Pittsburgh Foundation ramps up for fund drive to benefit nonprofits as pandemic exacerbates needs

Dan Carney is growing more anxious by the day.

Carney is executive director of the Union Mission, an agency that oversees a Latrobe homeless shelter and provides housing assistance in Westmore­land County. His phone keeps ringing these days with inquiries from residents hit by the coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn.

They’re not homeless yet, but many fear they may be facing eviction soon.

“We’re seeing more and more requests for rental assistance,” Carney said.

His counterparts at nonprofits across Allegheny and Westmoreland counties share his concerns.

As the coronavirus pandemic lingers, the number of people seeking assistance for housing, food, transportation and health care is growing daily.

Officials with the Pittsburgh Foundation said that is why they are preparing a #ONEDAY Critical Needs online fundraiser for Wednesday, Aug. 19 to replenish the Emergency Action Fund that the foundation launched on March 16.

The foundation has raised $9 million since then and awarded 313 grants to nonprofits in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties that focus on basic human needs.

This time, the foundation is seeding the fund drive with a $450,000 incentive fund — including $25,000 earmarked for Westmoreland County — and hoping donors large and small, individuals, corporations and foundations will step up as they have in the past.

The organization will be logging contributions online at pittsburghgives.org from 8 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday .

Lisa Schroeder, CEO of the Pittsburgh Foundation, said concerns are mounting as the region moves into the fall with uncertainty about how schools, workplaces and child care facilities will fare.

“We are particularly concerned about the pressures and impacts on families with children,” Schroeder said. “Equally urgent are the needs of our Black and brown communities, which face disproportionately higher rates of covid-19 infection and unemployment.”

The Emergency Action Fund grants were designed to provide operating support for nonprofits facing an increased volume of calls for help.

All communities need help

Nonprofits that have tapped the Emergency Action Fund said needs have emerged across the region. From upscale communities to those facing ongoing struggles, there have been requests for assistance with food, housing, school supplies and health care.

In Sewickley, one of the region’s wealthiest communities, the Sewickley Valley YMCA is partnering with local residents who launched a food distribution network. Barbara Herman, the Y’s membership manager, said the organization expanded its efforts after staffers there reached out to families whose children receive scholarships from the organization.

The response was overwhelming when they asked if families wanted a food box and school supplies.

Volunteers with the group have scheduled distributions of school supplies and food boxes in Ambridge, Leetsdale and Fair Oaks as well as Sewickley.

In the Alle-Kiski Valley

John Tamiggi, executive director the Allegheny Valley Habitat for Humanity, said the organization known for building homes has sent volunteers out across the region to perform critical repairs for veterans and elderly residents who can’t afford the work. Tamiggi has logged growing requests for repairs that need to be made so residents can remain in their homes.

“This weekend, we’re working with a military veteran in Natrona Heights. She had a kitchen sink that was leaking and the kitchen floor was ‘hurting.’ We replaced the faucet and the kitchen floor. Obviously, she couldn’t have a home with water leaking out of the floor.

“Later in August, we’re building a handicapped ramp for an elderly couple. He has to use a wheelchair and now needs a ramp to get in and out.

“We believe wholeheartedly in working to find ways to allow individuals to remain in their homes, age in place,” he said. “Military vets and the elderly are such a critical part of our community.”