Grants from the McSwigan Family Foundation Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation Support PHLF’s K-12 Education and Scholarship Programs

PHLF is one of the only organizations that offers year-round outdoor tour opportunities for schools. We believe in education through exploration and design tours in the real world that are connected to content the students are learning in the classroom. This helps make learning more relevant, meaningful, and memorable.

“The McSwigan Family Foundation Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation recently approved two grants for PHLF: $5,000 in support of our Landmarks Scholarship Fund and $30,000 in support of our K-12 Education Programs,” announced PHLF Executive Director Louise Sturgess. “This is tremendous news and we are extremely grateful.”

PHLF’s education staff and docents will be able to continue a series of programs for thousands of students, including walking tours, architectural design challenges, and poetry and art workshops; expand certain programs to increase their impact on young people; and undertake several new initiatives, such as distributing Neighborhood Stories, Including Mine, produced by fourth-grade students from Pittsburgh Colfax, to many more school students in the new year.

Since 1999, PHLF has helped 86 young people from Allegheny County pursue undergraduate degrees through its scholarship program. As the cost of higher education rises, the need for our scholarship program increases. More than 1,000 people have applied to our scholarship program during its 20-year history and, with increased funding support, we will be able to help more young people

We have established wonderful relationships with many of our scholarship recipients and are proud that some have found jobs in Pittsburgh. For example, James Washabaugh (a 2004 recipient) has established Engine 30 Architecture in Pittsburgh. In addition, Kezia Ellison (a 2001 recipient) and Todd Wilson (a 2002 recipient) are both trustees of PHLF.

It turns out that this year two of our awardees who graduated from different Pittsburgh Public High Schools actually attended Pittsburgh Phillips as third-grade students and participated in our “Building Pride/Building Character” field trip. Chandler Searcy and Giovanna Varlotta are pictured in this photo from March 6, 2009 on the deck of the Duquesne Incline! It’s fair to say that PHLF played a part in developing their love for Pittsburgh.

Our K-12 Education Programs and Scholarship Program clearly have a positive impact on many thousands of young people. We are grateful to the donors who support them.