New #ThingsToDo: a List from Esai, Age 14

New Things To Do Project

Total Lists Submitted: 5 Total Amount Raised for Food Pantry: $50.00 This is our new project #ThingsToDo where we invite youth to create and share a list of things to occupy time and cope with boredom. You’ll fine the details at this link. Your young people are welcome to participate. Here’s the cool thing – in addition […]

Ten Alternative Gifts to Celebrate Easter & Spring & More

alternative easters gifts

We are honoring Passover and Easter this week along with the first real lasting bout of spring weather. This means lots of sniffles, but also buying stuff for gifts – candy, toys, etc. I don’t want to take away your joy at gnawing on that giant chocolate ear, but there are some other ways you […]

How To Help Your Neighbors With Girl Scout Cookies

It is the most wonderful time of the year … cookie time! I placed my order last night and showed considerable restraint. And I want to suggest that we all add a sharing component to our cookie compulsion by purchasing a box (or ten) to donate. The Girl Scouts of America have an existing program […]

Northside Food Pantry Launches Food Drive Blitz To Meet Holiday Needs

The food pantry hosted by Northside Common Ministries on Brighton Road is the largest pantry in Western Pennsylvania. Each month, they distribute food to over 1,000 families and households in the Northside zip codes. The pantry is set up in a ‘shopping model’ which allows clients to select the items they prefer from whatever is […]

Northside Holiday Food Drive

  The Northside Food Pantry is the largest in Western Pennsylvania, serving over 1,000 families every month. 1,000 families equals many thousands of people. Some have children, some are senior citizens living on their own. All our are neighbors. Each family can visit the pantry one time per month. This is the leanest time of […]

How To Organize a Birthday Project aka A Pop-Up Tote Bag Project

wishing well

On October 22, I will turn 45. I couldn’t be happier as I’ve mention before when describing aging. Our celebration will be pretty low-key – probably dinner at a good restaurant and a cake in my preferred flavor. I’m pretty sure Laura will gift me with some new winter jammies. Who can complain? But this […]

Help ReRamp the Northside Food Pantry

A few months ago, my friends at Northside Common Ministries contacted me and asked me to help them with a very specific task – creating a crowdfunding drive to renovate the food pantry. I was honored to help and put together a project called #ReRampPgh – what I thought was a clever play on renovating […]

North Side Food Pantry Hopes to Gives One Can of Tuna to All Families in Dec, 1000 cans needed

Donate Tuna to Food Pantry

So I intentionally distorted the image to show what happens when you stretch a can of tuna to feed multiple people. Today, I received this message from North Side Common Ministries In December, our goal is to give each of the 1,000 families that will visit the Northside Food Pantry one can of tuna. One. […]

Help Me Distribute Personal Care Items With Dignity

Personal Care Closet Pittsburgh

While debates rage over people utilizing food stamps to purchase lobster and soda pop, there is little public discussion about the things SNAP can’t buy. Soap Toothpaste Deodorant You also cannot buy toilet paper, diapers or laundry detergent. Are any of these luxuries in your household? What would you sacrifice to pay for gas to […]

How To Fold A Tote Bag (Project)

Tell us about a time things came this close to working out… but didn’t. What happened next? Would you like the chance to try again, or are you happy with how things eventually worked out? This is a prompt guaranteed to launch a thousand “what might have been” tales of woe and heartache. Once upon a time, […]