Pancakes in the PM

Written by: Kate Snyder, Development and Donor Communications Coordinator

The most commonly-heard refrain on the night of March 4th was: "I didn't eat lunch, because I knew I was coming here..."

The "here" in question was P&G Pamela's Diner in the Strip, host to the second annual Pancakes in the PM benefit dinner supporting EECM's Have a Heart for Hunger campaign. This popular event drew more than 80 philanthropicaly-minded pancake lovers and raised more than $2,000 for EECM's Hunger Programs.


Guests mingled and chatted while enjoying some of Pamela's signature favorites, such as homefries and Croissant French toast casserole.

The "make your own pancake" bar was also very popular.


Throughout the evening -- when they could be pried away from the buffet line -- attendees learned more about EECM and signed up for several volunteer opportunities.

A HUGE thanks to Pam and Gail and everyone at Pamela's for your generosity and pizazz that made the event a success.

A Visit from a Magic Dragon

Written by: Kate Snyder, Development and Donor Communications Coordinator

On Monday, EECM had the great pleasure of hosting Peter Yarrow of "Peter, Paul and Mary." Peter has personal connections to one of our member congregations, East Liberty Presbyterian Church, and they managed to arrange for him to do a benefit concert for EECM's Have a Heart for Hunger campaign.

Admission to the concert was free, but the voluntary offering we collected raised more than $4,000 for EECM's Food Pantry, Soup Kitchen, and Meals on Wheels programs. Such is the power of great music for a great cause!

Peter performed for nearly two hours in front of a crowd of more than 400 enthusiastic fans. I managed to capture a few video clips. The first is of the perennial favorite: "Puff the Magic Dragon."

The second video is a newer song that has become the musical soundtrack to Peter's current project -- Operation Respect -- a fantastic organization dedicated to combating bullying. "Don't Laugh at Me" is powerful. See for yourself.

Top 'O the Noon Hour to You!

Written by: Kate Snyder, Development and Donor Communications Coordinator

Corned beef and shamrocks and fiddles, oh my! Today we celebrated St. Patrick's Day at the Soup Kitchen as part of our ongoing Have a Heart for Hunger activities (more activity-related-posts coming soon).


East End Cooperative Ministry's Soup Kitchen is open Monday through Friday and offers a free noon meal to anyone who comes by. The food is always good, but today our cook went all-out with 105 pounds of corned beef, mountains of mashed potatoes, and all the cabbage you could eat. We also had excellent rye bread, lending itself to a delicious corned beef sandwich (of which I ate two). Oh! And chocolate chip cookies. Big Chocolate Chip Cookies.


In addition to serving this special meal, we also decked out the Soup Kitchen with much festive adornment, thanks to the help of some loyal volunteers and donors. The good people of Giant Eagle Market District donated wall shamrocks, banners, crepe paper, and balloons. EECM Super Volunteer, Trish, rallied her troops and produced terracotta pots decorated by a local brownie troop (with help from Trish's daughters) from which sprang shamrocks and other decorations. There were also printed Irish blessings for each table.


The final touch to the merriment was lively Irish music, complements of a satellite radio. The Soup Kitchen is always open to the entire community, but today we made a special effort to invite "non-regulars" to join us. The result was a great mix of EECM staff, board members, volunteers, Soup Kitchen regulars, and friends all chowing down on great Irish fare and tapping their toes to the music.

Making the Most of the Snow

Written by: Kate Snyder, Development and Donor Communications Coordinator

As we dig out from the mountains of snow that fell in recent days, our programs are getting back to normal. We were able to keep our most essential programs up and running throughout the nasty weather, including delivering hot, home-cooked meals to our Meals on Wheels clients. Staff, friends, and amazingly loyal volunteers all pitched in to make sure that people in need were helped despite the weather.

Now, we're starting to get back to normal and some of our clients are even enjoying the winter wonderland.

One of our Case Managers at our Homeless Drop-In Center sent me this picture. Apparently, our homeless clients decided that snow sculptures were the order of the day!

Pharmacy Students Teach Healthy Lifestyles

Written by: Kate Snyder, Development and Donor Communications Coordinator

Last month, 73 students received personalized more than 150 hours of personalized tutoring in EECM's ExtraOrdinary Tutoring program. One of the reasons we're able to provide academic help to so many kids in the community is an ongoing partnership EECM enjoys with the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.

Each semester, a cadre of Pharmacy students volunteer with our ET program, often tutoring multiple students and putting in many hours of work each week.

In addition to providing direct school-related support, the Pitt students also try to introduce their students to some principles of living a healthy lifestyle. Recently, a group of four students organized an educational event designed to address the issue of childhood obesity. They approached the problem from perspectives of nutrition and physical fitness.

The culmination of their project was a 4-hour "mini-Olympics" with various stations, including physical fitness games (ex. basketball, tossing balls), bowling, healthy snacks, and an interactive poster asking the kids what a healthy lifestyle meant to them.

Thanks to our Pitt Pharmacy volunteers for stretching beyond the classroom to provide fun, interactive learning!

Making the Most of It

Written by: Kate Snyder, Development and Donor Communications Coordinator

Joella is fighting an uphill battle. She has Stage 4 lung cancer and is in the midst of an aggressive chemotherapy treatment. But Joella is upbeat. She says, “The Lord made each cell in my body – he knows what makes them rebels and he knows how to shut them off, too!”

One side effect of Joella’s treatment is appetite suppression – she doesn’t eat as much as she used to. Joella lives on a fixed income and money is tight. But in recent months, rather than spending less money on groceries, she had a different idea. She chose to keep her grocery budget the same, but donate the excess food to East End Cooperative Ministry’s Food Pantry.

For the first couple months, Joella walked to the grocery store and then to the Food Pantry, bags of non-perishable groceries in hand. Recently, though, her stamina is less, so she called EECM to see about a ride to the store.

I had the pleasure of spending an hour with Joella, perusing the isles of Giant Eagle. She came prepared. Weekly sales flier in hand, she mapped out our route, being sure to include those items the Food Pantry needed most: canned fruits and vegetables, side dishes like Rice-a-Roni and instant potatoes, canned tuna, and pasta and sauce.

At the end of the run, she’d spent about $80 and had a whole cart full of groceries to show for her efforts. The only thing she bought for herself that trip was a carton of potato salad.

Joella’s thoughtfulness was a wonderful reminder of how generous the human spirit can be, even in the midst of adversity. Even though she is facing some very serious challenges in her own life, Joella’s focus is on helping those in need in her community. Thanks, Joella!

Small Things with Great Love

EECM super-volunteer Trish Callaway agreed to allow us to share this wonderful letter she wrote to the families of the Shadyside Presbyterian Church Nursery School, thanking them for their enthusiastic participation in a supply drive for EECM.


Dear SPCNS Families,

Thank you so very much for your generosity of books and toiletries for the East End Cooperative Ministry as well as the beautiful cards that your children made for the Meals on Wheels clients!!!
We collected seven large and heavy bags of children’s books for EECM. On Thursday, I had the privilege of personally offering some books to a very grateful grandmother who was expecting a new grandson in a few days. I wished that you could have seen her smile!


Many families visited the E.E.C.M. pantry this week; and I was so proud to offer them great literature to enjoy. I also wished that you could have heard and seen the coordinator of the Meals on Wheels program giggle with excitement when I handed her a bag full of cards. She shook the bag and said, “They are going to LOVE these cards!”

Thank you also for the toiletries which I sorted and tallied with amazing results...
Bottles of hand lotions/body wash (90), Shampoo (58), hand sanitizers (19), deodorants (40), Boxes of Bandaids (5), tubes of antibiotic ointment (2), bars of soaps (76), packages of dental floss (9), combs (16), brushes (2), tubes of Chap stick (28), sunscreen (1), shower cap (1), sewing kit (1), tubes of petroleum jelly (2), body powder (4), tissue packs (49), reading glasses (6), shaving cream (11), razors (4), toweletts (6), laundry detergent packets (7), packages of Q-tips (2), 4 complete travel kits in cloth pouches, 24 toothbrushes, 25 toothbrushes with toothpaste, 46 tubes of toothpaste and a pair of men's gloves.

Mother Teresa said,
“In Life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”


If I did my math correctly, that is 539 small acts of kindnesses and at least 100 shared books and 45 handmade cards that will give someone a smile…, giving with great love!

Blessings,
Trish Callaway
Mary Lang, Sara Berg, and all the staff at SPCNS