MAYOR ANNOUNCES NEXT ROUND OF OPPORTUNITY FOR NEIGHBORS TO LOVE THEIR BLOCK
PITTSBURGH) Nov. 21, 2012 Mayor Luke Ravenstahl today announced that applications are available for the City's spring 2013 Love Your Block grant award program. Local nonprofit organizations have until February 14, 2013 to apply.
(Media-Newswire.com) - PITTSBURGH ) Nov. 21, 2012 Mayor Luke Ravenstahl today announced that applications are available for the City’s spring 2013 Love Your Block grant award program. Local nonprofit organizations have until February 14, 2013 to apply. The block revitalization program gives up to 30 organizations $1,000 to purchase supplies and equipment necessary to implement a neighborhood block improvement project that mobilizes community volunteers. Project implementation will take place from April 27 to June 30, 2013. Love Your Block is one of eight service initiatives in the Mayor’s servePGH initiative.
“Love Your Block continues to successfully provide Pittsburgh residents with the tools they need to revitalize our neighborhoods block by block,” Ravenstahl said. “I continue to be inspired by the wonderful projects we've seen in the past, and invite residents and community leaders to come up with creative ideas to help revitalize their community for the spring 2013 season.”
Ravenstahl encourages organizations from all 90 neighborhoods to propose their ideas. Special consideration will be given to projects that engage local veterans and veterans’ organizations. Encouraged projects include veterans’ monument beautification and projects that take place in neighborhoods with a high population of veterans. City leaders will meet with the awardees and deploy City services such as trash collection and graffiti removal to support the projects, as feasible. A full list of available City services can be found in the Love Your Block applications.
Applicants for the spring 2013 program must be a qualified nonprofit organization or have the support of a nonprofit fiscal agent, and the impacted area must be within City limits. Applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. on February 14, 2013; late applications will not be accepted. Applicants will be notified of their status by early March 2013. A mandatory grantee orientation will take place in April 2013, location and time will be announced to grantees at a later date.
This year’s fall round of Love Your Block grants enabled creative projects to come to fruition all across the City, from installing and planting flower boxes, to beautifying veterans memorials, to planting a community meditation garden. Grantees impacted 49 blocks by collecting 6,676 pounds of litter, creating 99 green spaces, leveraging over $14,000 in donations and recruiting over 700 volunteers.
While all of the projects this past season were impressive, Community Alliance of Spring Garden-East Deutschtown was the group selected to win the “best block revitalization project” and will receive an additional $2,000 Home Depot gift card for future block enhancements. The group revitalized vacant lots and buildings along Spring Garden Avenue and leveraged over $4,750 in donations for their project. Pictures of their work are available on the servePGH website here.
“Not only is our neighborhood more attractive because of the Love Your Block event, but also residents and volunteers have come to know each other better and to feel a mutual sense of commitment and optimism for our community,” said Ruth Ann Dailey of Community Alliance of Spring Garden- East Deutschtown group. “We believe this will stimulate additional private investment and expand our base of hard-working volunteers, which will lead to even more progress.”
Love Your Block is made possible, in large part, thanks to the Home Depot Foundation. The selected projects each receive one $1,000 gift card. Love Your Block is also supported in part by Corporation for National Community Service and AmeriCorps VISTA program.
About Cities of Service and servePGH Founded in New York City in September 2009, Cities of Service supports mayors who leverage citizen service strategies, addressing local needs and making government more effective. The coalition and its member cities respond to the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act's historic call to action by finding new and innovative ways to harness the power of volunteers to help solve pressing local challenges.
By obtaining a Cities of Service grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies and Rockerfeller Foundation, Mayor Ravenstahl launched servePGH in March 2011 to engage Pittsburgh’s citizens in service and to answer President Obama’s national call to volunteerism. Through eight new and innovative servePGH initiatives, the Mayor has engaged citizens in volunteer-fueled solutions to revitalize close to 200 City blocks, restore vulnerable residents’ homes, help middle-school youth navigate life’s challenges, clean up over 21,000 pounds of litter, and more. Over 3,000 volunteers have committed over 30,000 hours of service through servePGH to date. Published: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 Contacts Joanna Doven Press Secretary Office: 412-255-2694 Cell: 412-475-2387 Email
Office of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl 512 City County Building | 414 Grant Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 telephone: 412-255-2626 | facsimile: 412-255-2687
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