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Pittsburgh’s Got Sole describe themselves as “a group of Pittsburghers who have watched the horror, devastation, and human indignities suffered by the people of Haiti” and they’re asking for your help. They’ve joined forces with Soles4Souls.org to launch the biggest shoe drive in Pittsburgh history. You can donate your gently used shoes (gym shoes, sandals and [...]

Multiple studies have shown that greenery helps people to relax, which reduces aggression. Green spaces can also serve as gathering places and bring people together.  And well maintained green spaces can discourage criminal behavior by increasing surveillance and giving a cue to criminals that ours is a neighborhood with which you don’t want to mess (I was [...]

In preparation for the influx of visitors we’ll be hosting next week, the Mt. Washington CDC is recruiting volunteers to help clean up our neighborhood this weekend. When: Saturday September 19th from 9 AM – 12 PM. What: Help tidy up streets, sidewalks and green spaces. How: If you’re interested and willing, meet at the [...]

We do a lot of talking about children in our neighborhood. And sometimes, it’s not positive. A+Schools is giving us an opportunity to get involved and actually do something good for kids living in Mt. Washington and in the city of Pittsburgh. A+Schools is a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for students and parents in [...]

Our good friend over at cdhub.org tweeted last week about an NPR story highlighting microvolunteering. For those of us not in the know, microvolunteering works like this: you go to a website (the article uses The Extraordinaries as an example) sign up, and in return, volunteer opportunities that can be done “on-demand and on-the-spot” are [...]

Pennsylvania is ranked 32nd out of 50 when it comes to the number of hours people volunteer. According to Volunteering in America, the residents of Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia all give up more of their time on behalf of a cause and people in Allentown, Harrisburg and Scranton volunteer more than we do in [...]

I don’t know about you, but today I’m feeling a sense of renewal. A sense of accomplishment. A feeling that good things are just around the corner. So this morning I am declaring my Obama-lution (Obama Resolution). Actually they are Obama-lution’s plural because I have a lot of ideas, self improvement projects and things I want [...]

Sandy Fundy thought she was battling vandals while sprucing up her neighborhood. Turns out, she and other Mt. Washington residents unknowingly were breaking federal law. READ MORE.

So there is a lot going on in our neighborhood this week and even though we’ve been trying to keep up with events on the calendar, here’s a quick rundown: Thursday National Leaf Raking Day 15211.org reader Alex is raking leaves. In fact, he declared tomorrow, Thursday, Nov 20th, Leaf Raking Day in Mt. Washington [...]

Suspend Painting Collection Boxes Now It looks like we may have to suspend the Adopt-A-Collection-Box program. Here’s a note about it from JT Smith. If anyone else has information, please let us know. We personally don’t understand the reasoning behind this decision. If we can somehow get them to reconsider, we should:   I do have some [...]