When you arrive at eecm.org/give, you will notice a BIG change! When you click the ‘Donate Online’ button, you’ll arrive at a page that looks like this: ‘Causes’ are the biggest ‘buckets’ where we use donations. These are our three main service areas: Hunger, I.M.P.A.C.T.S., and Children & Youth, plus a general EECM ‘cause’, if you can’t decide. ‘Projects’ are the smaller buckets, or the specific programs we operate under those big umbrellas. For example, Education & Employment is one part of I.M.P.A.C.T.S., and is a ‘project’ of that ‘cause’. Summer Day Camp is one part of our Children & Youth services, and falls under that ‘cause’. We will be adding more projects as we change or add new programs. We will also add new projects as we have specific fundraising needs or campaigns. You will see a Have a Heart for Hunger project coming up on the page in February, and a Reach Out to City Kids (ROCK) Project next summer. As you browse the site and go between Causes and Projects, if you want to get back to this main catalog-type page, just click the magnifying glass at the top of the pages. You will also notice that the giving process is a lot more like online shopping. Donations are added to your cart, and you can keep searching for giving opportunities and then check out later. You can give as much to as many projects and causes as you would like! You can also create recurring donations to any project or cause, just like on the previous online giving page! You will have to sign in and create an account where our third-party processor will save your credit/debit card information and your account will be charged as you request. (If you set up a recurring gift online through our old page, it will stay the same! No need to change anything right now!) Even if you don’t want to set up an automatic monthly or quarterly gift, you can create an account. You can access your online giving history, and store credit/debit card information so you don’t have to re-enter all of your details each time you give. But, if you don’t want to create any more accounts with more passwords to change, you can continue giving as you always have, but now you have more options in an easier-to-use format! The coolest (in my opinion) feature is the ability for you, our supporters, to start your own fundraisers for EECM! You can choose a project that means the most to you and reach out to your own networks to raise money for that project! This would be a great option in lieu of gifts for a birthday or wedding. Get creative! Is your office holding a food drive for EECM? Add a personalized fundraiser page to have even more impact! This will also take the money-changing off of your hands. No more collecting checks made out to EECM from participants in a fundraiser – just send your friends and neighbors to your personalized giving page! As always, we want to help you help us! If you have questions or concerns, contact me (Carrie) via email or phone – 412-361-5549 x7120!

All EECM Community Lunch participants: Please know that in February EECM received and served green beans that have since been recalled at a national level (you may have seen notices in your grocery store). Once we found out about the recall, we immediately removed and discarded the beans as directed. We sincerely apologize for any illness or inconvenience this  may have caused any of our clients. If you have any questions, please email Ed Kinley at edk@eecm.org.

In this episode of Pittsburgh 360, Tonia Caruso reports from our new building and highlighting the positive transition into the new building for our programs.

EECM will host a Christmas Eve meal on Thursday, December 24 from 11:30-2:30pm at Community House.  Everyone is welcome for ham, chicken, roasted potatoes and other delicious food of the season.  If you know someone who will be alone for the holiday, or someone who would enjoy a hot Christmas meal, invite them to attend.  Local groups will sing carols during the meal.  Anyone wanting to help should contact Tracy Hudson at 412-345-7124 or tracyh@eecm.org.  Thank you!

Written by:  Lauren D. Lloyd, Guest Blogger I am raising a three year old daughter, LPL, which is terrifying. The world is a much scarier place than it used to be and as a result, young children regularly struggle with self-esteem issues. With the hope of offsetting some of the challenges she’ll face in the modern world, I’m teaching her values that will help her to be a better, stronger person. LPL is an only child, so I am particularly focused on helping her to understand the values of generosity and compassion. Last Christmas, we bought gifts for a child in need. LPL understood that we were helping someone else. We talked about how the little girl’s mommy and daddy weren’t able to buy presents for her and that she might even be hungry. That experience stuck with LPL. It helped her grasp the concept of sharing with others without asking for anything in return. When LPL’s birthday approached, she asked to have a party to celebrate with her friends. She just wanted her friends to eat cake and sing happy birthday, but we knew that they would show up with presents. Rather than say no gifts and have people still bring them, we asked LPL’s friends and family to bring food to the party so that she could make a donation to the local food pantry. Her friends (and their parents) happily obliged. The kids brought bags of canned goods and talked about helping others. Because of their generosity, we were able to fill two large boxes and LPL dropped them off on the morning of her birthday. She loved sharing her birthday experience with the EECM Food Pantry and plans to make a donation next year too!