Pitt-Greensburg APEX 2023-2024
Service
Table of Contents
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Blue & Gold Weekend
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Halloween reading event
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Jeannette Head-Start Christmas Party
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Dr. Seuss Day
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Relay for Life (2023)
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Notes for professors for national educators week
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Trip to Hearth Homeless Shelter
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College Day
Blue & Gold Weekend
On September 30th, 2023, SPSEA was a part of the Blue-and-Gold weekend, Pitt-Greensburg's homecoming, hosted by UPG every year. Our chapter ran a "kid's corner" where we held activities for young children such as spin art, coloring pages, and bracelet making. The children who benefited from this event included children of employees, alum, and the local community.
Halloween reading event
On October 15th, 2023, we hosted a brand new event where we combined our Halloween event with our reading under the stars event. We wanted the children to have a place where they would have a book read to them but still have the opportunity to dress up in their Halloween costumes. Children from the the local community got the chance to come to a college campus to read, and they were the ones who benefited the most from this event. Each child left the event after having a book read to them and the chance to play Halloween games. They also left with a new book and reading activities in a Halloween bag. We had over 75 children attend this event.
Jeannette Head Start Christmas Party
On December 1st, 2023, we went to Jeanette Head Start preschool to provide a Christmas party for the children there. We worked with the students to make crafts, play games, and enjoy snacks. Santa made a "surprise" visit to the children's school and even gave each the toy they had requested (in letters to Santa) to open up that day. Head Start is a federally-funded, lower-income preschool; our campus community provides students with a present to open the day of the party, a present of clothes to open Christmas morning, and even give their parent(s) a $50 giftcard to get food at the local grocery store for Christmas. We also didn't forget about the teachers: SPSEA gave each teacher at the school a present in recognition of the important work they do.
Dr. Seuss Day
On March 1st, 2024, we went to a local school where our members provided each grade level of students with Dr. Suess activities such as bingo, snacks, a book read/rapped to them, and a worksheet based on the reader's theater they had earlier in the day. Children in the school at every grade benefited from the efforts and creativity of our club in designing and implementing the activities.
Relay for Life (2023)
On March 31st, 2023, SPSEA was part of a group effort to help raise money for cancer research. We created games for children who attended Relay for Life. We created a Game of Life-themed mini-golf game (single hole) where kids had the chance to play and win a prize. The children of our faculty and staff as well as children in the local community were able to be involved. The Relay for Life event raised hundreds of dollars for cancer research.
Notes for professors for national educators week
During the week of November 13, 2023, Pitt-Greensburg SPSEA put a note with candy into every professors' mailbox, thanking them for teaching us and wishing them a happy Educators' week.
Trip to Hearth Homeless Shelter
On Monday, March 4, 2024, seventeen Student PSEA members went to the Hearth Shelter in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This is one of the few shelters in the areas that provides family-living for unhoused families with children. In addition to providing housing and food, Hearth also has a Head Start childcare center on their campus, play spaces, and a food pantry. Pitt-Greensburg SPSEA in collaboration with Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society collected hundreds of books for children birth to 18 to give to Hearth. Additionally, our club provided individually designed giftbags for each child (spending approximately $20 per bag) and doing crafts with them. It was a powerful and impactful visit -- and one that we are hoping to repeat in the fall.
College Day 2024
For College Day 2024, we invited students aged 14 to 22 from Clellian Heights School for Exceptional Students to Pitt-Greensburg. The Exceptional 1 class created activities -- some fun, some educational -- for the Clellian Heights students with the unifying theme of Pirates. Activities included math bingo, pirate mad libs, digging for buried treasure, and creating their own rainbow in a jar. Student PSEA members also ate lunch and socialized with the students, getting to know them while learning more about the variability within special education.