Pittsburgh Offers Terrific Opportunities For Community Involvement


I do volunteer work at Community Forge in Wilkinsburg, that is “an inclusive community space dedicated to creating opportunities for Wilkinsburg”. Much of the work they do focuses on youth engagement and community collaboration. It is co-owned by a small group of young professionals including faculty at Pitt,CMU and Duquesne in psychology & neuroscience, physics and computer science. Community Forge is located in a building that was a school built in 1906 and closed in 2011. It is a classic Pittsburgh school, a city block in size and 4 stories tall. I have done most of the landscaping as the space has been converted to a community building.

Travis Alverez, Ph.D., a recent graduate in the Psychology Dept. at Pitt and currently a Pitt Instructor, is a co-owner of Community Forge. The University of Pittsburgh holds two “Pitt Day of Giving” days each year when Pitt students go into the community and volunteer. Last Fall 50 Pitt students came to Community Forge and helped with landscaping, painting, and repair work.