Governor and Mrs. Corbett Honored

For Immediate Release    
April 10, 2012

Contact:
Debra L. Bell, Director of Marketing and Communications
Office: (412) 281-0912 ext 214 or dbell@pittsburghopera.org

Pittsburgh Opera honors Governor and First Lady of Pennsylvania at Maecenas XXVIII, May 12
Maecenas Award to be presented to John and Nancy Traina

Pittsburgh, PA…Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett and First Lady Susan Corbett will receive a special joint Lifetime Achievement Award at Pittsburgh Opera’s annual end-of-season benefit gala, Maecenas XXVIII, on May 12, 2012 at Pittsburgh Opera Headquarters. Separately and together, Governor Corbett and First Lady Corbett have crafted exceptional careers as public servants for the good of Western Pennsylvania and the Commonwealth. The Lifetime Achievement Award is given infrequently: previous winners include Cardinal Donald Wuerl (2011) and Nadine E. Bognar (2009).

Governor Corbett will be honored for his early work as a teacher as well as his long-standing protection of the public interest as Pennsylvania Attorney General. Additionally, as Governor, he has recognized the economic, educational, and social value of the arts. Mrs. Corbett has been an accomplished producer and presenter of arts programs through the years, and, as First Lady, has championed greater participation in the arts in her role as Chair of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. “We are particularly excited to honor Governor Corbett and First Lady Corbett at Maecenas 2012. Through their positions they are exceptional ambassadors for the rich cultural life of Pittsburgh,” said Christopher Hahn, General Director of Pittsburgh Opera.

Receiving the Maecenas Award for philanthropy at the May 12 Maecenas event will be John E. and Nancy Traina. Mr. Traina has served multiple terms on the Board, including two stints as Board President, and has provided invaluable leadership in a crucial period of transition for the Company. Mrs. Traina is currently President of the Pittsburgh Opera Association, having committed 14 years to the organization that, through the determined efforts of five intrepid women, established Pittsburgh Opera in 1939 and serves as an auxiliary fundraising arm in the present day.

The Maecenas benefit gala is one of Pittsburgh’s most prominent social events, consistently declared a “Top Ten” party by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Over the last 27 years, the gala has generated over 15 million dollars for Pittsburgh Opera’s mission-critical productions and education programs. Approximately 400 people from Pittsburgh’s business and professional community are expected to attend the 2012 Maecenas celebration.

Tickets to Maecenas XXVIII begin at $750 and are on sale now. Table sponsorships begin at $5000.  Pittsburgh Opera salutes Mr. and Mrs. William Firth Benter, UPMC, and UPMC Health Plan as the underwriting sponsors of Maecenas XXVIII. Mr. and Mrs. William Firth Benter are also the chairs for the event. For more information about Maecenas XXVIII, contact John Federico at 412-281-0912 x 228.

Pittsburgh Opera’s 2011-2012 season continues a 73-year tradition of excellence in opera. As part of the Company’s continued efforts to make opera accessible to all members of the community, single tickets for the 2011-2012 season again start at $10.

2011-2012 Season
La traviata October 15, 18, 21, 23, 2011
Tosca November 12, 15, 18, 20, 2011
Hansel & Gretel January 28, 31; February 3, 5, 2012
Tosca March 24, 27, 30; April 1, 2012
The Abduction from the Seraglio April 28; May 1, 4, 6, 2012
Single tickets on sale now, starting at $10
Season subscriptions for as little as $43
For ticket information visit our website www.pittsburghopera.org or call (412) 281-0912
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Philanthropist Ritchie Scaife Awards Challenge Gift to WGF

Ritchie Scaife Makes Lead Gift of $50,000 to

The Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania

Philanthropist Establishes Challenge Campaign

to Increase Investments in Women and Girls

News Release - PITTSBURGH— March 8, 2011 — The Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania (WGF) announced today, that in honor of Women’s History Month, and in support of women’s futures, philanthropist Ritchie Scaife has made a lead gift of $50,000 to the Women and Girls Foundation to support WGF’s grantmaking pool for 2011.

This gift is a matching challenge posed to other individuals to meet Mrs. Scaife’s donation by making their own generous gifts to the Women and Girls Foundation. This new matching challenge campaign, “Battle For Equality: The Ritchie Scaife Challenge For Women and Girls” was created by Ritchie Scaife to encourage other individuals to increase their investments in advancing women’s and girls’ rights.

“What impresses me most about the Women and Girls Foundation is their approach to social change,” explained Mrs. Scaife. “Their grants empower women and girls by breaking down systemic barriers to equality. I encourage more women to join me in investing in change not charity. Together we can get to the root causes of poverty, wage inequity, domestic violence, and other forms of gender discrimination and begin to improve them.”

“Ritchie is committed to leveraging her philanthropy to improve the lives of other women and girls,” said Women and Girls Foundation CEO, Heather Arnet, “She understands that in order to ensure long term change, we must invest in policy advocacy to increase and defend women’s rights in our country and in our state.”

To meet the challenge the Women and Girls Foundation must raise at least $50,000 in new donations from individuals this year. Once the match is met, the Foundation will have a grant pool of $100,000 to award to local grantees in 2011.

The Foundation’s mission is to achieve equality for women and girls in the region. Grant awards made by the Women and Girls Foundation are 100% supported by individual donations. Grants are invested in non-profit, non-partisan, public policy initiatives to increase women’s and girls’ rights in Southwest Pennsylvania. By focusing this challenge on the grantmaking pool, donor gifts will have maximum impact reaching dozens of grantee agencies and improving the lives of thousands of women and girls through the public policy improvements achieved by these grants. A request for proposals will be released in May inviting non-profits to compete for the grant awards. Agencies interested in receiving a copy of the RFP should email susan@wgfpa.org. Individuals interested in making a donation to the “Battle For Equality: The Ritchie Scaife Challenge For Women and Girls” should contact Jui Joshi, Director of Philanthropic Engagement, 412-258-2559, jui@wgfpa.org.

Bagels for Babies Benefit Magee-Women's Foundation

Panera Bread to donate 100% of the proceeds from cinnamon crunch bagels on February 1st to Magee-Womens Foundation in honor of Magee's Centennial Celebration.




PITTSBURGH, PA, January 25, 2010 – In honor of the Centennial Birthday of Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC, Panera Bread is hosting Bagels for Babies on February 1st, donating 100% of the Cinnamon Crunch bagel proceeds in all 26 Pittsburgh-area café locations to Magee-Womens Foundation in support of Women and Infant Health Research.



Panera Bread plans to extend Bagels for Babies and its support of Magee-Womens Foundation by donating a portion of the proceeds of any bagel pack purchased on February 2nd through the end of the month.

Throughout the months of January and February, Magee-Womens Foundation is the Operation Dough-Nation partner in the Pittsburgh market benefitting from the canister donations at the registers in all 26 Pittsburgh bakery-cafés. Panera Bread also supported the Magee’s 100th Birthday by providing gifts for the first 100 mothers to give birth at Magee-Womens Hospital in 2011.



Panera Bread and its franchisees support charitable causes through its Operation Dough-Nation program. Since it was founded in 1992 to formalize Panera’s commitment to community involvement, Operation Dough-Nation has contributed both monetary and bread donations through its Community Breadbox™ and Day-End Dough-Nation™ programs to local food pantries, hunger relief agencies and other community organizations.

About Covelli Enterprises

Covelli Enterprises operates more than 180 bakery-cafés in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky and Florida. Covelli Enterprises is the nation's largest franchisee of Panera, LLC.



www.paneracovelli.com

Helping Women Helps the World Lecture Series

For Immediate Release:

UPMC Health Plan presents

Bethlehem Haven's Lecture Series

Helping Women Helps the World

This series was inspired by the new vision of world philanthropy where organizations who once provided ubiquitous aid packages are now giving direct assistance to women and girls in those same communities. Why? Because when these women raise the standard of living for their own families, they collectively elevate the entire community. Join us for the series and be inspired by these dynamic speakers.


October 28th, 11:30 AM

Deborah L. Acklin

Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the Emmy Award winning WQED Multimedia will share thoughts on "Helping Women Change Lives". Considered a pre-eminent woman in media, she has repeatedly launched successful new programs and has received numerous awards for excellence.

December 9, 2010 11:30 AM

Sharon Cowden, MD

A woman who has changed the lives of countless women, this pediatrician and breast cancer survivor helped develop Strength and Courage, a DVD of exercise resources to help women regain physical and emotional strength after breast cancer surgery. To date, the DVD has been distributed across 42 states and six countries.

Date TBD

Ann Dugan

Assistant Dean and Founder, Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business as well as a leader in community and economic development activities, Ann is the co-author of A Woman’s Place…The Crucial Roles of Women in Family Business and has been recognized through various business excellence awards.

Join us for only $25 per person (includes lunch)

Rivers Club, One Oxford Center, Downtown Pittsburgh
To purchase tickets online, go to www.bethlehemhaven.org
To purchase tickets by phone, call 412-391-1348 x224

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