Volunteering

04/28 2015

City of Pgh Seeking Volunteers For Bicycle And Pedestrian Counting

Overview
The City of Pittsburgh is actively recruiting volunteers for our first ever semi-annual city-wide bicyclist/pedestrian count! We are looking for people to count bicyclists and pedestrians at one location for a 2-hour time period on Thursday, May 7 and/or Saturday, May 9. Grab some friends and help us Count Pittsburgh! 
Bicycle Pedestrian Count
Mandatory Training Session: Wednesday, May 6, 6 – 7 pm, Downtown Pittsburgh
Actual counting timeslots:
  • Timeslot A: Thursday, May 7, 7 – 9 am
  • Timeslot B: Thursday, May 7, 4 – 6 pm
  • Timeslot C: Saturday, May 9, 10 am – 12 pm
Locations
Coming soon
Click here for contact and location info and to register to count
04/04 2015

CANCELLED – Community Orchard Maintenance Workshop – Sat 5/16 10am 3213 Parkview Ave

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED​​

Tree Pittsburgh is helping the Oakland Green Team educate and prepare residents about fruit tree maintenance to ensure this community orchard in South Oakland is sustainable and successful. Saturday, May 16 at 10:00 am Tree Pittsburgh will lead a pruning and maintenance workshop at the orchard; 3213 Parkview Avenue, all are welcome.
​Click to view original post about this event​
04/02 2015

Frazier Farms Community Garden Bed Build and Prep Sat 4/11 1:30-3:30pm

Frazier Farms Community Garden Bed Build and Prep
Join students and South Oakland residents build 5 new garden beds for the Frazier Farms community garden! These beds will increase the number of residents and students who are able to use a bed to grow food, increasing the community’s access to local and fresh produce!
Activities
Garden prep for existing raised garden beds. Site prep and build 5 new beds.
Frazier Fieldhouse – 3716 Frazier St
Use the SONG Contact Us page to let us know if you’ll be there or if you have any questions.
http://southoaklandpgh.org/contact/
03/11 2015

Spring 2015 Love Your Block Grant Recipients Announced

Mayor William Peduto announced the 15 organizations that will receive funding for the eighth round of the Love Your Block (LYB) grant program, a servePGH initiative. Through the block revitalization program, in partnership with The Home Depot, Peoples Gas and PNC, the City awards $1,000 to purchase supplies and tools to implement a block improvement project that mobilizes community volunteers to transform blighted lots into community assets. Additionally, a special $2,000 prize will be given to the organization that carries out the most successful block transformation, according to identified criteria. Spring project implementation will take place from April 25 to June 30, 2015.
If you have an idea for a Love Your Block Grant project for our community, let us know.
Click here to read the full article describing more about the program a funded projects
SPRING 2015 GRANT RECIPIENTS
  • Bloomfield Development Corporation
  • St Paul AME Church
  • Mt Washington Community Development Corporation
  • White Lily Baptist Church
  • Hill House Association
  • Polish Hill Civic Association
  • Hazelwood Initiative
  • South Side Community Council of Pittsburgh
  • Beechview Business District Revitalization Project
  • Penn State Extension Center
  • Monticello Street Hospitality House
  • Soldiers & Sailors Museum
  • Larimer Green Team
  • Spring Hill Civic League
  • Perry Hilltop Citizens Council
03/05 2015

City Still Seeking Volunteer Help For Boards, Authorities & Commissions

(March 2, 2015) Roles are still open for volunteers interested in neighborhood issues such as building codes, disruptive properties and water bills, and for preservationists who can help oversee the City’s archives.
Last month the Peduto administration announced openings for several volunteer roles in City boards, authorities and commissions. Interest has been high in the positions, but the City is still seeking more applicants for the following:
  • Building Code Board of Appeals
  • Commission on City Archives
  • Disruptive Property Appeals Board
  • Water Exoneration Hearing Board
They are among the openings on nine bodies, all of which are listed here on the City website. Links for each group describe the volunteer roles and whether city residency or professional certificates are required for the positions.
Click here to read for article and apply for positions
03/05 2015

AmeriCorps VISTA 50th Anniv & Be My Neighbor Day 3/21 & 22

For the AmeriCorps VISTA 50th Anniversary, servePGH is partnering with The United Way of Allegheny County to support the 2nd annual Be My Neighbor Day. Please join us in celebrating the incredible legacy of AmeriCorps VISTA by serving hand in hand with our community members!
 
Be My Neighbor Day was started in part to honor Fred Rogers and provide a place where kids and families can learn about acts of kindness and participate in activities that benefit our community. 
 
This event will take place on March 21 & 22nd at several YMCAs across Allegheny County. Volunteers are needed to help lead activities for kids and families at local YMCAs to promote kindness and generosity. Families also have the opportunity to meet Daniel the Tiger. 
Click here for full article, contact and signup info
03/04 2015

Welcoming Pgh Community Mtgs, 5 Locs/Dates in March – RSVP Required

The Office of Mayor Peduto and the Welcoming Pittsburgh Advisory Council will turn a listening ear to Pittsburgh residents during five meetings at sites around the city this month. Details below. Hope to see you there!
  
Who Should Attend?

Do you want to see Pittsburgh grow to become a more diverse and welcoming city? Are you passionate about improving the city for our immigrant population? Are you dedicated to making the city more livable for all? Are you actively involved in working with immigrants? Are you an immigrant who is active in the community or who runs a small business? We’re seeking leaders and connectors to join us – whether you’re an immigrant or just new to the city, or a lifelong Pittsburgher, you should attend!
RSVP here today.
To RSVP by phone: 412 – 256 – 8441

02/16 2015

CANCELLED – Monthly Adult Night At Frazier Fieldhouse – Sat 2/28 8pm

Updated: 2/28/15 – Most of the people who had planned to come have cancelled so we will not be having Adult Night Tonight.  Hopefully we be able to get things going better when the weather starts to warm up.

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Our monthly adult get-togethers at the Frazier Fieldhouse adjacent to Dan Marino Field on Frazier St.  Any volunteers, donations of food or beverages is encouraged and welcome.

The Kids nights are going to be suspended during this cold weather.

Saturday Feb 28th is the adult get-together from 7pm-10pm.

Some entertainment is possible, but this event is more of an eat, meet and greet, maybe some card games so that neighbors can introduce themselves and discuss topics of interest and ideas for future events like like music, movies, games, etc.

This event is for ages 21 and older.

Due to the size of the building and limited people to run the event, we are limiting the number of adults to 30, so signing up beforehand is recommended.  Please include your name, address and contact number.

Donations of a covered dish, hors d’oeuvres, snacks and beverages are requested and welcome, but not mandatory.

Anyone that would like to share some of their favorite beer or wine for their neighbors to try is also welcome.  To avoid this becoming a “bar” night, we ask that you limit to one or two drinks total per person.

We reserve the right to ask anyone who is disruptive at any event to leave.

Please RSVP via SONG contact page, call or text SONG Phone#, or talk to Janet Sims in person.

02/13 2015

Update on Hydroponics Project

Central Page with Research Project Links

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UPDATE 2/18/15

The hydroponics workshop will be 3-4pm Sunday 2/22 at Frazier Fieldhouse.

pdf icon Workshop Flyer
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Update:  With some work on actual installations now done, and since there probably aren’t many “ideal” windows in South Oakland, the specs and guidelines have changed a bit for site installations.  There will be fluorescent lights on all installations, and the size has been significantly reduced.

For anyone that was interested in hosting a hydroponics installation, but didn’t contact us yet, here’s a few pictures of the 2.5’x6′ system and a CAD sketch of the 22″x32″ system that’s going into two locations so far:

The first two are the same system in progress, planned to have three channels, each with 5 plants in it. The PVC pipes above are for holding lights not shown in pic.

​Click here to read original post​

 

 
The third picture is a much smaller installation with four U-shaped tiers and a vertical post that will hold two fluorescent tube lights. 
Inline image 3
02/11 2015

OPDC Community Involvement Survey

pdf icon OPDC_Participant_Survey.pdf

Oakland Planning and Development Corporation is collecting information from Oakland residents about their engagement in the neighborhood. The survey is a part of a pilot data project that the Pittsburgh Foundation is funding to test new ways of collecting, accessing and using data for planning, decision-making and evaluative purposes.

Having more responses will help OPDC better identify and meet the needs of residents as well as make the case with funders for continued or increased support of The Oakland 2025 Master Plan implementation.

Follow this link or copy and paste it into your browser to complete the short survey: http://goo.gl/Da9JK8     If you have problems with the link, you can use the attached PDF file to print and fill out and contact OPDC to get the paper version to them.

Please email or call David Zwier at 412-621-7863 ext.14 if you have any questions or concerns.

02/11 2015

Date Changes For City Facility Rentals And Love Your Block Grant

The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works has announced that park shelter reservations will be accepted online and in person starting Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at 10:00 a.m.
See full press release for more info on facility rentals
The Office of Mayor William Peduto announced that the application deadline for the spring 2015 Love Your Block grant award program has been extended until Friday, February 20, 2015.
See full press release for more info on LYB Grant
02/04 2015

Civic Leadership Academy Applications – Due Feb 20

pdf icon CLA-Spring-2015-Application.pdf

Inline image 2Applications for the Spring 2015 Civic Leadership Academy are now available!  The Civic Leadership Academy is a free 10 week course in local government that gives residents an opportunity to connect with and learn from Department Directors and their staff.  All Pittsburgh residents over the age of 18 are eligible to apply.  Just like the Fall class, we will be reserving up to 15 seats for New Americans as part of the Mayor's Welcoming Pittsburgh Initiative.    

For more information and apply online: 
01/14 2015

Spring 2015 Love Your Block Grant Applications Due 2/13

Applications are available for the servePGH Spring 2015 Love Your Block grant award program. The block revitalization program gives organizations up to $1,000 in funds and donated supplies for a neighborhood block improvement project that mobilizes community volunteers. Projects will be implemented from April 25 to June 30, 2015. Applications are available online at:  http://www.pittsburghpa.gov/servepgh/loveyourblock.
Applicants for the spring 2015 program must be a qualified nonprofit organization (or have the support of a nonprofit fiscal agent) and the impacted area must be within city limits. Applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. on February 13, 2015. Late applications will not be accepted. Applicants will be notified of their status by March 2015. A mandatory grantee orientation will take place in early April 2015.
An information session will be held at 6 p.m on January 20, 2015 in the City County Building, 414 Grant Street (Room 646).  At this session, applicants can ask question about project ideas and grant proposals.
To date, grantees have impacted approximately 389 blocks by collecting 34,527 pounds of litter, creating 255 green spaces, leveraging almost $473,000 in donations and recruiting around 4,571 volunteers through the program.
For more information and application, visiti the full article, or the link listed above.
http://pittsburghpa.gov/mayor/release?id=3940