The Need Is Great: Make a donation today

On March 10, 2009, the National Center on Family Homelessness released its report on America's Youngest Outcasts. It numbers homeless children in Pennsylvania at 43,103 with 18,103 unschooled children 6 years and younger, 19,167 students enrolled in grades K-8, and 5,833 enrolled in grades 9-12. Read a summary of the state's "report card" here. The full report is also available

The National Coalition for the Homeless reports in its 2008 Fact Sheet #12 that "Homelessness is a devastating experience for families. It disrupts virtually every aspect of family life, damaging the physical and emotional health of family members, interfering with children’s education and development, and frequently resulting in the separation of family members." Read the full report here.

Here in Allegheny County the Department of Human Services's January 2009 "point in time" survey counted 616 homeless families with children unsheltered or living in emergency shelters, transitional housing, and supportive permanent housing. Among the homeless on that date were 631 children receiving county and community services.

The availability of safe, low-cost housing continues to decline as the economy and job market also decline, and the need for Sisters Place services becomes ever more vital. At the same time, in recent years HUD funding that once adequately funded 72% of our mission has steadily decreased and now supports only 50%. We do not expect it to return to the previous level of support and so the need for outside financial support is ever more important.

We are, therefore, most grateful for support of Sisters Place by our nonprofit partners. See the roster here.

Whether you are an individual, a business owner, a community organization, or a family foundation, we encourage you to consider becoming a "major gift" donor. Because Sisters Place is a small organization, $500 is a major gift for us.

If you're not on the Sisters Place mailing list and would like to be informed of the campaign, receive the newsletter, be alerted to upcoming fund-raising events, and learn all the ways in which Sisters Place fulfills its mission of assisting families toward self-sufficiency, SIGN UP TODAY.

Please know that any amount you can give will help.

Your donation to Sisters Place is tax-deductible,
and gifts may be made in honor or in memory of a special person.

There are several ways you can make a monetary donation.

• Write a check payable to Sisters Place, Inc. and mail it to:
  Sisters Place, Inc.
  418 Mitchell Avenue
  Clairton, PA 15025
  
  
• Make an on-line donation through PayPal.
  
  
• Make an online contribution through PittsburghGives, powered by Network for Good and Guide Star. Your contribution(s) will be sent directly to Sisters Place along with your contact information unless you choose to make the gift anonymously.
  
  
• Direct your United Way donation to Sisters Place through the Contribution Choice Program. Our number is 936537. You can also contribute through the Combined Federal Campaign, for which our number is now 62557.

  Keep in mind that many employers match their employees' gifts to non-profit organizations

• Are you an on-line shopper? Become a member of iGive, identify Sisters Place as the cause you wish to support, and have a percentage of your purchase price at over 750 popular on-line stores donated to Sisters Place.
  It's FREE – no invisible costs or tricky obligations. Complete instructions are provided when you follow this link: www.iGive.com/Sisters Place.
  
  
• Our newest way to contribute is through GoodSearch, a search engine that donates 50% of the revenue from its advertisers to the charities designated by its users. Powered by Yahoo, this search engine works exactly like any other. Go to GoodSearch.com, type Sisters Place (Clairton, PA) in the window that says "enter your charity here . . .,"" and then click on the verify button. Your cursor will move to the "search" window and you can begin searching, confident that Sisters Place will receive the benefits. Be sure to bookmark the site for easy return or download a GoodSearch toolbar. And spread the word.

And where might your dollars go?

• $500 can provide child care for one month
  
• $200 can provide heat for a family for one month
  
• $100 can feed a family for one week
  
• $60 can buy a Zone 1 bus pass so a mother can get to work or school
  
• $50 can buy diapers for an infant for one month
  
• $25 can put a new pair of shoes on a child's feet

Sisters Place Wish List

Consider designating a contribution to support Sisters Place's purchase of the following for distribution to our families

• $10 – Toiletries, pillows, or a kitchen towel set
• $15 – School uniform shirt or pants
• $20 – School supplies
• $20 – Games for after school program
• $24 – Weekly Zone 2 bus pass
• $25 – Iron/ironing board or bath towels
• $26 – 2 smoke alarms for a unit
• $30 – Lamp for unit
• $35 – After school snacks (1 week supply)
• $37.50 – Youth Learning Center
• $40 – Comforter
• $50 – Vacuum cleaner
• $50 – School shoes for a child
• $62.50 – Youth mentoring (1 month)
• $83.00 – Child summer camp (1 week)
• $100 – Television or coffee table for resident home
• $150 – Children's after school program (1 month)

We also accept in-kind donations. Currently we are in most need of

• grocery store gift certificates
• full size toiletries (shampoo, deodorant, etc)
• gas gift cards
• bus tickets
• umbrellas
• NEW kitchenware (toasters, bake ware, pots and pans, coffee pots, new plastic drinking glasses)
• diapers and baby wipes
• Undershirts
• CLeaning products, garbage bags, paper towels
• socks – adult and child sizes
• gift certificates, tickets or prizes for raffles or auctions

For more information on how you can help make our wishes come true, call 412-233-3903 or e-mail info@sistersplace.org