Homeless Children's Education Fund

The HCEF movement aims to impact all 3,122 students in our community who are experiencing homelessness, but it requires support. Your contribution, no matter the amount, will make a difference.

Please remember to include my name in the campaigner box so that I can personally thank you for supporting HCEF.

Scan the QR code or Click the Link to RSVP. https://homelesschildrenseducationfund.salsalabs.org/youcan2024/index.html

Wow! August 22nd was truly special as we hosted our Annual Back to School Bash, where we pulled off the LARGEST DISTRIBUTION of school supplies and backpacks in our history! A total of 3,321 backpacks stuffed with supplies have been sent out to 29 shelters, schools, housing agencies, partners, and community organizations, all dedicated to supporting the youth experiencing homelessness in Allegheny County.

During the event, we were able to hand out 150 backpacks on-site, creating an immediate impact.

Elementary school scholars received an array of supplies including folders, notebooks, markers, 🖍️crayons, ✏️pencils, 🖊️pens, glue, scissors, 🪥toothbrushes, toothpaste, and tissues. Meanwhile, middle, and high school scholars were equipped with folders, notebooks, pencils, pens, highlighters, scissors, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and tissues.

These supplies may seem small, but they represent a crucial measure of stability for our students amidst the uncertainties of life. A big 💙heartfelt thanks goes out to our staff leaders Alizé Strickland and Neal Donovan and everyone who played a part in making this year’s event such a huge success!

⭐️Don’t just meet us there—beat us there!!!

Take one hour out of your day to stand up for the children, youth, and young adults experiencing homelessness in our county. Join HCEF alongside Congresswoman Summer Lee, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, and Mayor Ed Gainey as we rally together to inform and challenge our community to take action.

Your presence and support could change the lives of students facing housing instability.

Click the link and(or) Scan the QR code. RSVP Today! https://homelesschildrenseducationfund.salsalabs.org/youcan2024/index.html

The legacy of September 11th is not just one of loss, but also of hope, courage, and unity. 🇺🇸

⭐️We at HCEF are elated to announce that our leading lady, AJ Jefferson, has been named a 2024 Pittsburgh Business Times C-Suite Award honoree⭐️—an esteemed recognition of her impressive leadership!

The Pittsburgh Business Times C-Suite Awards honors those in executive leadership positions who are going above and beyond to make a difference not only in their respective companies and organizations, but also across the region.

Success requires hard work, and AJ exemplifies this by turning vision into reality through perseverance, determination, and faith 🙏🏿

AJ, we hope you never have to wonder if your team is proud of you—the answer is always, YES!!!

Congratulations again on this incredible accomplishment. Help us celebrate our CEO and all C-Suite honorees by checking out the full PBT article.

https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2024/09/03/2024-c-suite-awards-winners-announced.html?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=EX&utm_content=PI&ana=e_PI_EX&j=36611862&senddate=2024-09-03

Band together with our amazing volunteers to help us reach all 3,122 students experiencing homelessness in our community.

By expanding our programs, we can ensure that every single one of these students receives the support they need to complete their education and follow their dreams.

Scan the QR code to discover how YOU CAN make a difference TODAY! 💙

Several circumstances can lead to people experiencing homelessness:

- Housing and Financial Issues: Approximately 52% of individuals face homelessness due to housing affordability challenges, such as high rent costs, making it difficult to maintain stable housing.

-Family Relationship Challenges: For around 5%, strained family relationships make it difficult to find a supportive living environment, leading to homelessness.

-Violence and Abuse: Many are forced from their homes due to family violence or other forms of abuse, seeking safety and security elsewhere.

-Other Issues: About 15% of cases involve complex factors like mental health struggles, addiction, or loss of employment.

Addressing these issues is crucial to providing access to affordable housing, supportive services, and safety.

We encourage you to read this article, featuring insights from our HCEF partners, to better understand the causes and complexities of homelessness in our region.

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/social-services/2024/09/01/homeless-rise-pittsburgh-finances-shelter/stories/202408160076

Class is in session!

Let the adventures begin.

Let’s have a great 2024- 2025 academic school year! 📚 🍎 ✏️

Congratulations on being chosen as the recipient of the 2024 Dr. Lottie P. Edwards Community Service Award, to be presented at MACAC’s Community Recognition Celebration on September 13, 2024, at the Rivers Club.

At HCEF, we take pride in being guided by a woman of such charisma and astuteness.

Well deserved! 💙

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships!

But how can we win as a city, county, or country?

We can win by coming together to ensure that everyone has housing and life necessities to succeed. 💙

And just like that, our Teen CEO Summer 2024 Program concludes!

We shared so many moments that we hope our students cherish for a lifetime.

The program focuses on entrepreneurial skills, abilities, workforce development, shows our young people career possibilities, and MORE!

The secret to success isn’t just doing what you love. It’s finding something you are interested in, and then working to be good at it.

We’d also like to send a special thanks to .bank ! Your support means so much to us and our students. 💙

So much happening with !

Subscribe to our newsletter! 📰

https://homelessfund.org/headlines-of-hope-quarterly-newsletter/

Gain insight into our programming every quarter, and be the first to know about any updates or special announcements.💙

HCEF partners with nearly 50 organizations including shelters, elementary, high schools, post-secondary schools, and out of school time organizations offering our educational programs and opportunities to children, youth and families experiencing homelessness.

We intend to do all that we can to help!

Remember, our fingerprints don’t fade from the lives that we touch. 🫂💙

Ninety percent of brain growth occurs during the first three years of life, making these years a critical period with a profound impact on lifelong health and learning. Yet infancy is also the time during which a person is most likely to experience homelessness in the United States, and the Americans who are most at risk of eviction are infants and toddlers.

Check out this article ✍🏾 by ‘School House Connection’ to learn more. 🔗 https://schoolhouseconnection.org/article/case-studies-in-supporting-infants-toddlers-and-expectant-parents-experiencing-homelessness

Visit our website 💻to learn more about our response to this need.

📚 HCEF’s Early Childhood Literacy Program seeks to implement reading as early as infancy and creates a community for caregivers to connect with one another and learn early literacy best practices.💙

One of the things we take pride in at HCEF is our tenacious team!

Today, we uplift our Family Engagement Coordinator, Dainna Gray! ✨

The reality is, there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it pertains to being an impactful family engagement coordinator. The benefits of family engagement are backed by decades of research, which show that family engagement directly impacts student outcomes, including socio-emotional development, grades, test scores, student behavior, and high school graduation rates.

Dainna’s contributions to our community through her hard work is appreciable. The team wouldn’t be the same without her. 👏🏾 💙

It’s been a scorcher this summer in Pittsburgh! ☀️

People experiencing homelessness face many challenges during heat waves, including dehydration and a lack of places to go to escape the sun. Some ways to help our neighbors experiencing housing instability survive the heat include: 
• 💧Water - Dehydration is a common threat. You can help by handing out bottled water, frozen water bottles, and keep extras handy in your car!
• 💨Fans - Battery-operated fans can help keep our community safe. Donate fans and batteries to shelters or include them in care packages with other summer essentials.
• 🫂Care Packages - Drop off bags filled with snacks, toiletries, and other essentials at your nearest shelter. Don’t forget the sunscreen and lip balm!
• 🥗Meals - Help families experiencing homelessness stay healthy and nourished. Drop-off some nutritious food at your nearest shelter or gift cards to different restaurants in the area.

If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.

We love this pic from our impromptu staff photo shoot at this year’s HTLA Celebration Luncheon! 

We love our team - even the sneaky ones who hid 🙈from this photo!💙

The world always looks brighter from behind a 😊smile. 💙

Sending a huge congratulations to our very own, Terrel Williams!

We recognize Terrel for his hard work and commitment within our organization, and we so thrilled that the city is uplifting him as one of this year’s New Pittsburgh Courier’s Men of Excellence Awardees.

Terrel works closely with our young people. Helping them navigate through school, life, jobs, and more. A true advocate for change and champion for our youth.

Congratulations Terrel! The entire organization is behind you. 💙

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.  💙

We’re a teensy bit late but we wanted to announce and celebrate our newest team member, Cherrelle Hogan, Teen Outreach Coordinator.

Cherelle joined us in April with more than a decade of experience supporting youth who have faced adversity. She helps HCEF forge a pathway for these young adults and creates opportunities for meaningful mentorship, workforce development, and upward mobility as they transition to adulthood.

Welcome to the team Cherelle and thank you for bringing light and love to our students! 💙

This Wednesday, our entire team celebrated resilience, determination, and the power of education with 24 inspiring young adults.

Twenty-four Hope Through Learning Award (HTLA) and Perseverance Awardees accepted their scholarships and other educational gifts at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center at the 2024 HTLA Celebration Luncheon.

Joined by some very cherished community partners, HTLA donors, and the Awardees’ friends and families, HCEF was able to distribute $58,000 in award funds. A new record for the organization and a 50% growth from the year before!

We are so lucky to be embraced and cared for by such incredible supporters of the Allegheny County community. Thank you to HTLA Donors:
* Abeles Family Charitable Fund
* Allegheny County Medical Society Foundation
* Dollar Bank
* Margaret Ritchie R. Battle Family Charitable Fund
* Philip and Patricia Muck Charitable Foundation
* Pittsburgh Indian Community and Friends
* PPG Foundation
* Robert and Mary Weisbrod Foundation
* Elizabeth Soose and the Members of the Apartment Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh

See you next year!💙

The Hope Through Learning Award is a $2,500 award available to youth aged 24 and under residing in Allegheny County who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness during their school attendance years, and who are going on to a higher education or career training program for the first time. Homelessness is defined as lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence, and includes students living in a shelter, car, motel, doubled-up situation, or places not meant for human habitation.

Today, at the , we will be celebrating 23 Hope Through Learning Awardees and one Perseverance Awardee. We can’t wait to honor these hardworking and brilliant students!! 💙

Zyasia is a shining star within our Teen CEO Program. She continues to soar through her career-learning experience at the (IAW).

IAW, a unique opportunity for school-aged youth, teaches them the art of welding through community-focused projects.

This youth empowerment opportunity is expanding the minds of our young people.

We at are so proud of all of our students! 💙

How can you get involved to give our students a fighting chance? 💙

We always enjoy community connections!

We want to take a moment to thank the Eastern Minority Supplier Development Council - EMSDC (EMSDC) for their consistent outpouring of support for our young people and .

The stimulates and supports economic development with minority-owned businesses. They foster the development of minority enterprises to better align them with corporations to initiate growth and opportunity through Supplier Diversity channels.

Our very own LaMeka-Leshe Dolby, Individual & Corporate Giving Specialist, attended their Annual Youth & Entrepreneur Scholarship Golf Invitational & Clinic and had a fantastic time.

Thank you again, Brian Oglesby, Tricina Cash, and all EMSDC members! Click to learn more - https://emsdc.org/ 💻 💙

Neal Donovan is our Out-of-School Time Coordinator. Neal’s commitment to our young people is heartwarming. He manages our summer backpack distribution, which last year reached a total 2,372 students across the county, he also connects our instructors and providers with students currently staying in shelters and residential facilities.

We’ve had the pleasure of having Neal on our team since February 2023. Neal is making a significant impact in our city and within our team. Inspiring us all to take so much pride in what we do.

Thank you Neal, you’re such a valued member of . 💙

Happy Friday from the HCEF team!

We want to wish you a wonderful weekend. Be on the look out for more summer fun we have in store for our students and families. 💙

Happy Independence Day!

Have fun and stay cool as you celebrate this country’s independence with family and friends. 🇺🇸