Bracken Burns Honored as Dignity and Respect Champion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact: Melissa Allen
412.281.0995
412.969.2530
maa@judith-kelly.com

Washington County Commissioner Bracken Burns Receives Dignity & Respect Champion Award

Commissioner Burns Honored for Years of Service to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Region

(PITTSBURGH, PA) November 30, 2011– County Commissioner Bracken Burns has dedicated 40 years to Washington County government, working tirelessly to make sure everyone had a place in the community where they were valued and accepted for their differences.

Bracken has tried to build a regional community that embraces diversity and encourages its citizens to love and respect each other. He often reminds others that “inclusion is not just about race, it also includes gender, age, geography, income, folks with handicaps, etc.”

Nominated by Melissa Allen, County Commissioner Bracken Burns was selected as the November Dignity and  Respect Champion for expanding the work he does in Washington County to surrounding communities and throughout the southwestern Pennsylvania region.

“Bracken’s devotion to the community is invaluable. Within just minutes of talking with him or hearing him speak to others, you can tell that the work he does is truly from the heart. He’s dedicated to making our communities welcoming to all of us,” Melissa said.

Serving as Washington County Commissioner since 1996, Bracken decided not to run for a fifth term in office. Since taking office 16 years ago, Bracken’s accomplishments include spearheading construction of the 50 bed Alzheimer’s Unit at the Washington County Health Center, developing an Attendant Care Training Program to aid elderly and disabled citizens, leading historic preservation efforts to restore and utilize the old jail as a Family Court Center, and more.

Commissioner Burns is known for starting all of his public comments with the phrase, “It’s a great day in Washington County.” He feels that we all have an obligation to be a “cheerleader for our community.”

Bracken is an influential supporter of the Dignity and Respect Campaign. In addition to advocating with Washington County Commissioners to recognize October as Dignity and Respect Month, he wrote a personal letter to nine other counties in southwestern Pennsylvania, promoting the Campaign and October as Dignity and Respect Month. Thanks to Bracken’s efforts, October was proclaimed Dignity and Respect Month in 10 southwestern Pennsylvania counties.

Bracken has always admired the saying, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” He feels that those of us who have been blessed with health, wealth, a good family, etc. have an obligation to assure that others in the community are given the same opportunities.

In addition to being recognized as a Dignity and Respect Champion, Bracken has received many honors that show his dedication to fighting for everyone’s right to be treated equally. These awards include the Mental Health Neighbor of the Year Award in 1991, the Friend of 4-H Award in 2003, the NAACP Human Rights Award in 2007, and the Teen Outreach Social Justice award in 2009, among many others.

In accepting the award, Commissioner Burns said that he was, “humbled and honored to be recognized for doing what he called “the minimum expected of each of us – loving your neighbor.”

The Dignity and Respect Campaign is an awareness initiative designed to join individuals, community leaders, community organizations, educational institutions, businesses, and corporations under the common notion that everyone deserves dignity and respect.

For more information and to take the Dignity and Respect pledge, visit dignityandrespect.org.
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Two Community Clean Up Projects Lend a Hand

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Heather Konyk
412.281.0995
hek@judith-kelly.com

Two Community Cleanup Projects

Celebrate Dignity & Respect Month

Volunteers Come Together to Practice Tip 29 “Lend a Hand”

(PITTSBURGH, PA) October 17, 2011 – The Dignity & Respect Campaign recognizes October, Dignity & Respect Month, by practicing Tip 29 “Lend a Hand”, with two community projects on Saturday, October 22 – Lawrenceville Community Cleanup, and the Saturday Beautification Project.

The Dignity & Respect Campaign is a not-for-profit national grassroots initiative that encourages each of us to honor and appreciate the people in our lives, and to take the Dignity & Respect Pledge: I will treat everyone with dignity & respect. The Campaign provides 30 quick and simple tips, such as Tip #5 Say “Thank You”, which can be incorporated in our everyday lives to help us treat each other with dignity and respect. Since 2009, October has been celebrated as Dignity & Respect month in the Greater Pittsburgh area. This year, ten South Western Pennsylvania counties issued proclamations recognizing October as Dignity & Respect month. These counties include: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland.

“We are very excited to sponsor these two events. By lending a hand, we can help make the community a better place one step at a time. We hope by showing respect to the community, more residents will get involved and spark a change,” says Melanie Harrington, chair, Dignity & Campaign counsel.

The first project, Lawrenceville Community Cleanup, will be held from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and is intended to make Lawrenceville a clean, safe, and attractive neighborhood. Volunteers will be provided with gloves, garbage bags, and various tools and will travel throughout the community to clean up priority sites.

The second project is the Saturday Beautification Project, which will be held from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. The goal is to complete various projects that will impact the entire community. Each project is different and can include tasks such as, weeding, painting, and removing rubble. Volunteers will be provided with all necessary material.

To sign up as a volunteer, visit http://www.pittsburghcares.org.

October is Dignity & Respect Month. For more information and to take the Dignity & Respect pledge, visit: www.dignityandrespect.org
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Storytelling Benefit Event for Homeless Children's Education Fund

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Today's date: October 7, 2011

Contact:
Randy Kirk
412-352-6766
kirk@pgharts.org

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust announces An Education: True Stories of Unusual Lessons Learned - a storytelling benefit event



Monday, October 17th, 2011, 7:00pm

Cabaret at Theater Square

655 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

TrustArts.org


PITTSBURGH…The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is pleased to announce a Monday evening storytelling performance entitled, An Education: True Stories of Unusual Lessons Learned, to benefit and raise awareness of Homeless Children's Education Fund


This engaging, entertaining evening of live, first-person storytelling (in the style of New York's The Moth and Pittsburgh's own For Real, For Real), features a diverse group of individuals stepping onstage to recount their true-to-life experiences related to the evening's theme of “unusual lessons learned.”


The program will run the gamut from hilarious to poignant to heart-wrenching, and will feature real stories of revelation, edification, and mortification, in settings ranging from academia to the school of hard knocks. It's memoir meets monologue, with a dash of stand-up comedy.


Moreover, this event is part of Pittsburgh's first-ever Homeless Children's Awareness Week (October 15-23), organized by Homeless Children's Education Fund. In addition to raising awareness of HCEF's efforts on behalf of homeless youth in Allegheny County, all proceeds will from this event will benefit HCEF's Outreach Team.


Doors to the Backstage Bar will open at 5:30PM. Seating and dinner/tapas service (optional, see below) is at 6:00PM. Storytelling to begin at 7:00PM.


Admission is $10.00 at the door, or advance tickets are available by calling 412.562.0154.

For more information on HCEF and Homeless Children's Awareness Week, visit homelessfund.org.

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Dine at the Cabaret! You can enjoy dinner, drinks & dessert right at your theater table. Your ticket is also your dinner reservation - simply arrive early enough for our service staff to take care of you before the show begins. The doors to the theater will open at approximately 6:00PM for seating and service, so plan to arrive between 6:00-6:30PM for the most attentive dinner service, or closer to curtain for drinks.


Contact Randy Kirk at 412-325-6766, or kirk@pgharts.org for more information or hi-res pictures.
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Hilda Pang Fu Named Dignity and Respect Champion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact:

Melissa Marullo

412.969.2530

412.969.2530

mam@judith-kelly.com

Hilda Pang Fu Recognized as Dignity and Respect Champion for Broadening the Minds of the Community

President and Founder of Luminari Works to Ensure Diverse Creativity in the City

(PITTSBURGH, PA) August 1, 2011– In 2009, Hilda Pang Fu founded the nonprofit organization Luminari to bring a variety of people together and make the region a more prosperous, vibrant, and culturally enriched home to its citizens.

It is right to treat everyone with dignity and respect, but it is also the smart thing to do. The economy is global – we need draw from all of the talents, abilities, and perspectives we have in the region and country regardless of backgrounds, race, sexual orientation, and gender. We can’t afford to not take everyone seriously,” Hilda said.

Nominated by Candi Castleberry-Singleton, chief inclusion and diversity officer, UPMC, Hilda has been chosen as the July Dignity and Respect Champion for her work as the president and founder of Luminari, which was founded to foster activities to broaden minds, inspire innovations, and promote community engagement.

“Hilda Fu’s organization, Luminari, is about changing children’s lives. The innovative I Want to be an Ambassador! camp introduces Pittsburgh students to foreign languages, conflict resolution, and even real foreign service workers during a field trip to Washington, DC!” Candi said.

The seven-day I Want to be an Ambassador! camp is targeted towards rising 8th to 12th grade students with the purpose of bringing their attention to the art and skills of diplomacy and how to apply them immediately to their daily lives.

“With the I Want To Be An Ambassador! camp, Hilda has found an inspiring way to expose students to the art of diplomacy, and to challenge them to become better negotiators by letting them see for themselves that differences are barriers to progress only if we allow them to be,” Candi said.

The camp has proven to inspire, educate, and help the students explore and further their skills.

“One of the purposes of the camp is to inspire our young people to consider different perspectives as they attack an issue. I think this is something we need, but haven’t seen in a while. The participants were excited to be challenged in this way,” Hilda said.

Hilda feels that if everyone treated each other with dignity and respect, the community would be a much more pleasant place to live in.

“It will create more vibrancy to the region. If we lived in a community that only has one set way of doing things, it would be quite boring.”

According to Hilda, treating others with dignity and respect is so obvious that she doesn’t have to give it a thought.

“Dignity and respect are the basis of diplomacy, the foundation of building sustainable working relationships. I think treating others with dignity and respect will help us to not shut the door on different perspectives. Thus, we won’t be missing important ideas and information.”

The Dignity & Respect Campaign is an awareness campaign designed to join individuals, community leaders, community organizations, educational institutions, businesses, and corporations under the common notion that everyone deserves dignity and respect.

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Day of Peace for Homestead Community

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact:

Kalenah Winston-Williams

WDGA Homestead Program Chair

412-414-6920

Day of Peace Planned for Pittsburgh’s Homestead Community

PITTSBURGH (June 2, 2011) – All of the families of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh as well as the residents of Homestead and Munhall, PA are invited to participate in a community-wide “Day of Peace” on Saturday, June 25, 2011, at Frick Park. The Day of Peace event recently recognized and received a formal declaration from the Honorable Tom Corbett, Governor of the state of Pennsylvania.

This day-long activity is sponsored by Workforce Development Global Alliance (WDGA) and will include a peace march, a peace concert, and other peace activities that will include the entire family. The focus will be on activities designed to avert violence and promote peace which is part of WDGA’s 2STEPS2WORK program. In addition, the day will include a graduation ceremony for WDGA’s inaugural Dynamic Dozen Youth who will complete a Get Along to Get Ahead career training program for WDGA’s Waterfront summer internship program.

“Our goal is to create a better neighborhood by inspiring Youth to “Step out and Step into destiny” as well as economic opportunity through peace,” said Niecy Dennis, President and Founder of WDGA. “We want youth to find and take the path from peace to education to jobs to the prosperity that completes the circle and reinforces peace.”

The peace march begins at noon, and all participants are asked to wear white shirts. Activities will include a peace concert featuring local artists, beginning at 1 p.m. To conclude the day, a peace vigil will be held at 4 p.m. to honor families that have lost loved ones to violence. Sponsors of the day include UPMC's www.dignityandrespectcampaign.com - offering opportunities for individuals and families to "take the pledge" for upholding dignity and respect to others.

Featured celebrity speakers include former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Chuck Sanders, who is the CEO/Founder of Urban Lending Solutions; and U.S. Ambassador Daniel H. Simpson (retired), current Chief International Editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Chairman of WDGA’s 2STEPS2WORK Peace Ambassador Program.

For more information on the Day of Peace and WDGA’s 2STEPS2SWORK program, call 412-243-WDGA [9342] or visit www.2steps2work.org
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411 7th Avenue / Suite 925 / Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce Building / Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219 (USA) or P.O. Box 14003-00800 (Nairobi Kenya)

Charles Powell Recognized by SBA for Work with Region's Minority Community

News Release


PITTSBURGH DISTRICT OFFICE

Release Date:
May 18, 2011
Contact: Janet Heyl (412) 395-6560, ext. 103

Release Number: PGH11-11 Janet.Heyl@sba.gov

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SBA honors community director for outreach efforts, economic growth and social acceptance

PITTSBURGH – Throughout his four-decade career in community development as director of diversity affairs and community outreach for the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) of Pittsburgh, Charles Powell never lost sight of his target: to work constructively on behalf of the region’s minority community.

For his efforts, Powell will be honored May 27th as the Western Pennsylvania Minority Small Business Champion of the Year at SBA’s Western Pennsylvania Awards Luncheon. Eight other local small business owners and advocates will be honored at the luncheon, which is held at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel Pittsburgh, in conjunction with the 48th annual celebration of National Small Business Week in Washington, D.C.

In the past 20 years, Powell has been instrumental in leveraging more than $500 million contract dollars for women and minority businesses.

“We [the URA] are the economic engine for this city and my role centers on training and community outreach,” Powell said. Powell explained his work is judged by the many communities within the city of Pittsburgh and that most organizations would give him an “A grade.”

“At the recent Target development site in East Liberty, the mayor and URA board established a minority contracting goal of 25 percent,” he explained. “But, through our outreach and compliance, that project saw 42 percent of contracts and subcontracts awarded to women and minority firms.” Growing up in McDonald, Pa., Powell attended Virginia Union University where he majored in psychology and entered the workforce just as America was embracing the Great Society.

“The Great Society was an introduction to a national emphasis to provide support to communities for education to embrace and deal with changes in social thinking,” Powell explained. “The jobs provided decent wages and the government was looking for people with a background in psychology and sociology.” He started his community relations career with the Greater Pittsburgh Dairy Association, where he was responsible for educating the area’s 26 local dairies on integration and the importance of hiring African-Americans as dairy workers and truck drivers.

“I received strong support and a lot of publicity because we [the association] wanted people to know that our goal was to integrate the Western Pennsylvania dairy industry,” Powell stated.

However, one day, he noticed a large group outside of the former Mellon Bank headquarters in downtown Pittsburgh protesting the bank to hire African-Americans.

“I was recommended to Mellon to assist their efforts and stayed there for 20 years where I increased my responsibilities, first in employee relations and finally moved to corporate affairs where I became a vice president,” he added.

When Mellon shifted its focus to investment banking, Powell transferred his skills to the URA and to the community.

He was appointed by former Gov. Rendell to the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Board and also serves on the board for the Salvation Army. While Powell certainly is pleased at his civic contributions over the last 40 years, he is most proud of being a founding member of Pittsburgh’s African-American Chamber of Commerce and being invited to a 2007 National Security Seminar at the U.S. Army’s War College in Carlisle, Pa.

“I wasn’t a veteran and someone nominated me and I was selected and that was special,” he said. “So was the 1992 creation of the African American chamber by a small group of visionaries.”

According to Western Pennsylvania SBA District Director Carl Knoblock, Powell serves as an example of how government leaders can strive for community involvement and betterment. “He has given so much back to neighborhood small businesses through his leadership and commitment. He truly is an asset.”

Powell said he was overjoyed to be recognized by the SBA, which has a mission parallel to that of the URA.

“Being involved with small business is a great mission because we help the economy grow; it’s a great honor to be acknowledged.”

Note: If you would like to speak with Charles Powell or Carl Knoblock, Western Pennsylvania SBA district director, please contact Janet Heyl at 412-395-6560, ext. 103

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The U.S. Small Business Administration – helping small businesses start, grow and succeed.

Art Teacher In-Service Day Links Educators to Their Creativity Side

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact: Melissa Marullo
412.969.2530
mam@judith-kelly.com

Society for Contemporary Craft Holds Art Teacher In-Service Day

Educators Go Back to Their Roots as Artists

(PITTSBURGH, PA) January 10, 2011 – Art teachers are known for their ability to bring out the creativity in their students by showing them different forms of art, techniques, and how to express themselves. However, these teachers aren’t strictly educators, but they are artists themselves, and like to be reminded that every so often.

In the summer of 2008, the Society of Contemporary Craft (SCC) created the art teacher in- service day, where teachers from any school district are able to come to a workshop to rediscover their own creativity while learning new techniques and processes. Now, the teacher in-service day is known as one of the best workshops art teachers participate in for Act 48 professional development credit.

On Monday, January 17th, art teachers are invited to attend a workshop instructed by visiting or local instructors, hosted by the SCC in which they are able to get creative, work with their hands, and visit with other art teachers around the area. Each workshop provides seven Act 48 credits and information on how to adapt the learned techniques to the classroom.

Mary Ann Andreassi, art teacher at Pine-Richland High School, has attended multiple workshops, and finds the Teacher In-Service day to be very beneficial.

“Over the past 13 years of being a high school visual arts teacher, it has been challenging to find affordable enriching art experiences that build my own skill level and give me the tools needed to keep my students up to date with techniques and materials that contemporary artists are currently using,” Andreassi says.

Pieces made in the workshop will be exhibited in the downstairs studio exhibition space during the SCC 2011 Bridge Exhibition Series from April 16 - October 24th.

Andreassi says, “Workshops like these make me a more productive teacher, they give me skills to keep my students current with modern artistic practices, and they give me the reassurance and confidence as my artistic arsenal continues to grow.“

Tuition for the workshop is $140, which includes a box lunch, materials, and a gallery tour. Classes offered include:

· Needle Felting as an Art Medium [TT018] with instructor Briony Jean Foy, where participants will compose and paint with yarns and rovings to complete a landscape, portrait, or abstract composition.

· Fundamentals for Recycled Plastic Crafting [TT019] with instructor David Edgarwho will familiarize arts educators with a new way of exploring creativity using post-consumer plastics.

· Glass Beadmaking [TT020] with instructor Darlene Durrwachter-Rushing includes creating beads with hot glass and the art of flameworking with Hot Head touches.

· Splashes of Color Journal [TT021] with instructor Lily Hoy where participants will make a journal out of hand-decorated papers with a long stitch style binding.

Presenting contemporary art in craft media by international, national, and regional artists since 1971, the Society for Contemporary Craft offers cutting edge exhibitions focused on multicultural diversity and non-mainstream art, as well as a range of classes, community outreach programs, and a retail store. Exhibitions and family friendly hands-on art activities in a drop-in studio are always free to the public.
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