“Champions for Children” To Be Honored By Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation on November 13
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 12, 2014
Champions for Children To Be Honored By Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation on November 13
Three individuals will be honored by the Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation (PCGF) as “Champions for Children” in recognition of their outstanding work as community service providers on Thursday, November 13.
Receiving the inaugural “Champions for Children” awards at an evening ceremony held at PCGF’s downtown headquarters building will be:
Dr. Amy Nevin and Dr. Trina Peduzzi, pediatricians at Hilltop Community Healthcare Center
Will Thompkins, Interim Executive Director and former board member of The Pittsburgh Project
“The Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation has a long history in advocating for children’s welfare and we’re excited to begin a new tradition of honoring those who truly make a difference in the lives of children living in Allegheny County,” said Dr. Charlotte Brown, President of the PCGF Board of Trustees.
“While deciding which organizations should receive the award, we took into consideration several factors including the impact of the organization and leaders on the community, the innovative nature of their work and the challenges they faced within the community,” according to Dr. Brown. “As we researched the nominations, we found ourselves with not one, but two organizations and three people who have earned this honor and truly deserve to be called ‘Champions for Children.’”
Dr. Amy Nevin and Dr. Trina Peduzzi practice medicine at Hilltop Community Healthcare Center, a satellite of the Sto-Rox Neighborhood Family Health Center. Located on Mt. Washington, the Hilltop Center serves a diverse group of patients coming from as near as Beltzhoover and Allentown and as far as Duquesne and Clairton. The center’s patients include many individuals from Nepal and various Latino countries, and since Dr. Nevin and Dr. Peduzzi are both bi-lingual, they easily communicate with the Latino patients in their own language.
For nearly a decade, the doctors attended to their patients in a double-wide trailer located on Climax Street. Over the years, the organization expanded its staff from two to seven members, and in the summer of 2014, Hilltop Community Healthcare Center moved into the newly renovated gymnasium in a former high school on Ruth Street. Dr. Peduzzi describes their office as a “one-stop-shop medical home” that provides pediatrics, family practice, women’s health, podiatry and lab services and works in partnership with a local dentist.
“What impressed the committee most about the work being done at Hilltop is the holistic approach to caring for the children they see,” said Dr. Brown. “These doctors work tirelessly to help as many patients as possible in conditions that are not always ideal. Their work often includes addressing issues of poverty, incarceration, drug and alcohol abuse and low literacy levels. Without doubt, their commitment to their community and passion for helping others is certainly an inspiration to us all.”
Will Thompkins serves as Interim Executive Director of The Pittsburgh Project, a Christian focused, non-profit, community development organization serving some of the city’s most vulnerable residents by focusing on vocational and hands-on learning as well as teaching students invaluable life lessons.
At The Pittsburgh Project, Mr. Thompkins leads a staff of 27 – a number that swells to 50 workers each summer – that operate a series of progressive after-school and summer programs. The organization deploys more than 2,000 youth who perform free home repairs for more than 180 elderly homeowners from the community.
“For nearly 30 years, The Pittsburgh Project has been an oasis in a North Side neighborhood with little to offer to its residents, especially to its youth,” said Dr. Brown. “Will’s personal and professional involvement focuses on showing young people right from wrong and encouraging them to be respectful to one another and to apply themselves in school as a means of creating a better life for themselves.”
As a keepsake of the occasion, each of the three honorees will receive a handcrafted glass sculpture created by artist Becky Smith of the Pittsburgh Glass Center.
“Collaboration remains a key component of the Pittsburgh Children’s Guidance Foundation’s success, and we’re excited to introduce this formal awards program,” said Dr. Brown. “The Champions for Children honored this year represent the achievements of all individuals and organizations in our community who better the lives of children each and every day.”
For more information about the Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation, visit www.PittsburghChildGuidanceFoundation.org.
ABOUT THE PITTSBURGH CHILD GUIDANCE FOUNDATION
The mission of the Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation, founded in 1982, is dedicated to improving the emotional health and well-being of children living in Allegheny County by providing grants and collaborating with public and private organizations to implement innovative policies, practices and programs.
Last year, the Foundation completed a 10-year initiative advocating for children whose parents are incarcerated. In 2014, the Foundation began to focus its resources to advocate for families with young children who are experiencing homelessness. The goals of the new initiative are to better understand the issues faced by homeless families with pre-school age children, identify organizations and agencies with which the Foundation will partner and identify ways in which the Foundation can help to mitigate the circumstances of these young children.
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