The Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Community Services and Pittsburgh Mercy Health System’s Operation Safety Net will again operate the Severe Weather Emergency Shelter (SWES) for the safety of people who are street homeless.

The shelter, located at the Smithfield United Church of Christ, 620 Smithfield Street, Downtown, provides temporary, overnight accommodations, professional social services and protection from frigid temperatures to people who typically do not use other existing shelter resources during periods of severe weather. 

From Nov. 15 through March 15, 2012, the SWES will operate from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. when the temperature drops below 25 degrees Fahrenheit and when dangerous winter weather exists or is predicted by the National Weather Service. As in previous years, additional nights will be added, as needed. Persons served and referring organizations can find out if the SWES is activated by calling 412-779-1329. Please note: the phone line is not staffed, and messages cannot be left at this number.

In addition to providing basic human services and professional case management services, Operation Safety Net coordinates employees and volunteers who staff the shelter and procures all of the necessary supplies—including sleeping bags, linens, winter apparel and food—for persons served. Allegheny County Police provide security each night the shelter is activated.

Last winter, the SWES operated a record 64 nights, up from 63 nights the previous shelter season, and the shelter served an average of 88 people each night. Overall, more than 500 individuals benefited from the shelter’s activation. Fifty of those individuals were 25 years of age or younger, while 40 were age 60 or older. In addition, approximately 15 percent of people served at the shelter last year were women, with the average age of women served being 39. The average age of men served was 45.

Of those who came to the shelter for services last year, Operation Safety Net case managers successfully connected 135 people to services and benefits, and secured permanent housing in the community for 65 people. In the past five years, Operation Safety Net has successfully housed more than 780 individuals.

The SWES is made possible by funding from DHS and the Allegheny County Department of Economic Development, Pittsburgh Mercy Health System (PMHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the City of Pittsburgh Department of Economic Development, and Highmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Monetary donations are welcomed and can be mailed to Pittsburgh Mercy Health System’s Development Office, 101 Bradford Road, Suite 320, Wexford, PA 15090. Please make checks payable to Pittsburgh Mercy Health System and specify that the gift is intended for Operation Safety Net and the Severe Weather Emergency Shelter. To make a donation by telephone, contact Connie Murray, executive director, PMHS Development at 724-934-3537. To make a donation online, visit: www.pmhs.org.

For more information about the SWES, please contact Linda Sheets, program director, Operation Safety Net at 412-232-5739.

Just Harvest, the Southside-headquartered nonprofit organization that has worked since 1986 to end hunger and poverty in our region, will offer its annual free tax preparation services to low-income individuals and families at three Allegheny County sites from January 9 until April 17, 2012.

As a lead partner in the United Way of Allegheny County’s Money in Your Pocket Coalition, Just Harvest joins several other agencies and organizations including United Cerebral Palsy, the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Family Resources, and Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania in providing IRS-certified Volunteer Income Tax Assistance services.  In addition to sites at Just Harvest’s Southside headquarters and Community College of Allegheny County Boyce Campus in Monroeville, the organization is coordinating a new tax prep site at Bedford Hope Center, 2305 Bedford Avenue, Hill District.

Families with incomes up to $40,000 or individuals with income up to $20,000 qualify for the free tax preparation.  Tax clients can receive their refunds in as little as nine days.  Those who do not have bank accounts may receive their refunds on a PNC Bank-issued electronic debit card at no charge.

Last year, Just Harvest completed 2,326 returns among three county tax sites.  Clients at those sites received a total of $4.6 million in tax refunds.  Benefits that clients received under the Earned Income Tax Credit – an important resource that lifts more households out of poverty than any other program – accounted for over $2 million. 

If you have received your W-2 forms, starting Monday, January 9 you may schedule an appointment at any of the sites operated by Just Harvest, or at another Money in Your Pocket Coalition-operated site near you.  Find site details at www.pghfreetaxes.org or by calling PA 2-1-1 Southwest (dial “211” or 412-255-1155).  Weekend and evening appointments are available.

CORPS DE BALLET AND SOLOIST DANCERS

Requirements: minimum age 16 years, maximum age 35 years. Background in ballet must include partnering skills and good knowledge of traditional repertory. Additional background in contemporary dance a plus, but not necessary. Annual contract: 48 weeks, of which 12 on tour.

TRAINEE Requirements: minimum age 16 years, maximum age 23 years. Background in ballet must include strong pointe skills (females, only). Additional background in contemporary dance a plus, but not necessary.

 SUMMER INTENSIVE “PERFORMING IN NEW YORK”

Requirements: minimum age 14 years, there is no maximum age for dance teachers. Background in ballet or Modern/contemporary Dance. The 2012 edition runs July 21 – August 18.

 EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DANCER/CHOREOGRAPHER GRANTS (INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE)

The Fund grants US$130,000 per fiscal year to dancers and US$100,000 to choreographers. Currently are open applications to candidatures for the fiscal years 2013-2014-2015.

 Audition Applications must include the audition form and all items listed on the form.

Email Ajkun@aol.com or log onto our website to obtain the form. Auditions by DVD are welcome.

FOR informaTion ABOUT THE compaNY

Please visit www.ajkunbt.org | navigate the website by clicking the links.

AUDITION CALENDAR

South America

Argentina, Buenos Aires – Tuesday, December 20, 2011

USA & CANADA – February & March 2012

Dallas (TX), Houston (TX), Chicago (IL), Seattle (WA), New York City

Toronto (CANADA), Vancouver (CANADA)

EUROPE – February & March 2012

London (UK), Amsterdam (NETHERLANDS), Madrid (SPAIN), Milan (ITALY)

AUSTRALIA – September 2012

Sydney (NSW), Melbourne (VIC), Perth (WA), Canberra (ACT)

Please inquire at artisticstaff@ajkunbt.org for details.

A complete Calendar is available online:

AJKUNBT AUDITION MAIN accessible at www.ajkunbt.org, COMPANY (menu), AUDITION (submenu)

We welcome Inquires for Information by email: Ajkun@aol.com

Effective January 9, 2012, FirstEnergy Corp. will offer a new companywide media hotline at 1-888-233-3583 as an exclusive service for media representatives. Reporters can call 1-888-233-3583 for any topic of inquiry, including information about power outages. For outage-related questions, please provide the operator with the state, county, municipality and name of the FirstEnergy electric distribution company (i.e. Ohio Edison) that serves the area. Such details will allow us to more quickly provide timely answers.

Live operators will staff the toll-free media hotline 24 hours per day, seven days a week to quickly put media representatives in contact with company spokespersons. (Please note, the number is the same hotline number used by the former Allegheny Power, a subsidiary of Allegheny Energy. FirstEnergy and Allegheny Energy merged in February 2011.)

FirstEnergy’s electric distribution companies are Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, Jersey Central Power & Light, Met-Ed, Mon Power, Penelec, Penn Power, Potomac Edison, Ohio Edison, Toledo Edison and West Penn Power.

The South Hills Coin Club will be sponsoring their 52nd Anniversary Coin Show on February 4th and 5th, 2012, at the Crowne Plaza - Pittsburgh South (across from South Hills Village).  Hours are Saturday from 10am-5pm and Sunday from 10am-3pm.  Free admission, parking and hourly door prizes.

Lindsey Smith, local author, health coach and food mood expert, will be holding a lecture and book signing for her new book, Junk Foods & Junk Moods. Come learn about Lindsey's journey to healthy eating habits and how the foods you eat affect your moods.

Frank Sarris Public Library, 35 North Jefferson Ave., Canonsburg, 724-745-1308

Calling all turkey callers! The NWTF Durham Region Chapter of Ontario is sponsoring a calling competition Feb. 19 at the Spring Hunting Show at The International Centre outside Toronto.

It’s the first NWTF-sanctioned calling competition in Canada in more than five years.

The competition is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Toronto International Centre is located at 6900 Airport Road, Mississauga, Ont.

Contestants must be NWTF members. Memberships, $35 for adults and $10 for youth, will be sold at the event. Registration is $30 and does not include NWTF membership or admission fee to the Spring Hunting Show. Payment at the door must be Canadian currency or credit card.

Competitions will be held in four divisions: youth (17 and under), amateur, friction call (21 and older) and senior open (21 and older). Prizes will be awarded.

Winners of the friction call and senior open will qualify for the NWTF Grand National Calling Championships at the 2013 NWTF National Convention and Sport Show in Nashville, Tenn.

Online preregistration is encouraged. For more information, contact Chris Recoskie at chris.recoskie@gmail.com or (905) 431-8945

The Gay-Straight Alliance at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg will present Eve Ensler's award-winning play, "The Vagina Monologues," February 22, February 23, and February 24, in the Mary Lou Campana Chapel and Lecture Center. Curtain times are 7:30 p.m. (February 22 and February 23) and noon (February 24). Admission is $8 for the general public and $5 for students with identification.

This is the sixth year that Pitt-Greensburg students have initiated, produced, directed, and performed the play, which is staged to raise awareness and funds for local organizations working to end violence against women and girls and to support the V-Day movement.  New to this year’s performance will be the powerful new piece entitled, “Over It.” Described as a memory, a monologue, a rant, and a prayer, “Over It” is designed to inspire a spoken word event that allows the cast to express what they are over.

V-Day is the global movement to end violence against women and girls. All proceeds from the performances are given to charity. Ninety percent of the proceeds will be used locally to benefit The Blackburn Center Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and the YWCA of Westmoreland County. Ten percent of the proceeds will benefit Women for Women, an international organization that helps women survivors of war. Pitt-Greensburg students will also initiate additional fundraising activities the week of the show.

Pitt-Greensburg production of “The Vagina Monologues” is one of more than 5,800 V-Day benefit events that occurs annually throughout the United States and the world. (The “V” in “V-Day” stands for Victory, Valentine, and Vagina.)

The cast and crew for the Pitt-Greensburg performance include Sheila Confer (Latrobe, PA), Academic Village coordinator and part-time instructor of Theatre Arts, and students Nicole Wang (Philadelphia, PA), Bethany Thomas (Uniontown, PA), Zabi Mulwa (Westmoreland County), Chelsea Herrity (Doylestown, PA), and Alicia DiPaolo (Irwin, PA).

 For more information, contact Sheila Confer at 724-836-9905.

Ticket Prices: Children $40, Adults $100

Ordering Tickets: Gina O’Malley, ogina@pmshf.org, 412-647-4285

Website: http://www.upmc.com/supporting/news-events/Pages/childrens-ball.aspx

Description: The 16th annual UPMC Children’s Ball is a special event designed for families and friends to enjoy an extraordinary evening of entertainment. This year’s Children’s Ball will be held at the Carnegie Science Center, an interactive learning and play place on Pittsburgh’s historic North Side. Children, parents, grandparents and friends will be entertained and inspired as they explore all that the Science Center has to offer.

Please join us for a night to that benefits a vital community program, the UPMC Health for Life Summer Camp at Braddock. Created in 2002, the camp affords children from the Braddock community the opportunity to learn positive social, educational and recreational activities they otherwise may never experience. This program is offered free of charge to children who reside in a community with an unemployment rate of 16% and an average yearly family income of $20,669, leaving 54% of Braddock children living in poverty. Campers receive instruction in academics, the arts, career exploration, nutrition and life skills education. Other areas of focus include finance, substance abuse prevention and exercise. Additionally, each camper is required to complete community service, emphasizing the importance of giving back to their community.

Strolling performers, dancing, music, and balloon artists will be among the Science Center’s many hands-on scientific wonders. So, pack your bags for our Journey Around the World themed evening, and meet us at the departure gate as we embark on a wonderful evening of family fun!

For more information on the auction please call Connie Reilsono at 412-995-5000 ext. 404 or email creilsono@achieva.info.