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WPXI-TV anchor and reporter Brittny McGraw; Sojourner House board president Sarah Mayer; Sojourner House Executive Director Joann Cyganovich; Mark Lattner, market president for Western Pennsylvania, Citizens Bank
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After naming Sojourner House its "Champion in Action" for the second time in 11 years, Citizens Bank, WPXI-TV and Trib Total Media presented Executive Director Joann Cyganovich and board president Sarah Mayer with a $35,000 check on Jan. 9. As the 2017 Champion in Action recipient, Sojourner House - in addition to receiving the $35,000 in unrestricted funding - will receive extensive promotional and volunteer support for its outstanding work!
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Grant to support writing program at Sojourner House
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Words without Walls instructors and students at work on the first day of spring semester 2017
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"The goals of Words Without Walls are predicated around the belief in the psychological benefits of giving participants a healthy outlet for their emotions, rekindling (or in many cases discovering) their sense of self-worth, and preparing them for a meaningful emotional and creative life outside of jails, prisons, and treatment centers," said Sheryl St. Germain, professor and director of the Chatham University MFA in Creative Writing program and co-founder of Words without Walls. "In jails and prisons, those who take advantage of educational opportunities, like those available in Words Without Walls, have been shown they are less likely to recidivate."
Since 2009, Chatham University MFA in Creative Writing graduate students, alumni, and faculty have taught creative writing classes through Words Without Walls. The program currently teaches 16 classes per year, serving over 360 men and women in the Allegheny County Jail, SCI Pittsburgh and Sojourner House. In addition to on-site classes, Words Without Walls publishes an annual anthology of the program's best writing work and also runs a community workshop for those who have been released from jail, prison, or have completed their treatment at Sojourner House. For more information, visit Chatham University's website.
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Thank you for reading Sojourner House's e-newsletter.
In each issue, you'll learn about recent happenings at Sojourner House, as well as current and upcoming news and events. For more information or if you have a suggestion, please contact Susan Orr, Director of Development, at
[email protected]
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Mark your calendars! 13th annual tea to take place in April
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Proudly in its 13th year, Sojourner House's annual Victorian Tea at Pittsburgh's Grand Hall at the Priory Hotel is consistently a memorable event for our friends & partners.
Each year, 350 mothers, daughters, fathers and sons as well as corporate, community, and church-based friends come together to enjoy tea & pastries, silent auction & basket raffles, live music, and educational programming.
We are currently looking for sponsors and donors to help make our 2017 friendraiser a success. Whether you would like to donate an in-kind auction item or offer a monetary sponsorship, we warmly welcome and appreciate all contributions. For more information, visit our website or email [email protected].
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HCEF grant brings science workshop to Sojourner House
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HCEF awarded Pittsburgh native Sophie Roe a grant to recently conduct a science workshop for children. The grant for this science learning project was given by The Draper Center for Community Partnerships, Pomona's community engagement center, where Roe works as a student coordinator.
Roe calls Pittsburgh, PA her home, but is currently attending Pomona College in Claremont, CA. When asked, Roe chose to do the workshop at Sojourner House MOMS, "because I was familiar with [MOMS] as I worked there as a volunteer in high school ... I always had so much fun working with the children of [MOMS] as a high school volunteer, and I thought it would be fun to come back and teach some science."
The three-week workshop focused on introducing plant and human cells. The children at MOMS learned about photosynthesis, mitosis, human and plant cell structures. According to Roe, "each of the lessons incorporated a "learning" and a "doing" component as the grant aimed to promote hands-on learning." During the lessons, the kids recreated cells using pasta and fruit roll-ups to represent part of the cell. They planted bean seeds to have a greater understanding of how photosynthesis works in plants. They also recreated blood by combining red dye, Cheerios and water, in water bottles. Roe elaborated on the blood project: "In the blood activity, the Sojourner House Scientists dyed the Cheerios red to represent red blood cells or erythrocytes ... The erythrocyte Cheerios were then emptied into water, which represents plasma, the liquid component of blood. The scientists then observed the red Cheerios dye the plasma red to make blood in a bottle!"
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Get your oil changed. Support Sojourner House!
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Next time you get your oil changed, please consider going to Midas ... ALL of the proceeds will go to Sojourner House! For more information, visit our
website or email
contact Lindsey Hayakawa, Administrative Assistant, at [email protected] or (412) 441-7783, ext. 37.
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Support Sojourner House while shopping on AmazonSmile!
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|  Getting ready to shop for your loved ones for Valentine's Day? Make the holiday twice as sweet by shopping on AmazonSmile AND supporting Sojourner House ... at the same time!
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