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Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania
Urban Poverty

Pittsburgh.jpg

Trip Type

Reach Trip - These trips are a mix of hands-on service and educational pieces. They teach about the topic through service and then focus on learning about how the justice focus is part of a larger, systemic issue. Learn more about the different between Connect Trips and Reach Trips by clicking here.

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Ages

High School Students, College Students, Adults​

 

Maximum Group Size

20 people, including adults

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Available Dates​​​​

  • June 15 to 20, 2025

 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the city of bridges - second only to Venice, Italy! In the 1970s the steel industry, which built Pittsburgh, collapsed leaving neighborhoods and communities along the three rivers decimated. Even though Pittsburgh has rebuilt itself as a green city, thanks to the innovations of the surrounding colleges and universities, Pittsburgh’s rise as a green city and center for technology has historically side lined and red lined people of color. Our site is at the heart of an urban community just beyond the city limits of Pittsburgh in Wilkinsburg, PA. The history of what happened to this once middle-class community is the story of what is happening across America as white flight, gentrification, and development have pushed people of color, the economically disadvantaged, and those with mental illness out of the city and further away from the resources and employment they need.

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Groups participating in Be the Neighbor Pittsburgh will work with the Christian Church of Wilkinsburg which is a dynamic inter-racial fellowship in the heart of the community, and which leads the Wilkinsburg Sanctuary Project for Peace - a partnership working for peace on the streets with many congregations and nonprofits in Wilkinsburg.

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Be the Neighbor participants will have a unique opportunity to work side-by-side with youth and young adults from the community in a weeklong service camp called Project Peace. A typical day may include gardening and cooking, creating a public art mural, landscaping and beautification, media and collecting the stories of the community, and carpentry.  Through speakers and education, groups will engage in discussions surrounding racism, gun violence, food insecurity, mental health, and poverty. Together, we will take a “Walk Around the Block,” during which we discuss systemic racism in public education, housing, business, and health while we meet some of the remarkable people who are working to rebuild Wilkinsburg as a vibrant, multi-racial, multi-income community.

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So come Be the Neighbor in Mister Rogers’ neighborhood of Pittsburgh! Won’t you be, please won’t you be, please won’t you be our NEW neighbor? 

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Your group will explore how the topics you’re learning about are relevant to your own community and will develop a plan for how you can continue this work when you get home. Be The Neighbor weeks are learning and launching trips, meaning participants will leave the week equipped to live lives of love, service, and justice in ways that are relational, sustainable, and dignity-affirming!

 

Be The Neighbor’s summer programming begins on Sunday evening and concludes on Friday morning. You may stay an additional night to explore see the city in this location for an additional $10 per person. Check out is 10 am Saturday morning.


Trip costs follow our equitable pricing model. You can read more about it here. We want everyone to be able to participate no matter their financial realities. Regardless of which level you select, your trip includes: 

 

  • A simple breakfast, lunch and snack Monday morning through Friday morning

  • A dedicated Site Director and Intern(s) to facilitate your week

  • Fully planned service and educational experiences

  • Theological reflections created to engage participants in connecting what they are learning to their faith

  • Lodging, including showers, dedicated sleeping rooms, gathering rooms, and kitchens use - most sites include air mattresses or cots for all of your participants

  • Costs covered for honorariums for speakers, activities, supplies for projects with community partners, and any entrance fees for educational experiences

  • A reusable water bottle for each participant

  • Discussion guides for small groups on Reach trips and small group interactive education led by BTN staff on Connect trips

  • Journals for each participant

  • Online orientation for your adult leaders 

  • A coupon code to get t-shirts at-cost (shirts will be included at the Neighbor pricing level)

 

Please note that your group will be responsible for dinners and transportation during the week.

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