Vacancy in my Community, McKeesport Library Neighborhood Posted on March 11, 2015 by Grounded Strategies Shari Holland, ReClaim McKeesport Ambassador “A garden should make you feel you've entered privileged space -- a place not just set apart but reverberant -- and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on the existing landscape, turn its prose into something nearer poetry.” - Michael Pollan I love many things… poetry, gardens, beauty, community building and diversity, just to name a few. Being a transplant to Pittsburgh, I also love…Read More
Lunch & Learn with ACHD Posted on March 9, 2015 by Grounded Strategies On Friday, March 6th the ACHD Healthy Homes & Lead Program taught GTECH staff and ReEnergize Pgh Ambassadors the ins and outs of their program over a brown bag lunch session. Richard Paul, the Public Health Educator and Jeff O'Brien, the Program Manager walked us through the relationship between home health and and the health of those who live in them. The ACHD Healthy Homes & Lead Program covers a variety of home health and safety issues, provides home assessments as well as education on…Read More
3 Reasons You Should Join the Social Capital Council Right Now Posted on March 4, 2015 by wpengine We think that 2015 is an advantageous time to be a part of the Social Capital Council. The Council is a cadre of energetic and socially conscious professionals who want to connect with community development activities, green economy issues and social entrepreneurship in Pittsburgh. 1. Attend Fun and Meaningful Events These events aren’t your typical networking events. Sure when you attend a GTECH event you’ll have the opportunity to mingle with community development mavericks, social innovators, and Pittsburgh changemakers, but you'll…Read More
What’s in that bag? Window Plastic! Posted on February 27, 2015 by Grounded Strategies What’s in that bag? Window Plastic! With the ReEnergize Pgh Energy Efficiency Challenge swinging into full gear, here’s an insider’s look at what participants are working with. Every household that signs up to be a part of the competition receives a ReEnergize Pgh Energy Efficiency toolkit! Our Ambassadors have been hard at work getting these useful tools into the hands of Homewood, Hazelwood and Millville residents. This week, we've looked inside the Energy Efficiency toolkits and discovered the energy saving…Read More
What’s in that bag? Outlet Caps and more! Posted on February 26, 2015 by Grounded Strategies What’s in that bag? With the ReEnergize Pgh Energy Efficiency Challenge swinging into full gear, here’s an insider's look at what participants are working with. Every household that signs up to be a part of the competition receives a ReEnergize Pgh Energy Efficiency toolkit! Our Ambassadors have been hard at work getting these out into their neighborhoods, and encouraging their neighbors to utilize them.This week we're diving into those Energy Efficiency toolkits and taking a closer look at the energy saving…Read More
What’s in that bag? Caulk! Posted on February 25, 2015 by Grounded Strategies What’s in that bag? With the ReEnergize Pgh Energy Efficiency Challenge swinging into full gear, here’s an insider’s look at what participants are working with. Every household that signs up to be a part of the competition receives a ReEnergize Pgh Energy Efficiency kit! Our Ambassadors have been hard at work getting these out into their neighborhoods, and encouraging their neighbors to utilize them. So…what makes these kits so great? They are chock full of energy saving goodies! …Read More
What’s in that bag? Weather Stripping! Posted on February 24, 2015 by Grounded Strategies What’s in that bag? With the ReEnergize Pgh Energy Efficiency Challenge swinging into full gear, here’s an insider’s look at what participants are working with. Every household that signs up to be a part of the competition receives a ReEnergize Pgh Energy Efficiency kit! Our Ambassadors have been hard at work getting these useful tools into the hands of their neighbors. This week, we’ll be taking a look inside the Energy Efficiency kits and discovering what is inside, why, and how you…Read More
What’s in that bag? Posted on February 23, 2015 by Grounded Strategies A closer look at what's in the energy efficiency toolkits. With the ReEnergize Pittsburgh Energy Efficiency Challenge swinging into full gear, here’s an insider’s look at what participants are working with. Every household that signs up to be a part of the competition receives a ReEnergize Pgh Energy Efficiency kit! Our Ambassadors have been hard at work getting these useful tools into the hands of their neighbors. This week, we'll be taking a look inside the Energy Efficiency kits and discovering what…Read More
Community Leaders in McKeesport talk the future of youth Posted on February 20, 2015 by Grounded Strategies On Tuesday night at the Twin Rivers Intermediate School in McKeesport, GTECH hosted a panel discussion about engaging youth in McKeesport. The panel of local leaders who discussed youth engagement as part of the event included the following: Nikita Zook, Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time partnership coordinator Brie Adams, McKeesport Area School District coordinator of educational opportunities Austin Davis, executive assistant to Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald Keino Fitzpatrick, Youth CAST — Community and Schools Together — developer Laura Bosnak-Thompson,…Read More
For the Love of Lots! Posted on February 9, 2015 by Grounded Strategies [bctt tweet="There is lots to love about #Pittsburgh. What former vacant lot has your heart? #LoveThatLot https://groundedpgh.org/?p=5715"] With only a few days left until Valentines Day, it's hard not to feel that love is in the air. This week the Center for Community Progress is asking you to share the love and give recognition to those battling blight and vacancy in their community by posting photos of your favorite transformed vacant lots. It's easy to participate, just follow these instructions…Read More
Round up your grocery bill and help reclaim Pittsburgh! Posted on January 28, 2015 by Grounded Strategies For the entire month of February, customer of the East End Food Coop have the option to round their shopping bill and donate the difference to GTECH. Like the EEFC, we believe in creating vibrant, healthy and sustainable communities throughout the Pittsburgh region. All donations raised will help us continue our efforts in reclaiming vacant land for the creation of green community places and increasing the adoption of energy efficiency actions throughout Allegheny County. [bctt tweet="I pledge to shop at the @EastEndCoop in Feb.…Read More
GTECH Launches New Resource Page Posted on January 20, 2015 by Grounded Strategies Useful community development tools and open data are available on the GTECH website. This month GTECH launched a brand-new resource page. On the page you can find the data that we collect for our projects and reporting as well as the tools and methodologies that we use when approaching a particular issue. Currently there are 5 full-length reports available on the site. Topics cover themes like vacant lot classification in the Northside, to an aggregation of environmental youth programming in the Pittsburgh region as…Read More