the Pittsburgh social media community has definitely proven that it does. And that’s why I love you guys.
