Day of Caring 'Drives Our Mission of Outreach'

Monday, October 22, 2018

From handing out groceries to local residents to cleaning up gardens and community centers, 150 faculty and staff volunteered alongside staff from community organizations to show how deeply Pitt is dedicated to local outreach.

As part of this year's United Way Day of Caring, held Friday, Oct. 19, University faculty and staff volunteers were matched with projects at organizations including Hosanna House, Sojourner House, Operation Better Block and Peoples Oakland Recovery Center.

Cassandra Hayt, communication and advocacy manager in the Office of Community and Governmental Relations and coordinator of this year’s Day of Caring, thanked faculty and staff participants for taking the day to serve community partners.

"It truly drives our mission of outreach and being a University of the city and ensuring Pittsburgh is the best it can be,” Hayt said.

Contact:

Will Entrekin will.entrekin@pitt.edu (412) 648-4493
Category:
Pitt People
Tags: Pitt United Way Campaign Community and Governmental Relations community service
  • At the Community Human Services Food Pantry, volunteers passed out groceries to members of the local community. From left: Essie Smalls, Shari Manges and Kristin Gusten from the Office of the Provost; Associate Vice Chancellor for Community and Governmental Relations John Wilds; Gloria Mou from the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences; Senior Vice Chancellor for Business and Operations and 2018 United Way Campaign Chair Greg Scott; and Guy Johnson from Pitt Police. (Tom Altany/University of Pittsburgh)
  • Tyler Kimmel from the Cooperative Engineer Education Program in the Swanson School of Engineering hauled dirt and mulch to help Operation Better Block build a community garden in Homewood.
  • Chancellor Patrick Gallagher and Carmen Ciorra (middle) and Shawn Ellies (right) from Facilities Management survey the work done at Peoples Oakland. (Tom Altany/University of Pittsburgh)
  • At Peoples Oakland, work focused on clean up inside and out of the recovery and wellness center. From left are Vice Chancellor for Community and Governmental Relations Paul Supowitz; Senior Vice Chancellor and Provost Ann Cudd; Austin Thieret, Shawn Ellies, Carmen Ciorra, Wayne Hawking, Roy Charlton and Wayne Lutheran from Facilities Management; Chancellor Patrick Gallagher; Patty Himelright, Facilities Management; and Peoples Oakland Executive Director Sandy Phillips. Front and center is Phillips’ dog Kathryn.
  • Dirt and grime were no match for the School of Social Work's Riley Riley, Deborah Robinson and Rachelle Haynik. They spent the day at the Jeron X. Grayson Community Center in the Hill District. (Tom Altany/University of Pittsburgh)
  • Zhang Long Li from the School of Social Work volunteered at the Jeron X. Grayson Community Center in the Hill District. (Tom Altany/University of Pittsburgh)
  • Though they weren't able to participate in off-site Day of Caring activities, union staff from Teamsters Local 249 and Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ wore their blue and gold United Way t-shirts to show their support for the annual event. Back row, from left, are Kevin Sheehy, director of Parking, Transportation and Services; Tom Vasko, Dave Conrad, Dave Huey, Bob Emery Jr. and Matt Sloan. Front row, from left, are Oscar Schneider, Joe Ritter, Rick Roberts, Julie Dionisio, John Scheidlmeier, Jeff Spicer and Barry Walsh, all from Parking, Transportation and Services. (Tom Altany/University of Pittsburgh)
  • Volunteers at Hosanna House’s Sherwood facility cleaned up landscaping and planted flowers by the building’s front entrance. From left are Mary Beth Henderson from Student Payment Center, Carrie Armstrong from Financial Information Systems, John Burnheimer from the School of Dental Medicine (seated), Susan Price from the School of Pharmacy and Ruth Slifka from the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.