AT&T Employees Give Time and Talent to Help Pittsburgh Youth
Employees Lead Believe the ‘Burgh Volunteer Events in the Strip and on the Northside

Around 70 AT&T employees from the Pittsburgh area today rolled up their sleeves and volunteered on two projects that will help local young people and their families. 

The events were the latest in a series of Believe the ‘Burgh℠ activities spearheaded by Pittsburgh-area employees and supported by the company to help address pressing community needs.  Believe the ‘Burgh is part of the larger AT&T Believes initiative, which was launched last year in Chicago.

Following a rally at an AT&T facility on Penn Avenue in the Strip District, which featured remarks from County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, one group of employees teamed up with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and packed around 1,000 meal kits that will be given to area young people to help ensure they have meals over weekends and during breaks.

“In every community Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank serves, there are neighbors who struggle to put food on the table--often making tough choices between food and other basic needs. Together we can ensure that all of our neighbors have sufficient food to eat to lead healthy and active lives,” said Lisa Scales, Chief Executive Officer, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

Another team of volunteers, led by the Women of AT&T employee group, boarded a school bus for Light of Life Rescue Mission on the Northside where they helped with maintenance projects; painted rooms; and assembled cribs for the facility’s youngest clients.

"Creating an area in which the children can learn, create, and heal is essential to the recovery process of the families in our program. It has been a long time since our children’s area has been renovated and revamped. It comes with much gratitude that AT&T is willing to come in and do this for our children. Thanks to AT&T for making this happen," Sherry Rorison, director of programs, Light of Life.

“Believe the ‘Burgh combines the commitment and compassion of employees with the strength of the brand to help empower Pittsburgh’s young people with the skills and support they need to thrive and succeed,” said David Kerr, president, AT&T Pennsylvania. “Believe the ‘Burgh will tackle issues like homelessness, food insecurity, navigating often perilous online environments and many others that are identified and inspired by Pittsburgh-area employees.”

Other recent Believe the ‘Burgh events include:

• This summer, AT&T employees visited with young men enrolled in the All Star Code summer intensive program. ASC All Star Code creates economic opportunity by developing a new generation of boys and young men of color with an entrepreneurial mindset to have the tools they need to succeed in a technological world. 
• In July, local AT&T officials met with high school students enrolled in the Pennsylvania Governor’s School of the Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, outlining the importance of what they’re learning to the future of Pittsburgh, the Commonwealth and the country.
• Also, in July, a team of AT&T employees stuffed backpacks with school supplies and hand-written messages. They delivered them to Greater Pittsburgh Community Foodbank Northview Heights Family Support Center and East End Cooperative Ministry so that area children were able to start off the school year with supplies and inspiration.
• A group of AT&T volunteers in August joined forces with The Pittsburgh Promise to help local college students prepare and update their resumes.
• Last spring, AT&T teamed up with the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Cyber Law, Policy, and Security (Pitt Cyber) for an event focused on strategies to prevent cyber bullying and promote more civil online discourse.  The company and Pitt Cyber are working on a larger project that will be rolled out soon. 

In addition to the employee volunteer events, over the past two years, AT&T and the AT&T Foundation have contributed or directed more than $315,000 to support several local organizations whose missions are aligned with the principles of Believe the ‘Burgh, including: Best of the Batch Foundation; Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania; and Pittsburgh Pirates Charities.

To learn more about AT&T Believes initiatives across the country, please click here.