June 14, 2019 OpenStreetsPGH Join Bike Pittsburgh in Lawrenceville, the Strip District, and Downtown on June 30 for an opportunity to walk, run, and bike down main roads and explore hundreds of businesses, watch live performances, and participate in countless fun activities for the whole family. About Penn Avenue and Butler Street are yours for the day, so lace up your sneakers or pump up your bike tires! Come out to Explore hundreds of businesses from Market Square to the Strip District to Lawrenceville on our most popular route yet! Hop off your bike or slow your stroll to stop at hubs around the route! Hubs feature free fitness classes with the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh, kids activities, and local vendors! Activities As you walk, run, or bike down the route you will find: live performances, giant board games, local food and shops, fitness classes, kids activities, and more! Learn More To learn more, visit the Bike Pittsburgh website. Questions For questions, contact Bike Pittsburgh at 412.325.4334 or openstreetspgh@bikepgh.org.
April 26, 2019 Harnessing the ‘Power of Play’ to Build Equitable Cities When planners and community stakeholders are hashing out asset inventories and needs assessments to figure out the state of neighborhood amenities, a few things are sure to almost always make the list: more access to green space, safer crosswalks, more parking in business districts, gateways, and wayfinding signage. When planners design communities to be safer, healthier, more sustainable, and more walkable, how often do those efforts make a community more playful? The Power of Play Play is powerful. In the sphere of early childhood education, experts recognize the unparalleled importance of play in learning and development. In business, play is seen as a gateway to greater creativity, collaboration, and breakthrough innovation. In society, communities that play together stay together. Isn’t it time we embraced playfulness as a quality worth designing into our urban spaces? Perhaps the trouble is that the word itself seems just too playful to be taken seriously. We need more words for play. More Words for Play The Finnish language has no shortage of words for play. For Finns, playing a game is different from playing a sport, which is different from playing music. There are distinct Finnish words for children’s play and the play that adults engage in. There’s even a Finnish word that means both “work” and “play.” This rich vocabulary shows that in Finland, play is a valued part of life that isn’t confined just to kids’ stuff. Where else would we see play show up in our plans, if only we had the words for it? What would we call the kind of play that brings strangers together? What would we call playing around with ideas and possibilities? It’s questions like these that motivated a coalition of public and private sector partners to start the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative and organize a citywide movement to expand the presence of play in every community. As a mid-size, post-industrial city in the midst of dramatic changes spurred in large part by new development, we see a mandate to build greater public demand for play as an integral part of the city’s future. Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative Locally in southwestern Pennsylvania, the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative is working to make play a part of the urban infrastructure. Since 2013, members of the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative have been working together to find and remove the barriers holding communities back from experiencing the social benefits of play. These efforts have brought together leaders and representatives from the city’s parks and museums, human services and municipal agencies, arts and sustainability nonprofits, and community development groups. Along the way, we’ve encountered distinct manifestations of play that we really wish had their own name. Learn more about the work of The Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative and read the full article from the urban planning magazine Planetizen. (shared via Planetizen)
April 15, 2019 Sign-On to Support Families Impacted by Postpartum Depression Understanding the Need Postpartum depression can strike any new mother. Research shows that approximately 15 percent of new mothers suffer from postpartum depression. In Pennsylvania, this means about 21,000 infants and moms are affected each year. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that when a mother suffers from postpartum depression, both mothers and babies experience negative effects, including: adverse effects on the baby’s brain and development, increased danger of child abuse and neglect, and increased medical care costs. Will you sign-on to support Pennsylvania’s mothers and infants? What is #StrongMomStrongBaby? #StrongMomStrongBaby is a statewide effort to amend the existing early intervention law (Act 212 of 1990) to add postpartum depression as an at-risk condition allowing infants to undergo assessments, parents to receive assistance in bonding with their babies, and if needed, Early Intervention services to ensure moms and babies have the best start together. To learn more and stay up-to-date, follow the campaign’s Facebook page. Take Action Show your support for Pennsylvania’s mothers and infants by adding your name to the #StrongMomStrongBaby petition.
April 10, 2019 Child Care Woes: The Push to Expand Access In a recent article published online by the Christian Science Monitor (CSM), Trying Together Executive Director Cara Ciminillo discussed parent’s “constant hustle” in relation to providing and identifying high-quality care for their young children. Overview In the article, staff writer Sara Miller Llana brings in the story of Dana Hunter, a full-time employee and mother living in Pittsburgh. In this, Ms. Hunter describes the challenging balancing act of providing primary care for her young children while managing the workload and time requirements of full-time employment. Trying Together Cara Ciminillo mentions, “It’s a constant hustle. It’s a constant piecing together and juggling of demands and priorities.” After sharing this story, the article later goes on to explain the growing support for pre-k, calling on evidence that access to early education not only supports the healthy development of young children but also supports caregivers’ return to the workforce. Although political figures are calling for increased access to early care and education, supported by the successful implementation of such programs in other countries, “affordable, quality child care still remains out of reach for many families, with women often shouldering the bulk of domestic management.” Article Read the full article to learn more about Pennsylvania’s push to expand access to child care.
April 8, 2019 BreastFED: Breastfeeding Summit Join Healthy Start for BreastFED, Pennsylvania’s only regional breastfeeding summit. BreastFED is a two-day regional symposium aimed at providing information from professionals and community experts locally, regionally, and nationally on innovative approaches to address the needs of mothers and lactation practitioners in this region. Throughout the two days, participants will receive both clinical and community perspectives and will be able to share insights and experiences to move forward with best practices and groundbreaking methods to changing the culture of feeding our babies. See the full agenda. Continuing Education Units & Credits CEU’s are available for: Lactation Nursing Social Work Midwifery This summit is approved for a maximum of 10.75 continuing nursing education contact hours. The University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Learn More To learn more about the summit and to register, visit the event website. For any questions, contact Healthy Start by phone at 412.247.4009 or email at email@hsipgh.org.
March 19, 2019 Wellness Wednesday: Rethink Your Drink Join the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh for Wellness Wednesday in the Nursery! The group will explore the sugar content of popular beverages as well as sample different flavors of fruit-infused waters (the healthy alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages). Get ready to rethink your drink! This program is designed for our youngest learners (0-5) but is suitable for all ages. The event is drop-in, so guests may come and go as they please! For more information, visit the event page!
March 18, 2019 Young Sprouts: Starting Seeds – Germination Station Visit our Young Sprouts Germination Station! Are you curious about seeds? What is a seed, anyway? What do seeds need to grow into healthy plants? Investigate the many colors, shapes, and sizes of seeds and listen to the story, A Seed is Sleepy. We will also be giving away seeds saved from our garden! This program is drop-in, so feel free to come and go as you please! This program is designed for our youngest learners (0-5) but suitable for all ages. Program location is weather dependent: we will be in the Garden if the weather allows; find us in the Nursery if weather is less than ideal.
Wellness Wednesday: Monthly Munchies – Spinach Join us for Wellness Wednesday in the Nursery! Our Monthly Munchies series takes place every third Wednesday of the month and will feature an in-season fruit or vegetable. Come sample the focus fruit or vegetable and get recipe ideas to use it at home! Sponsored in part by WIC. This program is drop-in, so feel free to come and go as you please! This program is designed for our youngest learners (0-5) but suitable for all ages. For more information about Early Childhood Learning, visit our home page!
March 12, 2019 OpenStreetsPGH About Grab your walking shoes and come play on car-free streets of Homewood, Larimer, East Liberty, Shadyside, and North Point Breeze on Saturday, May 25th! Explore the longest OpenStreetsPGH route ever with 4.4 mile loop traveling through the East End. OpenStreetsPGH is a free, all-ages event that’s building healthier, more connected communities. OpenStreetsPGH invites the community to get outside and be active, providing an opportunity to reimagine our streets as places for people, not just cars. Activities Join us for fitness workshops, kids activities, shopping, brunch, community arts, and special promotions presented by over 100 local businesses and organizations. There are three event hubs along the route: two hubs will feature free fitness classes by the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh and one hub will feature a brand new BikePGH Kids Bicycling Education classes. Visit OpenStreetsPGH.org for more info! Organizers & Supporters The event is organized by Bike Pittsburgh and is made possible through major support from UPMC Health Plan. Additional support is provided by, Peoples, The Benter Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, Wahilia Creative, AARP, Port Authority, Uber, and PNC.
January 3, 2019 Toddler Life: Free Class Series This seven-class series explores how to enjoy life with a toddler, keep them safe and healthy, and teach them what they are ready to learn. Parents and expectant parents are invited to learn about and discuss topics that can help their toddlers succeed. By attending, all parents earn points toward baby clothes, toys, equipment, and can receive 50 diapers per month. For expectant parents, there are opportunities to earn a new pack ‘n play, car seat, or high chair by completing seven classes. This series runs on Tuesdays from January 22 to March 5, 2019. A light dinner will be provided. Topics The following topics will be discussed: Positive Discipline Developmental Stages Sibling Adjustment Toilet Training Stress-Reduction Registration Register for these free classes by phone (412.945.7670) or online through the Facebook event page. Share this flyer with your networks.
