Pittsburgh Social Venture Partners (PSVP), Pittsburgh’s leading venture philanthropy organization, ready to launch a new pilot program aimed at the area’s next generation of engaged philanthropists.
GOAL
PSVP Kids will create awareness among young people of the responsibilities and rewards of giving both time and money to the non-profit organizations in their communities.
WHO SHOULD PARTICIPATE?
Children in grades 3-6, along with a parent, willing to commit one afternoon per month to volunteer with a non profit in their community. The program uses the model of child-parent teams to create positive experiences for families and also create platforms for conversation at home, beyond the confines of the program. The program will follow the school calendar, operating September ’08- May ’09. The goal of this pilot is to have 10-12 child-parent teams who will participate in six events over the course of the year. After the pilot is completed, PSVP will look into expanding to a larger group in addition to other age groups.
WHAT WILL PSVP KIDS DO?
PSVP has partnered with Pittsburgh Cares to coordinate the service projects along with a kick-off orientation for the PSVP Kids participants. The program will require participants to commit approximately one afternoon per month on a service project. The tentative agenda for the year includes projects with East End Cooperative Ministry, Family Services of Western PA, GTECH (Growth Through Energy and Community Health), Vintage Adult Day Care, Publicolor and participation in MLK: Celebrate the Dream (a city-wide volunteer event organized by Pittsburgh Cares).
PHILANTHROPIC GOAL
Each child-parent team will be asked to give $200 to join the program. It is the hope of PSVP that parents will ask their children to contribute at least half of this ($100) through chores and other jobs around the house. The total collected will be held by PSVP until the end of the program in May. At this point the group will decide which non profit they would like to award their money to, based on their experiences of the past year, PSVP is also hoping to provide opportunities for the kids to “pitch” to corporations for matching dollars.
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