2021-2022
IMPACT REPORT
COVID ADJUSTMENT
As our programs evolve, we have made the decision to switch to a fiscal calendar year which means we begin recording program impact July 1 and end June 30 the following year. This decision was made in large part due to shifting priorities during COVID-19.As a result, this special report reflects 18 months of impact! Moving forward from here, impact reports will focus on the work we have accomplished on a fiscal year schedule.
MISSION, VISION, VALUES
Our Mission
Hello Neighbor works to improve the lives of recently resettled refugee and immigrant families by matching them with dedicated neighbors to guide and support them in their new lives.
Our Vision
Hello Neighbor envisions a welcoming, inclusive, and vibrant Pittsburgh and America, whose newest neighbors can realize their dreams of success and prosperity. We aspire to see communities where everyone is valued for their diverse perspectives and are empowered to rebuild their lives with dignity and respect.
Our Values
Our Mission
We believe that all of our work should start with the best interests of the refugees that we serve as voiced by them.
CROSS-CULTURAL SENSITIVITY
We believe in having a thoughtful approach toward the refugee families we support. We know the best answers come from really listening to the needs of the community and that trauma-informed care impacts programmatic support.
DIGNIFIED STORYTELLING
We believe in protecting the privacy and dignity of refugee families by sharing their stories in a respectful way. We strive to be mindful of and sensitive to the journeys and trauma these stories may represent.
CULTIVATING COMMUNITY
We believe the most important aspect of our program is the human connection and trust that comes from mentor/mentee relationships. Listening and connecting over shared experiences helps to foster a community that transcends cultures.
INCLUSIVE SUPPORT
We believe in welcoming and standing beside all refugees and immigrants— regardless of race, religion, age, national origin, citizenship status or sexual orientation—and honoring their experiences and voices with a spirit of acceptance and belonging.
LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER
Dear Neighbors,
I’m so excited to share with you Hello Neighbor’s 2021-2022 Impact Report!
Why two years? Excellent question! First of all, we changed our fiscal year to July 1st - June 30th. As we grow, some changes to Hello Neighbor’s financial outlook came to light including how we frame our fiscal year. Second of all, we have undergone exponential growth, as you’ll see from these pages! We’ve experienced growth in the services and programs we provide, in the number of new neighbors we serve, in our national work and presence, and in our staff and annual budget. It’s always been a big vision for a bright future here at Hello Neighbor and that has never been more true than the last two years.
We have weathered a lot of storms and seen a lot of blue skies. From COVID-19 to the fall of Afghanistan and welcoming 250 new neighbors to Pittsburgh in our first year of direct refugee resettlement. Together, we continue to rise to the challenge and I personally am so grateful to see how our work has been embraced and supported as innovative and human-centered - that’s critical in order for us to keep the integrity of how we started, our mission, and the problem we were looking to solve when Hello Neighbor was first founded in 2017. Resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adjusting after hardships, challenges, and trauma. Our newest neighbors show us this process everyday.
Our highlights and success is in large part because of YOUR support! So thank you to everyone reading this who has volunteered, mentored, tutored, donated, supported, written a card or given an airport ride, donated in-kind items or your time. I truly believe in the power of building community because I see it happen every day thanks to all of YOU.
We expanded our services to includes an entire Family Services department: Mentorship, Smart Start, and Study Buddy, and the creation of our Resettlement department, which provides support for new arrivals that includes securing safe and affordable housing, employment within 90 days for at least one member of a household, navigating health appointments, school enrollments, cultural orientations, and so much more.
On the national scale, the Hello Neighbor Network, powered by Hello Neighbor, has grown tremendously. Our Network scaled to 96 organizations from 36 states, we expanded our education and learning offerings, built the Annual Convening into a “must” for our members, and reframed regrants into our Resilience Grants portfolio. We also became a funder ourselves of great work happening all around the country!
On behalf of the staff and Board of Directors of Hello Neighbor, I am deeply honored to share this report with you. I hope by reading these updates you’ll see for yourself how we live our core values and how they inform the work we do every single day, both locally here in Pittsburgh, across Allegheny County, and throughout the country. I also hope you’re inspired to get involved!
With Abundance, Gratitude and Joy,
Sloane Davidson
Founder and CEO
FALL OF AFGHANISTAN
The Addition of Resettlement
As part of the City of Pittsburgh’s Welcoming Week 2021, the Office of Mayor William Peduto and Office of Equity’s Welcoming Pittsburgh announced Pittsburgh has been named a Certified Welcoming place, becoming the 12th in the United States to achieve this designation.
Our refugee neighbors arrive in the U.S. with no funds, no network of support, and lacking the language and cultural knowledge to successfully navigate a new place. As a resettlement partner, it is our job to help these individuals get to a place of self-sufficiency.
Our work begins the moment a refugee first steps off the plane in Pittsburgh: welcoming them to our city, providing furnished housing, access to basic food and necessities like a social security number, cell phone and bus pass, employment services and school enrollment support, access to health services, cultural orientation, English language classes, and more.
Our team works closely with volunteers, donors, social service providers, employers and communities to support refugees as they rebuild their lives with dignity and respect.
A NOTE - ‘PITTSBURGH: A WELCOMING CITY’
As part of the City of Pittsburgh’s Welcoming Week 2021, the Office of Mayor William Peduto and Office of Equity’s Welcoming Pittsburgh announced Pittsburgh has been named a Certified Welcoming place, becoming the 12th in the United States to achieve this designation.
Welcoming Pittsburgh is an immigrant, refugee and asylee integration strategy launched in 2014. Welcoming Pittsburgh is rooted in a commitment to ensure a more livable city for all residents and is an initiative meant to live within the community. Instead of directing the conversation, the city aims to support the dialogue that is already happening in order to successfully address the needs of the community. Through support of immigrant-centered events, projects, and initiatives, the City of Pittsburgh is committed to engaging as much of our immigrant, refugee, and asylee communities as possible.
Hello Neighbor is proud to be a part of such a great initiative and has been working closely with refugee resettlement agencies like U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) to support our newly arriving neighbors through Resettlement and Placement (R&P) support.
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) works to protect the rights and address the needs of persons in forced or voluntary migration worldwide and support their transition to a dignified life.
The Resettlement and Placement (R&P) program is responsible through the Department of State cooperative agreements to provide the following services to refugees during the first 90 days of their arrival to the U.S.:
- Secure safe and affordable housing, furniture, household items, weather-appropriate clothing, and more
- Apply for economic assistance programs available to newly arrived refugees
- Medical screenings and referrals
- Social security enrollment
- School enrollment
- English classes enrollment
- Employment services
- Cultural orientations
OUR PROGRAMS
DAY 0-90:
Resettlement
Our newest resettlement program focuses on directly resettling refugees, SIVs, and Afghan humanitarian parolees across Allegheny County. We will use a Community Sponsorship model to garner grassroots, community support around our newest neighbors from the moment they step off the plane.
DAY 91:
Family Services
Our local Family Services programs provide direct, neighbor-to-neighbor support to refugees and immigrants throughout the Pittsburgh region.
These programs include:
- Family Mentorship - connecting local families to their newest neighbors
- Study Buddy - offering peer tutoring for refugee and immigrant youth
- Smart Start - providing support to new moms and babies
The Network
A national coalition of grassroots organizations supporting refugees and immigrants across the U.S., the Hello Neighbor Network provides refugee-focused nonprofits with the tools and resources they need to create structural change.
18-month Impact in Numbers
STUDY BUDDY
SMART START
+ 8 First-Time Moms!
OUR PROGRAMS
THE NETWORK
Resettlement
Our work begins the moment a refugee first steps off the plane in Pittsburgh, with the aim to provide different resettlement services within a span of 0-90 days. Since the establishment of the resettlement department, Hello Neighbor has provided the following services:
A single family of 7currently resides in temporary housing in an AirBNB. They just agreed to stay in Pittsburgh and will be moving into one of two vacant units, leaving us with one large unit open.
all part time jobs with the exception of 1. Average wage is $14.64. 70% of eligible adults are working with 13 pending placement.
We are grateful to the following employers for partnering with us and hiring our clients
We appreciate Staffmark PCNA for ensuring that our families have reliable transportation to their New Kensington office. Without transportation this partnership would not be possible as the majority of our families have no vehicle at this point and rely on public transportation.
WHAT'S NEXT
Ukraine Arrivals
On April 21, 2022, President Biden introduced Uniting for Ukraine, which provides a pathway for Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members to come to the United States and stay temporarily in a two year period of parole. People fleeing the war in Ukraine can come to the U.S. with the support of a sponsor. Recently, this status was updated to be called Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolees (UHP) and Hello Neighbor received funding to support new Ukrainian neighbors. However, under the current federal guidelines this looks very different than how we normally welcome refugees. Ukrainians coming to Pittsburgh will have to seek out our services or be referred to us. While it is still unknown how many Ukrainians will be resettled in Pittsburgh, we know they are coming and anticipate more updates in the months to come. We continue to work closely with the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to share updates with the Pittsburgh community.
Community Co-sponsorship
Community co-sponsorship: Hello Neighbor is thrilled to announce the launch of our newest program in Refugee Resettlement: Community Co-Sponsorship. Under co-sponsorship, a community group makes an agreement to provide a refugee family with government regulated services and financial support, as well as a social support network, friendship and opportunities for personal exchange that go well beyond the requirements of a resettlement agency.
Hello Neighbor is currently running a pilot model of our Co-Sponsorship program. Whether your group is an interfaith organization, a workplace committee, a book club, we will be looking for lots of volunteer groups to take part in this exciting new chapter of refugee resettlement history!
NEW NEIGHBORS SPOTLIGHT
One family we worked closely with in their first 90 days consists of 10 people – Mom, Dad, and 8 girls ranging in ages from 2-18!
Before the school year came to a close, all 8 daughters were enrolled and ready to learn, and Mohammad secured employment his first 90 days. After their 90-day resettlement period, Hello Neighbor will continue to be there for them with our family services programs as they continue adjusting to their new home!
With the help of a partner organization, we were able to give every Afghan family a new computer, Mohammad’s family being one of them. These computers help support students’ schoolwork and English learning courses. The photo above shows Mohammad and his oldest daughter on a trip to Goodwill, where they purchased new dresses for all 9 women and girls in the family!
The family is settling well into life in Pittsburgh. They are now able to navigate bus routes including ensuring all 8 children get to school and attend medical appointments. This is a huge adjustment for anyone navigating a new city, let alone someone who is also learning a new language. We’re eager to continue welcoming new neighbors just like Mohammad’s family to Pittsburgh.
FAMILY SERVICES
DAY 91:
Beyond Resettlement
Since our founding in 2017, Hello Neighbor has worked with over 1,100 refugees and immigrants in Pittsburgh from more than 18 countries of origin to support them in their post-resettlement journey. Our Family Services programs (Study Buddy, Mentorship, and Smart Start) will continue to serve as additional post-resettlement support after a family or individual’s first 90 days - providing wraparound support systems and resources that show our refugee and immigrant neighbors that they are not alone.
STUDY BUDDY
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3 sessions per evening =
WHAT’S NEXT
Early Childhood Programming
Hello Neighbor’s Early Education program is currently in its planning phase. In the last quarter of the year we will be publishing a new position for Early Education Specialist. We are also interviewing partners and community members in the field to gauge their specific needs in early education. We want to act as a bridge between our families and existing services and find opportunities to use our partnerships with schools and local stakeholders to create programming for our younger learners.
MENTORSHIP
Mentorship
MENTORS:
Our mentors came from across Pittsburgh. They reported spending an average of 36 hours with their mentees, registering children for school programs, going to doctor appointments, getting library cards, and exploring Pittsburgh.
MENTEES:
Our mentee families live across the region, with most living in Carrick, Carnegie, and Crafton Heights. They hold many roles in our community, working as interpreters, Uber drivers, food workers, college students, and legal aides.
COHORT 6
MENTEE FAMILIES
Our mentee families live across the region, with most living in Carrick, Carnegie, and Crafton Heights. There were a total of 115 mentees: 52 adults and 63 children.
They hold many roles in our community including interpreters, Uber drivers, food workers, college students, and legal aides.
Their aspirations are diverse: to buy a home, study coding, work in international affairs, and to learn English.
MENTOR FAMILIES
Our 71 mentors came from 27 families across Pittsburgh.
Among them are teachers, computer programmers, farmers, linguists, professors, and artists.
Throughout their time in the program, our mentor families reported time spent registering children for school programs, visiting museums, going to doctor appointments, getting library cards, and exploring Pittsburgh.
MENTORSHIP EVENTS HELD BY HELLO NEIGHBOR
Kickoff at a Pittsburgh Riverhounds game
Celebration at the Heinz History Museum
End of Cohort Community Potluck
MENTORSHIP EVENTS HELD BY HELLO NEIGHBOR
We conducted end-of-program interviews with 25 mentors and 19 mentees. There was an additional anonymous survey of mentors with 4 responses.
Generally, participants felt that the most memorable moments were shared holiday traditions - particularly Thanksgiving. During their interviews, 6 mentors and 8 mentees brought up holiday stories.
Mentee Responses
- 95% felt that the program was helpful
- 89% said that they better understand American culture
- 100% would recommend the mentorship program to a friend(3 already had). **
COVID-19
Cohort 6 took place during the COVID-19Pandemic. While most participants were vaccinated,100% of matches had to cancel plans due to COVID spikes and infections.
They stayed connected through:
- Texting
- Facetime/Zoom
- Meeting outside
- Delivering food and gifts
Time spent together was impacted by these disruptions from January - March, and families found that virtual interactions were not as meaningful as time spent in-person.
WHAT'S NEXT
C7 Mentorship kicks off in fall of 2022
We are excited to announce the launch of the C7Mentorship Program. Through this program, we will match recently resettled refugee and immigrant families with local mentors. Mentor and mentee matches decide what they want to do together, with activities ranging from playing at the local park, to attending Hello Neighbor events, to helping mentee families read mail and teaching them to write a check.
Mentors are strategically matched with the refugee and immigrant families based on a variety of factors including geographic proximity, family composition, availability, and interest areas. The initial time commitment is a minimum of 10 hours per month for eight months, but many of the relationships created in our program remain active after the initial time commitment and develop into lifelong friendships.
SMART START
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WHAT'S NEXT
Extensive case management for individuals in Smart Start programming
HELLO NEIGHBOR NETWORK
Hello Neighbor Network Convening 2022
The Hello Neighbor Network Convening 2022 welcomed100 people to Pittsburgh. The convening created a space to generate ideas for refugee and immigrant leaders’ work, celebrate them for all they do and who they are, and leave them inspired to continue building bridges of belonging in places they call home. 70% of presenters are people with lived migration experience, indigenous, and people of color. 91% of food vendor dollars went to refugee and immigrant vendors.
IMPACT NUMBERS:
WHAT'S NEXT
Strategic planning for the future direction of The Network!
Resilience Grants
Every community is dealing with challenges they couldn’t have predicted. Support at the right moment can help individuals, families, and communities rebound and thrive. Resilience Grants go to the greatest areas of need and opportunity for refugees and immigrants nationwide. Resilience is a muscle we flex now perhaps more than ever. Resilience Grants allow nonprofits across the nation to support their communities in areas of greatest need.
PURPOSE:
To leverage national funding for local, community-based organizations working with immigrants and refugees
WHO'S ELIGIBLE:
Network members (sometimes sub-segments)
WHO FUNDS:
Funders at a national scale typically who work with us to identify a specific issue or need for grassroots nonprofits
WHEN:
Throughout the year
WHO GOT FUNDED:
Technology Resilience Grant with the Harnisch Foundation
• Hearts & Homes for Refugees
• Dwell Mobile
• Soft Landing Missoula
• Refugee Assistance Alliance
• Homes Not Borders
• Miry’s List
• Cornerstone Marriage and Family Intervention
• Refugee Education & Adventure Challenge (REACH)
• Ladies Let’s Talk
• Riverview International Center
• Neighbor to Neighbor
• Elena’s Light
• Tapestry Farms
• Elmahaba Center
Capacity Building Resilience Grant with the Walmart Foundation
• Bismarck Global Neighbors
• Break Bread, Break Borders
• Claremont Canopy
• Cornerstone Marriage and Family Intervention
• Dwell Mobile
• Elena’s Light
• Elmahaba Center
• Heartfelt Tidbits
• Hearts & Homes for Refugees
• HOLA Lakeway
• Homes for Refugees, USA
• Homes Not Borders
• International Neighbors
• Ladies Let’s Talk
• Miry’s List
• Neighbor to Neighbor
• Refugee Assistance Alliance
• Refugee Education & Adventure Challenge (REACH)
• Riverview International Center
• Soft Landing Missoula
• Tapestry Farms
• Welcome Home Jersey City
Surprise Recognition Resilience Grant with the Good People Fund
• Break Bread, Break Borders
• Claremont Canopy
• Cornerstone Marriage and Family Intervention
• Dwell Mobile
• Elena’s Light
• Elmahaba Center
• Heartfelt Tidbits
• Hearts & Homes for Refugees
• HOLA Lakeway
• Homes for Refugees, USA
• Homes Not Borders
• International Neighbors
• Ladies Let’s Talk
• Miry’s List
• Neighbor to Neighbor
• Refugee Assistance Alliance
• Refugee Education & Adventure Challenge (REACH)
• Soft Landing Missoula
• Tapestry Farms
Welcome Home Jersey City Times of Transition Resilience Grant with USA for UNHCR
• Cornerstone Marriage and Family Intervention
• Elmahaba Center
• HOLA Lakeway
• Neighbor to Neighbor
• Refugee Assistance Alliance
• Refugee Education & Adventure Challenge (REACH)
• Tapestry Farms Staff & Volunteer
Appreciation Resilience Grant with the Walmart Foundation
• African Development Center
• Eat N Talk Africa
• ECHO Collective
• Global Emergency Response and Assistance
• Karen Society of Nebraska
• New Neighbors Partnership
• One World One Love
• Open Field
• Orange County Jewish Coalition for Refugees
• Refugee Hope Partners
• Ruth’s Refuge
• The Welcome to America Project
• Treetops Collective
• Valley Neighbors
• Weavetales
Race and Racism Research
This research seeks to answer the central questions:
- What is the current level of understanding of race and racism in the U.S. for newly resettled refugee and immigrant adults (over 18) in the Hello Neighbor Network?
- What topics and approaches would be most effective to build refugee and immigrant awareness of anti-racism and racial equity?
WHO GOT FUNDED:
Refugee Perspectives on
Race & Racism in the U.S.
The Hello Neighbor Network, powered by Hello Neighbor, is under taking one of the first national research studies to understand adult refugees’ understanding and experience of race and racism in the U.S.
Why this study?
- Refugees face and may engage in race discrimination.
- CORE orientation trainings for refugees do not cover histories or the context of race and racism in the U.S.
- Select grassroots nonprofits provide this education, many do not have capacity.
Phase 1
Data Collection
Phase 2
Modules
Phase 3
Roll Out
Tufts University's Refugees In Towns Initiative, led by Dr. Karen Jacobsen, conducts case studies in local contexts utilizing participatory methods with refugees as co-researchers.
Powered by Hello Neighbor(founded in 2017), the Hello Neighbor Network is a coalition of nearly 100grassroots nonprofits supporting refugees and immigrants in the U.S.
University of Massachusetts-Amherst's Dr. Linda Tropp is aleading researcher onintergroup relations. She andher PhD student, CierraAbellera, conduct nationalperceptions surveys.
* Results are not yet ready to share
HOME SWEET HOME 2021
On Sunday, September 19th, 2021 we gathered over 200 neighbors at the beautiful Priory Grand Hall for an unforgettable afternoon of community, delicious local and cultural food, outstanding musical performances and more all in support of our newest neighbors. We are honored to announce that we raised over $60,000 at this year’s Home Sweet Home celebration! These funds will have a profound impact on the lives of our refugee and immigrant families and we are so grateful for your commitment to standing with our newest neighbors. Thank you to everyone who attended and made magical memories.
POTLUCK 2022
Hello Neighbor hosted its Annual community potluck on May 22nd, 2022 at Seneca Shelter, Settler’s Cabin Park. For the first time, we celebrated with families from our new programs, including our newest neighbors. The potluck featured a variety of events and activities including food, soccer, face painting, henna, spin art, crafts, an inflatable basketball game, carnival games, and much more. We are thankful to have such a supportive and generous community and want to offer extra thanks to those who brought a dish to share, blankets, lawn games (and umbrellas!).
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WOMEN'S WAY PARTNERSHIP
To capture some of the unique experiences of motherhood across communities, Hello Neighbor partnered with Sharing Our Story. We brought together a diverse group of women who shared one important identity: mother. Through workshops supported by both Sharing Our Story and Hello Neighbor volunteers, women worked to connect in a shared space, beginning with identifying important items that capture a component of their varying identities: refugees from Congo, an immigrant from Iran, a special immigrant visa holder from Afghanistan, and refugees from Iraq and Syria as well as US-born Pittsburghers. Free screenings of the nine short films developed from these workshops were hosted across Pittsburgh neighborhoods in May, June, and July of 2022 by several of our generous partners. The first public discussion was facilitated by Bishnu Timsina of the Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh (BCAP) at the Brentwood Library with an amazing performance by Sankofa Village of the Arts and delicious food provided by Zafaron. Following the first discussion, Caley Donovan, Director of Resettlement at Bethany Christian, facilitated a lively discussion at the City of Asylum with a Persian interpreter, holding a moment of silence for those living through the aftermath of the fall of Kabul, Afghanistan. Our wrap-up presentation was hosted at the St. Nicholas Croatian Church surrounded by the beautiful Murals of Maxo Vanka with facilitation by Wiam Younes of Ansar and Arabic interpretation.
WORLD REFUGEE DAY PARTICIPATION
We had an amazing community get together on World Refugee and Immigrant Heritage Month celebration at Schenley Plaza. The event supported local refugee and immigrant owned restaurants and artisans and was filled with arts, music, crafts, and food. It was a great opportunity to meet with our neighbors and celebrate the city’s diverse culture and history together.
BACK TO SCHOOL DRIVE
Hello Neighbor’s Back to School Open House Event invited families, students, and guardians to our offices for food, entertainment, and a backpack drive. Students were given a brand new back pack filled with supplies for the upcoming school year. On the second floor of our offices, we had sessions helping students and guardians prepare for the upcoming school year by sharing some information on what to expect in the classroom. Thanks to UPMC for providing their mobile vaccination services - giving folks their COVID vaccines or boosters on site. We would also like to thank VolunTOTs, 412 Food Rescue, Pittsburgh Public Schools (ESL Centers),and Bookworm Global for their participation and partnership to make this event a successful one.
LOOKING FORWARD
Van Life
Thank you to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church for allowing Hello Neighbor to borrow their spacious van to coordinate transportation for our families. Here’s Lexie from the Hello Neighbor team during the key hand-off with Ginny from St. Paul’s. We are so incredibly grateful for our community here in #Pittsburgh who supports our work, and extends their generosity in countless ways to help us welcome our newest neighbors.
WHAT’S NEXT: Hello Neighbor is on the hunt for a 15 passenger van! We are raising funds for this much needed transportation for airport pickups of our newest neighbors.
Storage Unit
We are grateful to St. Andrew’s for their help with our storage unit. Thanks to their support, we now have our very own storage unit in the back lot of our office! This allows us to expedite the support for our new neighbors and improve our inventory.
WHAT’S NEXT: We are updating flooring to grow space and capacity for in-kind donations!
2nd Floor Upstairs
We have moved to the Second Floor! With the impressive growth of our team members, it was time for us to expand our office space. And now we have half of the upstairs office space, along with new meeting areas and work stations.
WHAT’S NEXT: We have signed the lease for the entire 2nd floor to make room for our growing staff!
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IMMIGRANT GROCERY STORE DAYS
We had amazing days at Salem’s Market (Wednesday December 15), Double Fresh (Thursday, December 16), and Rahma Grocery (December 17) 2021. Our team members and volunteers came together to support families with their grocery shopping.
BOARDS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
- Co-chair: Katie Le, Client Service Business Manager, JP Morgan Private Bank
- Chris Boehm, IT Manager, PPG
- Vice-Chair: Ezz-Eldin Moukamal, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Forbes Hospital
- Treasurer: Amanda Strader, Director of Accounting and Systems, Duolingo
- Secretary: Kristin Garbarino, Associate Marketing Director, Carnegie Mellon University
- Alexandra Cavoulacos, Co-founder of The Muse
- Sloane Davidson, Founder and CEO, Hello Neighbor
- Paul Fermo, Vice President of Business Development, Ascent AeroSystems
- Aliza Haider, Senior Advisor, Immigration and Global Mobility, Duolingo
- Kristen Hemmings, Senior Financial Paraplanner, Coghill Investment Strategies
- Sarah Miley, Labor & Employment Attorney, Littler Mendelson, P.C.
- Anne Marie Toccket, Executive Director, Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh
- Tina Tran, Director, Business Development at Microsoft
- Jillian Wein Riley, Assistant Counsel, UPMC Corporate Legal
MENTOR ADVISORY BOARD (NABR):
- Clare Wardwell
- Joani McCormack
- Justin Coaxum
- Kristin Garbarino
- Lee Haller
- Michelle Boehm
- Rachel Weaver
- Richard Gartner
- Rachel Coaxum
- Susan White
- Stephen Gross
- Tara Ziegler
YOUNG PROFESSIONALS BOARD:
- Board Chair: Kristen Hemmings, Senior Financial Paraplanner at Coghill Investment Strategies
- Board Vice Chair: Ryan Ferrebee, Director of Institutional Support at Pittsburgh Public Theater
- Treasurer: Nicholas Pucci, AVP, Life Product Actuary at Global Atlantic Financial Group
- Secretary & Home Sweet Home Silent Auction Task Force Co-Chair: Katie Krancevich, Program Manager at University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy
- Staff Liaison: Carly Thibault, Donor Relations Coordinator at Hello Neighbor
- Year-end Fundraising Campaign Task Force Co-Chair: Bryanna Ellis, Program Manager at Wondros
- Membership & Engagement Task Force Co-Chair: Andrea Belen-Sandhorst, Assistant Vice President Banking Advisor, PNC Private Bank
- Membership & Engagement Task Force Co-Chair: Samantha Callahan, Market Development Specialist at K&L Gates LLP
- Home Sweet Home Silent Auction Task Force Co-Chair: Melissa Barton, Math Specialist at Reach Cyber Charter School
- YP Board Signature Event Task Force Co-Chair: Emily Gallagher, Teaching Artist at Pittsburgh Festival Opera& Assistant to the Director of Marketing at Carnegie Mellon University School of Music
- YP Board Signature Event Task Force Co-Chair: Kiersten Walmsley, Budget Analyst at City of Pittsburgh
- Jorie Bagnato, Associate Attorney at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, P.C.
- Lena DeLucia, Safety Software Engineer at Westinghouse Electric Company
- Nicole Graycar, Principal and Owner at cd² consulting
- Scotland Huber, Chief Communications Officer at Jewish Healthcare Foundation
- Richard Power, Master’s Of Science in Nonprofit Management student at Robert Morris University
- Christina Ranalli, Program Manager at Google
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
SPOTLIGHT
A mom who had to leave her husband back at the refugee camp traveled to the US alone. Upon arrival, she discovered she was pregnant. Her pregnancy was emotionally grueling, full of loneliness, and full of fear of COVID. Through service coordination efforts between her case manager and the Smart Start Coordinator, she was provided a nursery, connected to community members who spoke her language (and were in the same refugee camp).
Additionally, mom ended up having a preemie baby via c-section while COVID-19positive.
The care coordination between her resettlement agency and the Smart Start program provided socio-emotional support, physical support in navigating discharge home, and meal delivery. Additionally, her care team rearranged her apartment to make the nursery accessible and assisted with enrollment in affordable housing near her new friends (the ones that speak her language!). Mom and baby are healthy, happy, and beginning to settle into their life. Smart Start continues to assist with document correction and mom continues to refer new friends to Hello Neighbor.
“I learned new sentence for you, miss. You are so kind.”
A new Afghan family arrived with 4 children and a baby on the way. Mom arrived 6.5 months pregnant. The family didn’t have any established community connections for childcare. With coordination from the Smart Start team, mom was provided with a primary support through out labor while dad stayed home with his children. Mom was very happy after the consultation where this plan was made. She immediately called her family in Afghanistan to tell them she would be okay - she has support. After the baby was born (a healthy, strong baby girl), her older siblings first, excited question was “What language will she speak? English? Pashto? Dari?”
FINANCIALS
REVENUE
EXPENSES
PRESS
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AWARDS
Learning Collaborative
Schultz Family Foundation, Stand Together Foundation, The Starbucks Foundation, Welcome.US, and Hello Neighbor partner to empower communities across America to welcome new Afghan neighbors.
USCRI Federal Grant Announcement
Welcome.US
Founding Council Member
Hello Neighbor is part of the National Welcome Council of Welcome.US
The Council includes a small but diverse selection of the thousands of people contributing to the movement of welcome. While they might not agree on every specific issue, they share a common belief that welcoming newcomers is inherent to who we are at our best and a commitment to lifting up that message in their respective communities.
THANK YOU
FUNDERS
Adams Foundation
Community Sponsorship Hub
Duolingo
Highmark Health
Mary Hillman Jennings Foundation
Massey Charitable Trust
New Sun Rising
PNC
Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh
Schultz Family Foundation
Starbucks Foundation
The Banks-Baldwin Foundation
The Benter Foundation
The Dollar Bank Foundation
The Evan and Tracy Segal Family Foundation
The Good People Fund
The Grable Foundation
The Harnisch Foundation
The Heinz Endowments
The Highmark Foundation
The Jefferson Regional Foundation
The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Foundation
The Richard King Mellon Foundation
The Stand Together Foundation
UPMC
USA for UNHCR
W.I. Patterson Charitable Fund
Walmart Foundation
Welcome.US
William Talbott Hillman Foundation
PARTNERS
INTERFAITH PARTNERS
Aspinwall PresbyterianChurch
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Church of Ascension
Bower Hill Community Church
Calvary Episcopal Church
Calvin Presbyterian Church
Central Presbyterian Church
Christ United Methodist Church
East Liberty Presbyterian Church
South Hills Interfaith Movement
Mt. Lebanon United Methodist Church
Providence Church
St. Andrew’s Church
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
St. Brendan’s Episcopal Church
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
State of PA Refugee Commission
Sunset HIlls United Presbyterian Church
Unitarian Universalist Church of the North Hills
Waverly Presbyterian Church
Westminister Presbyterian Church
Wexford Community Presbyterian Church
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Allegheny CountyDepartment of Human Services
Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce
Global Links
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.
State of PA
Argo AI
Pittsburgh North MAMA
doTERRA
TRYP
Computer Reach
Carrick Pharmacy
Episcopal Diocese
Squirrel Hill Health Center
State of PA Refugee Commission
Goodwill of Southwestern PA
Point Breeze Organization
Lark Adventurewear
love, Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Toy Lending Library
Hyatt House Shadyside
Office of Mayor Ed Gainey: Office of Equity
Holiday Inn Express & Suite Pittsburgh
North Shore
The Allegheny Conference on Community
Development
Pittsburgh Federal Executive Board
Thriftique
Salem’s Market and Grill
412 Food Rescue
VolunTOTs
U.S. Attorney’s Office (Pittsburgh)
Holy Family Institute
CORT Furniture
Staffmark
Bakluva LLC
CleanCare
ACADEMIC PARTNERS
Carnegie ElementarySchool
Pittsburgh Public Schools
The Education Partnership
Homeless Children’s Education Fund
Shady Side Academy (Senior School)
WHAT’S NEXT
Hello Neighbor is on the hunt for a 15 passenger van! We are raising funds for this much needed transportation for airport pickups of our newest neighbors.
Together, We Go Far