MICHELE RONE COOPER, executive director, McAuley Ministries.
McAuley Ministries, Pittsburgh Mercy’s grant-making foundation, announced on Nov. 9 that 13 new grants totaling $757,000 were awarded to support health & wellness, community & economic development, and education initiatives in the Hill District, Uptown, and West Oakland. the New Pittsburgh Courier has learned.
Michele Rone Cooper, executive director of McAuley Ministries, expressed gratitude for the community-based organizations that are actively listening to residents, working together, and finding creative ways to meet basic needs, pivot to virtual platforms, and model hope.
Below are the organizations that recently received grants and the amounts:
Emergency Response to COVID-19
Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services: $15,000 for emergency operational support of the Low Vision and Vision Exam Program.
Carlow University: $25,000 for the Student Emergency Fund during COVID-19.
Community College of Allegheny County Educational Fund: $10,000 for improving student success.
Ebenezer Baptist Church: $25,000 to support the Ebenezer Meals Ministry.
Health & Wellness
Venture Outdoors, Inc.: $25,000, to provide outdoor experiences, including outdoor ethics, leadership skills, and nature, to youth and families in the Hill District, plus further develop, share, and distribute remote learning tools, such as virtual outdoor experiences.
YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh: $105,000, payable over 3 years, to extend membership subsidies to Hill District families at the Thelma Lovette YMCA and encourage healthy and active lifestyles.
Community & Economic Development
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Inc.: $50,000 to support case management for residents of St. Joseph House of Hospitality.
Energy Innovation Center Institute, Inc. (EICI): $150,000 to facilitate enrollment of Hill District residents in quality training programs for high demand careers offered through EICI.
Grounded Strategies: $80,000, payable over 2 years, to establish a CommunityCare model in the Hill District to sustain the impact of the ReClaim Ambassador program by providing resources and incentives for long-term stewardship of green spaces.
Hill District Consensus Group: $46,500, payable over three years, for initiatives to beautify Centre Avenue in the Hill District.
Neighborhood Resilience Project: $150,000, payable over 2 years, to expand trauma-informed micro-community development that facilitates neighborhood interventions that connect families to each other and to resources that improve individual and community health and well-being.
The Pittsburgh Foundation: $75,000, payable over 3 years, for the Allegheny County Jail Collaborative Fund which funds projects and activities that support prisoner re-entry to the community.
Education
A+ Schools: $500 to underwrite the 2020 Report to the Community on public school progress in Pittsburgh.
Named in honor of Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, McAuley Ministries is the grant-making foundation of Pittsburgh Mercy. McAuley Ministries awards grants to nonprofit organizations which focus on the Hill District, Uptown, and West Oakland communities, historically served by the Sisters of Mercy, and to organizations sponsored by and/or affiliated with the Sisters. It awards approximately $3.5 million in grants annually.
About Post Author
