P-G: Effort may be first here to use Twitter to help people in need

To provide needy families with a meal during the holidays, St. Clair Hospital in Mt. Lebanon has launched a campaign to raise money for a local nonprofit's suburban poverty program via the popular social media program, Twitter.

Through its #Tweet2Help drive, which began Tuesday, St. Clair Hospital will donate 50 cents to the South Hills Interfaith Ministry for every retweet of the original message from its @StClairHospital Twitter account. The goal is to raise $1,000 for Interfaith and put food on the table for 50 local families this season.

Read the full article:

• www.post-gazette.com/pg/11349/1196906-55.stm (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Shopping Fundraiser in Memory of Lisa Styles

On Friday, 6 August, 2010, Learning Express Toys in the Galleria will host a fundraiser for the family of Lisa Styles. Twenty percent of all purchases made at the store, from 10 am through 9 pm, will be donated to The Children of Lisa Styles Trust and to The Autism Society of America.

For more information, see the following poster:

Mt. Lebanon Teen's Fundraiser for Zambian Children

The cost of a $10 uniform can keep a child in Zambia from attending school. Caylin McKee, a senior at Mt. Lebanon High School, found a way to help. She is partnering with the first brick and mortar eBay store in Pittsburgh and a local consignment store to raise money for her cause. "We are so lucky to live in a country that has so much 'stuff' that we need businesses like eBay. Now we can donate the proceeds from things we want to get rid of to a good cause," Ms. McKee said. Anyone who brings in items to sell from August 1-10 can donate part or all of their profits to Uniforms for Zambia. It is a great way to get organized and help others at the same time.

Caylin partnered with We Sell Now and the Savvy Fox this year to turn those unwanted treasures into cash for a good cause.

Link: www.mckeeos.com/about/UniformsforZambia_Makeadonation.html

Outreach Teen's Calypso Carnival

The Mt. Lebanon-based counseling service, Outreach Teen and Family Services Inc., will be host to its annual gala fund-raiser, Calypso Carnival, from 7 to 11:30 p.m. April 5 at the Pittsburgh Golf Club, 5280 Northumberland St. Black tie optional. Entertainment will be provided by disc jockey Kelli Burns. Cost is $125 per ticket ($50 tax deductible). Proceeds will benefit the agency, whose mission is to helps empower teens and support families by providing affordable and accessible counseling services to teens. For more information, call 412-561-5405.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08080/866337-55.stm

Pennies From The Heart Help Fund-Raising Drive

Loose change added up for the Washington Elementary School Penny War. In three weeks of competition, the Mt. Lebanon elementary raised $3,910.13 toward renovating its playground. "Right now the equipment is 12 years old and not ADA-accessible," said Kate Aracri, a parent volunteer who co-chaired the drive with Leigh Ann Petulla.

Each classroom had a milk jug where the pupils placed change daily. The goal was to collect the most pennies, but the room's collection could be "sabotaged" by donations of silver and paper money. Nonpenny amounts would be subtracted from the worth of the pennies, but would still benefit the overall fund. Samantha Bower's third-grade class was the room winner, with 21,823 pennies on the ledger.

The last week of competition alone, which ended Jan. 25, brought in 142,181 pennies, or 878 pounds. The playground committee's goal is to raise $80,000.

Link: www.post-gazette.com/pg/08045/857426-55.stm

Lebo Walk Will Honor Fallen Friend

Tom Bauman lived joyously, as a mentor to many of the children of Mt. Lebanon and friend to many adults.

He was also a son, brother, teacher, coach and landscaper and was often seen rollerblading, a sport he loved, in the Virginia Manor area of Mt. Lebanon, near where he had grown up. Tom climbed the Grand Tetons - twice. Once he honored a deceased uncle, who had been a prisoner of war in WWII, by running the steps of the US Steel Building.

Link: www.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/10_17_ML_Walk_to_Remember__pix

Concert Will Help Neighbors Help Lebo Family In Need

Neighbors of a Venezuelan man who brought his family to Mt. Lebanon four years ago to escape political unrest in their homeland hope to raise money to pay for his cancer treatments.

Otto Limongi, 52, a self-employed contractor who has no health insurance, was diagnosed Aug. 30 with colon cancer that metastasized to his liver, almost four years to the day after the family arrived here.

They have been without an income since the diagnosis. "He can't work, and his wife doesn't have a work visa," said Kelly Fraasch, who is working with Aimee Lamendola to organize a benefit concert to help defray Limongi's medical bills.

Link: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/southwest/s_531949.html