Diocese of Pittsburgh Intermediate Schools
Each year, hundreds students from twenty Diocese of Pittsburgh Intermediate Schools are challenged with raising awareness about homelessness. Students are asked to write an essay or create a poster on a certain theme. Two winning essays and two winning posters are selected. Winning students receive a $250 Tuition Assistance Grant from the Diocese's Department of Education. See contest results here.
Fox Chapel Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grades
Fox Chapel students are collecting old sweaters to create hand-crafted holiday ornaments. Money raised from the ornament sales will go toward mittens and gloves for the Bradley Center and the Homeless Children's Education Fund. Check out more coverage on TribLive, TribLive again, and Depression Couture.
McIntyre Elementary School
North Hills School District fourth-grader Ellie initiated Stand-Up: A Performance Art Installation on October 19 in partnership with the Homeless Children's Education Fund to raise awareness among her peers about the needs of homeless children in Allegheny County. The installation was one of only three art events held throughout the area during last week's Homeless Children's Awareness Week, and the only one to take place in a school district. During the installation, more than 100 McIntyre Elementary students spent their recess standing quietly for five minutes and cover their faces with a mask to symbolize the face of a homeless child. See full article
Fox Chapel High School
The Fox Chapel High School's DESI Club's annual end-of-school Bollywood dance show drew more than 250 attendees and raised $1200 - the most ever of each - in support of HCEF's educational programing for children experiencing homelessness in Allegheny County. DESI stands for Distinguished Ethnic Society of Indians and Ishan and Maheen Nadeen, co-presidents of DESI, produced the event. Ishan Chatterjee presented the donation check to Bill Wolfe in the HCEF office.
Sewickley Academy
As part of a larger service day planned and executed by Sewickley Academy students, the students as well as faculty and staff volunteers participated in a Stand Up (that is: "a performance art installation"), during which they stood in silence with masks of children over their faces. The purpose of the Stand Up was to raise awareness of the very many unseen children in Allegheny County without permanent homes and also to support the work of the Homeless Children's Education Fund.
The event was part of a larger service day planned and executed by Sewickley Academy students.
Watson Institute
The children in Ms. Patterson's class made and sold holiday cards at the school and raised over $150 to purchase toys and games.
A special treat was to deliver the bags to the HCEF office for distribution to children living in HCEF partner housing agencies, to receive a certificate, AND to enjoy a party celebrating their good work.
Aquinas Academy
Students Maggie, Aubrey, Rebecca, and Margaret spent three hours with children currently residing in the Women’s Center and Shelter.
Aubrey reported: "It was an AMAZING opportunity and we loved it! The kids responded very well. We played bingo, did word searches, played with legos, read books to the young ones, etc. The kids also loved the books we had taken and many of them took a handful with them at the end of our time together. We cannot wait to go back! Thank you for organizing this opportunity. We truly learned a lot from it. Hopefully we can organize volunteers to go down on a regular basis."
Alderdice High School SHAC
On a late October 2011 Saturday set aside as Community Clean-up Day, these Alderdice High SHAC members and the mothers and children residing at Sojourner House MOMS were there to help. It matters to the kids and their moms that they can work with their neighbors for the better good of all.
SHAC's mission is to address and respond to hunger and homelessness where they find it in Pittsburgh and beyond.
City Charter High School
Shawn Branscum, Jacy Clarke, Kerra Lipovski, Michael Williams, Jordan Wimbush-Minniefield, Dolores Nowakowski, and Fadi Alchodfete – SAGE Club members – provided significant help to the HCEF staff when they volunteered their services at the April 8, 2011, Summit II: Collaborations and Models. The young people worked from 7:00 a.m. to noon, first helping place 300-plus sets of Summit materials on the tables — a task that otherwise wouldn't have been completed before Summit attendees began to arrive — then joining HCEF staff members to welcome and register arriving guests.
Strong Women, Strong Girls
Strong Women, Strong Girls is a nationally recognized mentoring program dedicated to raising the aspirations and self-esteem of elementary school girls. Members of the organization at Carnegie-Mellon University recently engaged a group of third and fourth grade girls in a curriculum focusing on safe personal care products. The learning experience included gaining an understanding of supporting a community cause and raising money in support of that cause. HCEF was chosen as the beneficiary of the $200 the girls raised from the sale of their organic soaps.
Ingomar Elementary School
Students in all grades – kindergarten through fifth grade – held a Scholastic Book Fair's "One for Books" fund raiser. One of the purposes of these events is to provide books for local charities, and HCEF was chosen as a designated recipient.
Each day for two weeks the students brought in the coins they had collected, and together they raised just short of $1500. This enabled the gift of 200 books to the Homeless Children's Education Fund for children residing in homeless housing facilities that partner with HCEF. The fourth grade class, which contributed nearly $500, won the promised ice cream sundae party for "biggest total donation." HCEF was presented with the books at a school-wide assembly, and the children were able to see how their donations of coins and dollar bills really added up – amounting to what in their eyes was "a ton of books" for other children. Helping them celebrate the occasion was Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons.
Veritas
During a long drive to Birmingham, Alabama, on a mission trip in the summer of 2010, this youth group from Westminster Presbyterian Church in Mt Lebanon began a hypothetical conversation: "Could you make it if you had to start all over without a support system?" The young people voiced their concerns about college, schooling, friends, and what life would be like if they didn't have families or homes to go back to. Mid way through the conversation one of the youths raised the question, "Why don't we raise money with our Bowl-a-Thon for kids who need some support?" And so they did, collecting pledges from friends and family who donated on a per pin or flat rate basis and raising $435.30, which they chose to donate to HCEF in support of its educational programing.
PSVP-Kids
PSVP has partnered with Pittsburgh Cares to support children's service projects that will benefit area nonprofit agencies while teaching the young people the importance of service and giving to their communities. In this, its second year, a group of 13 PSVP-kids representing 12 families participated. The goal for each family was to raise $200, with the youths earning half of the amount through family chores and odd jobs for neighbors. Their parents were to make matching donations.
Working with Pittsburgh Cares, the 13 youths announced a grant application opportunity for which HCEF among others responded. Their next task was to learn as much as they could about each of the applicants, a learning experience in itself. In the end, 8 local agencies were awarded a grant.
As a result of the fund raising efforts and generosity of Jake, Simon, Caleb, Ben, Emma, Sabrina, Caroline, Kendall, Charlotte, Riley, Elizabeth, Mac, and Will, HCEF received a check for $400 that is helping make a difference for children experiencing homelessness in this place that is home town for all of them.
Fox Chapel High School's DESI Club
For the second year members of the Fox Chapel Area High School’s Club DESI (Distinguished Ethnic Society of India) produced a cultural show featuring demonstrations of regional South Asian dances, ranging from folk to traditional to modern. Participating students wore the traditional clothing of the area each dance represented. Donations received from attendees of the event are passed on to organizations providing educational services to children, and HCEF is proud to have again been a beneficiary of this student-run show.
Clairton High School C.H.A.N.C.E.
The members of C.H.A.N.C.E. – "Creating Hope and Newfound Courage Everywhere" – live by their name and take their mission seriously. Each Spring these young people present Dance for Their C.H.A.N.C.E with the proceeds of the event supporting a worthy cause. They chose HCEF as the recipient of the proceeds of this year's event. Their understanding of the challenges facing children living in poverty or homeless is captured in this poem by Paige L. Moody.
They Speak, So Listen
This child's face says, "I am young and eager to explore this big beautiful world."
This child's body says, "I'm small and frail, but still I will prosper."
This child's smile says, "I'm happy and I just want to live my life on cloud 9."
This child's hands say, "With these, I will create beautiful things."
This child's mind says, "I can do anything if I put my mind to it. Nothing will stop me."
But this child's life says, "Because your parents have no money, you don't deserve
to eat."
This child's life says, "Because you're poor, you don't deserve a good education."
This child's life says, "You are nothing and deserve nothing in return."
Now this child asks, "Now what do I do?"
Our hearts say, "Don't you worry about a thing. We will help you."
Our hearts say, "Just because this child has nothing, doesn't mean we can't give
them hope."
We say, "A little hope goes a long way."
This child's hear says, "Thank you for returning my chance.""
I say, "No biggie. Everyone deserves their chance at destiny."
 
Paige, president of C.H.A.N.C.E., and Trevor (recent graduate of Clairton High, now a student at Point Park University) were the choreographers. The dancers performing with Paige M. and Trevor were Shakeja, Tiara, Alexis, Amber, Kelimae, Markea, Paige R., Breanne, and Eliza. Regular members of C.H.A.N.C.E. include Kaylee, Mandi, Marcaysia, Danielle, Giorne, Shantelle, Morgan, John, Anthony, Garrett, Remondo, and Ashley. Additional help was provided by Frank, Marlese, Khalif, Trevor P., Brent, Justice, Stephanie, and Courtney.
These terrific young people of C.H.A.N.C.E, with the support of the Clairton High Guidance Office, raised $1700 with their Spring dance program and added an additional $1000 raised through there school-year-round sale of chocolate covered pretzels — all of which they donated to HCEF to help ensure that the children and youths it serves will themselves find new courage everywhere as they create their own hopes.
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(11.29.2012)
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