Pittsburgh Mercy Health System

2011

A. Philip Randolph Institute

$49,256 for the second year of the Garden of Hope, located on Bedford Avenue in a former public housing neighborhood. The project will expand to transform a 1/2 acre to a full production farm area and triple the yield of produce. Community beds, offered to residents, will increase from 15 to 20 beds. Four youth from the public housing community will be hired to work throughout the growing season.

Amani Christian Community Development

$11,748 to support the organization's efforts to secure conservatorship of 8 abandoned properties in the Schenley Heights neighborhood of the Hill District. Amani will use Pennsylvania's Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship law to gain control of blighted properties for rehabilitation, and return those properties to productive use.

Boy Scouts of America/Greater Pittsburgh Council

$75,000 to expand Cub Scouts 1-2-3 and Teen Lead in the Hill District, two education programs designed to encourage youth to develop the character and values that will lead to success.

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

$1,250 for the 2012 Summer Reading Program in the Hill District.

Center that C.A.R.E.S.

$75,000 for year two of McAuley Ministries' Igniting and Sustaining the Dream initiative focused on after-school programs. C.A.R.E.S. will provide homework support, tutoring, career workshops, and cultural and college tours. This grant also supports a reward system for students who achieve specific targets related to grades, behavior, participation, project completion, community service, and career planning.

Daisy Wilson Artist Community

$33,290 to stabilize the boyhood home of August Wilson, to preserve the structure, an historic landmark in the Hill District, for future construction and cultural programming.

Extra Mile Foundation

$100,000 for three programs at the new St. Benedict the Moor School in the Hill District: pre-kindergarten, expansion of science programs, and the establishment of an instrumental music program.

Eye and Ear Foundation

$31,000 to purchase and place a retinal camera in the Mathilda Theiss Health Center in the Oak Hill neighborhood. The camera will be used for the early detection of glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.

Friendship Community Presbyterian Church

$49,000 to support renovations at 200/202 Robinson Street in West Oakland, and to initiate community programming and an information and referral service.

Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank

$30,000 to support 26 food pantries and two farm stands in the Hill District, Uptown, and West Oakland.

Hill District Consensus Group

$60,000 over two years to support community mobilization and engagement in neighborhood revitalization efforts.

Hill House Association

$125,000 to support the third year of the Hill District Neighborhood Partnership Program, a collaborative initiative of various educational, community development, and social service providers. This grant will support efforts to close the racial educational achievement gap; prevent violence, HIV, and substance abuse; stabilize the housing stock and prevent vacant properties; and provide to residents education that will lead to financial security.

Hill House Association for the First Source Hiring Center

$25,000 to fund continuation of operations of the First Source Hiring Center, an initiative designed to recruit, train, and refer Hill District residents to jobs created through development projects in the community.

Hill House Association for the Ujamaa Collective

$60,000 over two years to support the expansion of the Ujamaa Agricultural Cooperative. The Cooperative will grow vegetables, herbs, and flowers for use in other Ujamaa Collective products and for sale in the marketplace. The cooperative will also develop and market agricultural products (fertilizer and organic soil).

Hug Me Tight Childlife Center

$30,600 to extend internships to young men enrolled in early childhood programs at local colleges and universities. The goals are to interest young men in careers in early childhood development and to provide children with a male caregiver presence.

Macedonia Family and Community Enrichment Center

$33,726 to implement a community-based bullying prevention and intervention program.

Mercy Outreach Ministries

$10,000 for general operational support of programs in the West Oakland neighborhood.

Moving the Lives of Kids Community Mural Project

$30,000 to create a mural at Josh Gibson Field in the Hill District. The mural will depict the history of the Negro Leagues in Pittsburgh. Ten youth will be employed to work on the project.

Oakland Planning and Development - School to Career

$75,000 to expand enrollment in the School to Career program from 24 to 48 students. High school students receive tutoring, mentoring, and paid job or internship placement opportunities toward the goals of graduation and enrollment in college or other post-secondary education.

Ozanam and the Josh Gibson Foundation

$58,278 for after-school sports programs. Students are encouraged to complete their homework and/or spend time in study before they are eligible to participate in the athletic programs.

The Pittsburgh Foundation for the Jail Collaborative

$75,000 over three years to support prisoner re-entry, and by doing so, improve the health and well-being of children, families and the community. This initiative will change the systems of arrest, communication, family visitation, community and family re-integration, and post-release support with the goal of strengthening the families of ex-offenders and reducing recidivism.

Pittsburgh Mercy Health System - Operation Safety Net

$46,734 to purchase two vehicles to support case management programs and the transport of household items for people served who were once homeless and are moving into permanent housing.

Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy

$200,000 to restore Cliffside Park in the Hill District and provide a safe and accessible green space for healthy exercise, outdoor activities, and community gatherings.

Reading is FUNdamental

$150,000 over three years for Everybody Wins!, a lunchtime literacy program at Pittsburgh Weil PreK-5 School, and the expansion of Storymobile visits to Hill District childcare homes, daycare centers, and public housing communities.

Schenley Heights Community Development Program

$75,000 to enhance staff professional development, homework support, arts and cultural enrichment, parent engagement, and college/career program development with a focus on science, technology, engineering, and math.

Senator John Heinz History Center

$17,870 to provide students from Pittsburgh Miller Pre-K-5 and Pittsburgh Weil Pre-K-5 schools and Hill District residents with access to two exhibits—America's Best Weekly: A Century of the Pittsburgh Courier, and From Slavery to Freedom: The Underground Railroad and the Legacy of Freedom in Western Pennsylvania. Students will experience a docent-guided tour which will be linked to the Pennsylvania Department of Education's academic standards. The Senator John Heinz History Center will conduct teacher workshops for each exhibit.

Sisters Place

$25,000 for general operational support of programs and services that support single parent families and their children.

Strong Women, Strong Girls

$25,000 to link 65-70 Hill District girls in grades 3-5 with college-aged mentors. The program uses gender-specific programming to encourage these elementary girls to develop strong social-emotional skills and self-confidence.

The University of Pittsburgh

$25,000 in second-year funding for STANDING FIRM, an initiative to end partner violence in the workplace. The initiative plans to engage at least 500 employers to address partner violence.

United Way of Allegheny County

$20,000 to support Allegheny Partners for Out of School Time (APOST) which is focused on developing and improving quality, professional education, advocacy, and communication for out-of-school time programs.

2010

After-School Tutorial and Enrichment Program: Schenley Heights Community Development Program

$60,000 to enhance homework support, arts enrichment, parent engagement, college/career program development, and staff development.

Amani Christian Community Development Corporation

$10,000 to green and beautify vacant, blighted properties in the Upper Hill District.

Bethlehem Haven

$40,000 to assist women who are homeless to find safe, affordable housing in the community. This is the second year of McAuley Ministries funding.

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh—Hill District Branch

$12,500 for community outreach services that promote literacy and learning for children and families. The Carnegie will introduce a math and science reading program in five community-based daycare centers. The grant will also support the 2011 Summer Reading Program delivered at community centers throughout the Hill District.

Catholic Charities Free Health Care Center

$5,000 in emergency funding after a major indoor flood resulted in temporary closure of the Catholic Charities Free Health Care Center. This grant is intended to assist the organization with clean-up and restoration to re-open the Center.

Catholic Health East Global Health Ministry

$5,000 toward rebuilding Hospital St. Francis de Sales in Port-au-Prince in Haiti.

Catholic Relief Services

$5,000 for the Haitian Emergency Relief fund.

Center for Hearing and Deaf Services

$30,000 to further develop and maintain a website that will deliver physical and mental health information in English, close captioning, and video-streamed American Sign Language for persons who are deaf, deaf-blind, and hard of hearing.

Center that C.A.R.E.S. (Children/Adults Recreational and Educational Services)

$64,000 to enhance academic support, cultural enrichment, and career exploration. This grant will test an award system that rewards students for achieving specific targets related to grades, behavior, participation, project completion, community service, and career planning.

Children’s Sickle Cell Foundation

$20,725 to establish a family support program in the Hill District. The program will provide education, advocacy, and wellness information to assist 20 families to cope with their child’s sickle cell disease, chronic pain, and/or disability.

GTECH Strategies

$37,580 to launch the Francis Street Community Garden and Farm at the former Bedford Dwelling site at Bedford and Francis Street in the Hill District. This project is a collaboration of GTECH, Grow Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Housing Authority, the A Philip Randolph Institute, and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to reclaim a large vacant lot in the Hill District and return it to productive use. The Francis Street project will consist of an urban farm, community vegetable garden, sunflower garden, wildflower garden, pumpkin patch, and farmer’s market. Four youth from the community will be hired to work with the farm manager during the summer to learn farm systems management.

Hill District Consensus Group

$30,000 to hire a community organizer to assist local neighborhood and block groups to engage residents and build consensus around strategies that will revitalize the community. The organizer will work with residents of the Addison Terrace public housing community to ensure that those residents have a voice in plans to demolish their community and relocate tenants.

Hill House Association

$125,000 to support the Hill District Neighborhood Partnership Program, a collaborative initiative of various educational, community development and social service providers. This grant will support efforts to close the racial educational achievement gap; prevent violence, HIV, and substance abuse; stabilize the housing stock and prevent vacant properties; and, provide education to residents that will lead to financial security.

Hill House Association

$46,000 to re-introduce and expand Mission Discovery II, an after-school partnership with the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. The program provides access to science, technology, arts and culture for students in grades K-12.

Jubilee Association — John Heinz Child Development Center

$15,000 to expand the tuition assistance fund, so that financially-challenged families may enroll their children while parents obtain the training, education, and employment necessary for financial independence. The Center attracts immigrant families, victims of domestic violence, single mothers, and single fathers.

Lutheran Service Society — Springboard Kitchens

$50,000 over two years for general operating support for Springboard Kitchens, a job training and placement program for people who are homeless and disadvantaged. The program’s mission is to successfully transition their clients from chronic unemployment to living wage-level employment in the food service industry. The program is based on Kitchens with a Mission, which has been replicated in 25 cities across the country.

Martin Luther King Reading and Cultural Center

$10,000 for strategic planning.

Oakland Planning and Development - School to Career

$55,500 to expand enrollment from 25 to 48 students. High school students receive tutoring, mentoring, and job placement opportunities toward the goals of graduation and enrollment in college or other post-secondary education. This organization has a track record of 100% high school graduation and 95% college attendance.

Ozanam/Josh Gibson Foundation

$58,278 to provide homework support to students who participate in basketball and baseball programs, and to introduce a dance program for girls. These organizations use sports as a hook for youth who may not otherwise attend an after-school program. However, students are not permitted to participate in the sports programs unless they receive tutoring (if they require remedial support) or complete their homework. The grant will support expansion from 31 to 105 students.

The Pittsburgh Foundation for the Jail Collaborative

$5,000 to support this community-wide, collaborative effort to build a comprehensive system of supports for parents incarcerated in the Allegheny County Jail. This initiative will change the systems of arrest, communication, family visitation, community and family re-integration, and post-release support with the goal of strengthening the families of ex-offenders and reducing recidivism.

Pittsburgh Mercy Health System Development Office: Mercy Behavioral Health

$579,867 over three years to support the establishment of "Bridge to Health and Wellness," a medical home for individuals who receive behavioral health services. In partnership with a local physician practice, Mercy Behavioral Health will build a patient-centered model that integrates primary care, mental health, pharmacy services, general dentistry, and care management.

Pittsburgh Mercy Health System Development Office for Mercy Behavioral Health

$7,000 to expand Dancing Classrooms to two schools in the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese: St. Agnes and St. Benedict the Moor schools.

Pittsburgh Mercy Health System Development Office: Operation Safety Net

$351,500 over two years to provide the required match to a $1.6 million HUD grant to Operation Safety Net for the Trail Lane Apartments. This project will provide efficiency apartments for 16 individuals who are currently living on the streets of Allegheny County.

Reading is Fundamental

$28,047 to continue Everybody Wins! at Pittsburgh Weil in the Hill District. This program pairs mentors with 2nd and 3rd graders to encourage and support literacy.

Shepherd’s Heart Fellowship

$150,000 over three years to support continued outreach to individuals who are homeless. Shepherd’s Heart provides food, shelter, information and referral, and transportation to people who are homeless in Allegheny County. This organization also collaborates with the Pittsburgh Veteran’s Administration’s Healthcare System to provide services to veterans who are homeless.

Shepherd’s Heart Fellowship

$50,557 for capital repairs and upgrades to the facility that houses Shepherd’s Heart Fellowship. The grant will support repairs to the deteriorating roof and parking lot enhancements to improve safety and meet City of Pittsburgh requirements for lighting and fencing.

Sisters of Mercy of the Americas New York, Pennsylvania, Pacific West Community

$1,000 toward rebuilding the Holy Cross School in the Philippines which was damaged by a devastating fire.

Sisters Place

$25,000 to support the operations of Sisters Place, and their mission to provide transitional and permanent housing and support to women who are homeless.

Tickets for Kids^®

$50,000 over two years to increase access to cultural events for children and families enrolled in the after-school programs that were funded by McAuley Ministries in July 2010.

University of Pittsburgh

$10,000 for STANDING FIRM, a collaborative initiative designed to encourage employers to recognize the impact of partner violence; to respond appropriately to improve worker safety; and to refer employees to community resources for further assistance.

Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh

$15,000 for the creation of a mosaic sign and three-dimensional sculpture at the intersection of Fifth Avenue, the Birmingham Bridge, and Kirkpatrick Street. The artist will work with a group of teens from the Hill House Association's Youth Service Program and refugees from the Refugee Service program of Jewish Family and Children's Services to create this public art.

2009

A Child's Place at Mercy

$27,400 to support the operations of A Child's Place at Mercy.

August Wilson Center for African American Culture

$50,000 to provide 500 charter memberships during the inaugural year of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture. The grant will reach approximately 800 persons in the Hill District, Uptown, and West Oakland by providing memberships, access to events, artists' appearances and tours of the Center.

Bethlehem Haven of Pittsburgh

$40,000 for a rapid re-housing program that will help homeless women and women at-risk for homelessness to secure and maintain stable, appropriate housing.

Carlow University

$364,000 over three years to establish the Mercy Center for Service, a campus-wide, collaborative center that will promote student service, institutionalize service-learning, and provide the infrastructure to support community outreach.

Carnegie Science Center

$40,000 for Mission Discovery, an out-of-school science program for middle school students and their families in the Hill District.

Center that C.A.R.E.S.

$75,000 to engage 100 middle and high-school youth from the Hill District in workshops, lectures, and field trips to cultural and historical venues, and visits to college and university campuses.

Consumer Health Coalition

$32,000 over two years to assist uninsured individuals and families in the Hill District, Uptown, and West Oakland access publicly-funded health insurance programs and public health resources such as mammogram voucher and pharmaceutical assistance programs.

Friendship Community Presbyterian Church

$11,500 for community engagement and an assessment of West Oakland and Oak Hill. The assessment will identify the community's needs, identify existing resources and gaps, outline the most pressing needs, and determine strategies for providing relevant programming at the 200/202 Robinson Street site.

Healthy Home Resources

$150,000 over three years to reach 75 children with asthma to reduce or eliminate asthma triggers and decrease asthma symptoms for the child.

Hill Community Development Corporation

$25,000 for a redevelopment planning process that will identify a financially-viable reuse of the New Granada Theater on Centre Avenue in the Hill District.

Hill District Neighborhood Partnership Program

$250,000 to support a collaborative effort by community development and social service providers based in the Hill District to 1) close the racial academic achievement gap; 2) prevent violence and substance abuse; 3) rehabilitate the homes of low-income, senior homeowners to stabilize Hill District neighborhoods and prevent vacancy and abandoned properties; 4) provide financial literacy programs to help increase the financial security of low-income residents and avoid predatory lending.

Hill House Association: Ujamaa Marketplace

$180,000 to support The Ujamaa Collective, a group of African American women entrepreneurs and artists with a shared vision of creating a platform for advancing self-sufficiency and entrepreneurship. This project will fund entrepreneurship training and the creation an open air community marketplace in the Hill District, envisioned as a vibrant, outdoor shopping destination offering quality goods including distinctive arts and crafts, body care products, handmade jewelry, custom clothing, and healthy foods.

The Intersection

$7,000 to provide transportation to low-income persons who need to access medical care, employment, education/training, and social service appointments.

Lydia's Place

$46,000 for strategic planning, board and staff development, information technology, fundraising for children's programming, and an analysis of the feasibility for establishing transitional, supportive housing for addicted female offenders.

Mercy Outreach Ministries

$5,000 for Mercy Neighborhood Ministries. Mercy Neighborhood Ministries serves West Oakland families by assisting with financial emergencies, such as lack of food and risk of utility shutoff.

Oak Hill Residents Council

$43,875 for consulting support to the Oak Hill Council during Phase II construction of market-rate and low-income apartments, townhouses, and single-family homes, and renovation of a community and recreational facility. Additional funding of $5,225 will be used for an organic community garden in collaboration with Landslide Community Farm.

Oakland Planning and Development Corporation

$25,000 to construct classrooms and a mock hospital room to train low-income persons to become home health aides and certified nurse assistants.

Operation Safety Net®

$49,700 to implement a national model known as HELP (Homeless Experience Legal Protection). OSN will collaborate with the Allegheny County Bar Association and local attorneys to provide free legal assistance to approximately 90 homeless clients.

Ozanam, Inc.

$25,000 to implement a tutoring component to this after-school and summer basketball program in collaboration with Wireless Neighborhoods.

The Pittsburgh Foundation - Neighbor-Aid

An additional $25,000 to strengthen the region's safety net for families and individuals facing hardship.

Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development

$45,000 to support a consultant to advise Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh on development projects.

The Salvation Army

$1,875 to Project Bundle-Up to provide new winter outerwear to 25 children and seniors from the Hill District, Uptown, or West Oakland.

Sisters Place

$25,000 grant to fund ongoing children's programming and social services in this supportive housing community committed to assisting single parent, homeless families achieve self-sufficiency.

United Way of Allegheny County

$40,000 toward the Summer Youth Violence Prevention and Community Service Project, targeting teens and young adults in the Hill District and West Oakland.

YouthPlaces

$192,540 over two years for YouthPlaces sites in the Upper Hill and West Oakland to provide safe, out-of-school wellness, writing, and career development programs to 100 youth.

2008

A Child's Place at Mercy

$26,100 for the Parent and Baby Project, an initiative designed to prevent shaken baby syndrome.

Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank

$20,000 for food pantries in the Hill District, Uptown, and West Oakland to meet the escalating demand for food resulting from the economic crisis.

Hill House Association

$44,000 for staffing, consultants, and offices to support neighborhood development and management of projects resulting from the Hill District community benefits agreement.

The Intersection

$5,000 to meet the escalating demand for food as a result of the economic crisis.

Jubilee Kitchen

$5,000 to meet the escalating demand for food as a result of the economic crisis.

Mercy Parish Nurse and Health Ministry Program

$20,000 for strategic planning.

Operation Safety Net®

$29,250 for the transitional housing component of the Allegheny Engagement Network which targets the area's chronic homeless population.

The Pittsburgh Foundation - Neighbor-Aid

$20,000 to meet the escalating demand for essential services, such as food, housing, utilities, and transportation.

Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh

$75,000 over three years in support of staffing and consultants for grant-writing, community development projects, membership recruitment and communications.

YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh

$500,000 over three years to support construction of the new Thelma Lovette YMCA in the Hill District. The grant will support the green rooftop terrace which will provide a site for outdoor recreation.