Monday, November 25, 2013

GlobalPittsburgh Director of Marketing, Thomas Buell, Jr., Chairing Global City Subcommittee for Mayor-Elect Bill Peduto's Transition Team

Thomas Buell, Jr., Director of Marketing and Director of the Study Pittsburgh initiative at GlobalPittsburgh, has been selected to chair the Global City economic development subcommittee for Mayor-Elect Bill Peduto's Transition Team, joining a group of interested citizens and community representatives to provide ideas, policy suggestions and feedback to Peduto and his newly-announced executive team.

The Global City group was one of numerous subcommittees created during the first meeting of the Transition Team members on Saturday, Nov. 30 at David Lawrence Hall at the University of Pittsburgh.

The subcommittee will address a wide range of topics related to increasing Pittsburgh's prominence on the global stage and capitalizing on international companies, people and other connections in the region, including, but not limited to:
- Enhancing export programs and partnerships for local companies
- Attracting international companies to locate and/or expand in the region
- Attracting and retaining international entrepreneurs, including graduates of the region's colleges and universities
- Marketing the city to a global audience
- Creating a more welcoming environment for immigrants and refugees
- Making the most of Pittsburgh's Sister Cities program, which currently includes relationships with 18 cities around the world
- Increasing the number of international flights at Pittsburgh International Airport

Subcommittee members will study best practices in other cities and explore ways for the Mayor-elect to collaborate with and support existing efforts in the region aimed at enhancing international connections after he takes office in January.

In a letter to participants, Transition Team Chairman and Peduto Chief of Staff Kevin Acklin called the initial session a "kick-off meeting, which will take the form of a public meeting to allow committee members to provide input on the vision for Mayoral transition."

The Transition Team participants were divided into eight committees, which are expected to finish their work by making recommendations for action items to Peduto by the end of the year.

Buell, 57, came to Pittsburgh in 1987 to work as a business reporter at The Pittsburgh Press, which closed at the end of 1992. Since then he has been Lead Partner of his own strategic communications consulting group, Verso Partners: Communications, which has worked with corporations, non-profit organizations and other clients nationwide.

The Economic Development will "offer recommendations to strengthen the City of Pittsburgh as the continued economic engine of the region."

Other Transition Team committees included:


♦ Innovation & Performance offer recommendations to foster a culture of innovation and accountability necessary to make Pittsburgh a world class city. (Chair: Debra Lam)

♦ Administration & Finance: offer recommendations to overhaul all personnel and finance functions to enhance investments in our city workforce. (Chair: Debbie Lestitian)

♦ Operations & Infrastructure: offer recommendations to overhaul all operational functions to improve the delivery of services to city residents. (Chair: Guy Costa)

♦ Housing & Urban Empowerment: offer recommendations to enhance the quality of housing and services for residents of Pittsburgh’s low and moderate income neighborhoods. (Chair: Valerie McDonald-Roberts)

♦ Education & Neighborhood Reinvestment: offer recommendations to improve educational opportunities and small business redevelopment in city neighborhoods. (Chair: Dr. Curtiss Porter)

♦ Public Safety: offer recommendations to improve the delivery of public safety resources to make Pittsburgh one of the safest cities in America. (Chair: Mayor-Elect Peduto)

♦ Law & Ethics: offer recommendations to foster a culture of respect for the rule of law and ethics across all functions of city government. (Chair: Lourdes Sanchez Ridge)

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Friday, November 22, 2013

GlobalPittsburgh Arranges 8-Day Training Program for Delegation of Russian Information Technology Specialists

GlobalPittsburgh arranged eight days of professional training from November 16-24, 2013 for a federally funded group of four information technology (IT) specialists from Russia and one facilitator in a group entitled Accountable Governance – IT Specialists.

The visitors were invited to the U.S. under the auspices of the Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress. The program was administered by FHI360 in Washington, D.C.

Topics of interest to the group included IT innovation; IT educational policy; innovations implementation; IT market development trends; how informational technology is applied in educational system; promoting and applying new educational software products in educational institutions; how student are motivated to learn new technologies; policies for cloud technologies; and IT innovation projects for small and medium size business.

Meetings arranged by GlobalPittsburgh for the group included representatives of University of Pittsburgh Office of Technology Management, School of Information Sciences and Center for Instructional Development and Distance Education; the offices of Sen. Pat Toomey and Gov. Tom Corbett; Innovation Works; Project Olympus; Carnegie Libraries of Pittsburgh; Carnegie Mellon University CyLab; ServNet Technologies; Carnegie Speech Co., Duquesne University School of Law and Palumbo Donahue School of Business, where the group also made presentations; Allegheny County Intermediate Unit; Robert Morris University Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management; a networking dinner with local IT professionals, and a potluck dinner with members and friends of GlobalPittsburgh.

The group included:
- Ms. Darya Andreyevna Avilova, Government Programs and Industry Relations Analyst, at Skolkovo Institute of Science & Technology, in Skolkovo and Moscow Oblast.
- Ms. Mariya Aleksandrovna Milkova, Chief Business Development Officer for Statsoft-Russia, in Moscow.
- Ms. Olga Sergeyevna Ponomareva, CEO of Garant-Park-Internet, LLC, in Moscow.
- Ms. Kristina Yuryevna Zakharova, Business Development Manager, at ALP- Information System, LLC, in Moscow Oblast.
- Mr. Dmitriy Konstantinovich Popov, facilitator accompanying the group from Russia.

Members of the delegation stayed in the homes of GlobalPittsburgh host families during their visit.

View more photos of the group's visit at http://www.flickr.com/photos/globalpittsburgh/sets/72157637936279426/


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Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Join Us Dec. 5 for GlobalPittsburgh First Thursdays Happy Hour for Globally-Minded People at Luke Wholey's in the Strip

Come meet globally-minded people from Pittsburgh and all over the world to make new friends and learn more about different cultures at our GlobalPittsburgh First Thursdays monthly happy hour on Thursday, December 5 from 5:30-8:00 pm at Luke Wholey's Wild Alaskan Grille in the Strip District. Bring your friends, family and colleagues or come alone - we're a very friendly group!

We will hold some winter holiday activities this month, so come ready for some global challenges!

CLICK HERE to register now and get your free chance to win some awesome door prizes, including a Magicstick mobile phone charger from Powerocks (picture below)!

GlobalPittsburgh First Thursdays is a regular monthly night of networking and socializing with different themes and different activities - but always with an international flavor - on the first Thursday of every month. It's an evening of friends, interesting conversation and good spirits with an international flair. Everyone is welcome!

You could win a Magicstick
mobile charger from Powerocks!
Just click on the image to register.
Discounted membership registration when you sign up at the event. Get $10 off your individual or family annual membership. Signing a friend to be a member entitles you both to free drinks. If you are already a member and you bring a friend who becomes a member at the event, you will both receive free drinks!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, do not hesitate to call 412-392-4513 or email nkessler@globalpittsburgh.org.

GlobalPittsburgh is looking to partner with small businesses and organizations for this event. We are offering the opportunity for you to promote your small businesses or organization at our event at a table, advertise your name on our social media, and announce our partnership during the evening. If you are interested in setting up a vendor table or simply would like to donate an item/gift certificate for the prize drawing, please contact Nadya Kessler.

Luke Wholey's is located at 2106 Penn Avenue in the Strip District.

Admission is FREE for paid GlobalPittsburgh members. Admission is $5 at the door for everyone else. Membership information will be available at the event, but you may also join GlobalPittsburgh now at www.globalpittsburgh.org/membership and get in free on the night of the event.

If you have questions or would like to set up a vendor table, please contact Nadya Kessler in the GlobalPittsburgh office at 412-392-4513 or by email at nkessler@globalpittsburgh.org. Photos from past First Thursdays and a few other GlobalPittsburgh events, activities, and programs can be viewed at www.flickr.com/photos/globalpittsburgh. See you there!

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Sunday, November 17, 2013

GlobalPittsburgh's Gail Shrott Among Women Honored For Global Impact by Women & Girls Foundation

Gail Shrott, Director of the International Leaders Program at GlobalPittsburgh, was among a select group of women in Western Pennsylvania honored for making a global impact in the region by the Women & Girls Foundation.

Gail Shrott
"Shrott’s work with GlobalPittsburgh is bringing the world to Pittsburgh to share ideas and build relationships, while helping them see the best of what our region has to offer to the world," the WGF said in making its presentations during a banquet Saturday night at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture in Pittsburgh.

"All of Shrott’s work introduces Pittsburgh residents, businesses, organizations, and other community groups to their counterparts and a world of opportunities for the future. She has also mentored more than a hundred interns, many of whom have gone on to pursue global careers.

"It is not just with knowledge and experience that Shrott’s work is benefiting the Pittsburgh community, the international leaders for whom GlobalPittsburgh developed itineraries infused nearly $250,000 into the regional economy, staying at hotels, eating at local restaurants, and using local transportation services.

"She designs and implements itineraries of professional meetings and cultural activities for distinguished visitors invited each year to the U.S. under the auspices of the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program and sponsored by other institutions. In the past year and a half, she has developed programming for visitors from one hundred countries, on topics such as STEM education, energy, higher education, entrepreneurship, and sustainability, among many other issues.


"Shrott began her career as a museum curator/director. Two years after her arrival in Pittsburgh, she met the Executive Director of what was then the Pittsburgh Council for International Visitors while arranging a session for a seminar for regional museum professionals about the needs of international tourists. When a job was posted at the organization in 1989, Ms. Shrott applied, was hired, and, effectively, changed her life!

"Shrott transferred her research, writing, and volunteer management skills to the benefit of her new career connecting western Pennsylvania’s people and resources to emerging leaders around the world. She has been recognized for her creativity and ability to promote the Pittsburgh region’s experts in a wide variety of fields by the National Council for International Visitors – to which GlobalPittsburgh is affiliated - and by the Office of International Visitors in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.  


"Shrott is currently working on a special initiative with the National Council for International Visitors to prepare training materials to recruit new volunteers of all ages to become involved with GlobalPittsburgh’s counterpart organizations throughout the U.S.

"This past June, Shrott arranged an 8-day training program for a group of five environmentalists from Kazakhstan in which they met with environmental education programs at Chatham and Duquesne Universities, regional non profits such as GASP and TreePittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s  Department of Environmental Protection, an environmental charter school,  and Giant Eagle’s Corporate Fleet Manager, among others. The group’s program also included opportunities to kayak near Point State Park and tour Phipps’ Center for Sustainable Landscapes.  It is her hope that the training program will nurture a linkage between Pittsburgh environmentalists and environmentalists in Aralsk, Kazakstan, working with the decimated ecosystem of the Aral Sea.

"More recent programming enabled Shrott to arrange itineraries for high level visitors from France, Greece, Germany, and China.   The best parts of Shrott’s work is that each request for programing allows her to tap into  new Pittsburgh resources and  cultivate potential linkages to address issues of great importance to other countries."


The other women receiving recognition for their global impact were:
Yinka Aganga-Williams, Acculturation for Justice Access & Peace Outreach (AJAPO)
Robin Alexander, United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE)
Esther Barazzone, Chatham University
Tacy Byham, Development Dimensions International (DDI)
Miriam Cremer, Basic Health International
Simin Yazdgerdi Curtis, American Middle East Institute
Anne Nemer Dhanda, PPG Industries, Inc.
M. Bernardine Dias, TechBridgeWorld
Stephany L. Hartstirn, UPMC Health Plan
Tavia La Follette, ArtUp
Ali McMutrie, Haitian Families First
Prabha Sankaranarayan, Mediators Beyond Borders International
Alberta Sbragia, University of Pittsburgh
Kathy Keim Surma, The Nyadire Connection and Girl Child Network
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Friday, November 15, 2013

Carnegie Mellon Announces Record Year for Startup Company Creation With 36 New Companies Formed

Carnegie Mellon University announced that 36 new startup companies were created at CMU this year — a record for the university and a major economic milestone for the Pittsburgh region.

This year’s startups include PECA Labs, a medical device company that has developed a heart valve with the potential to save thousands of children from undergoing repeated open heart surgeries; PieceMaker Technologies, a company marketing the PieceMaker 3D printer, software and support services to allow stores to print and deliver goods on demand; and SolePower LLC, a company commercializing power-generating shoe insoles for charging portable electronics such as cellphones and GPS devices.

“Carnegie Mellon has shown that innovation can be encouraged and strengthened,"  said CMU alumnus Bruce McWilliams, chairman of the Research and Technology Commercialization Committee of CMU’s Board of Trustees, and president and chief executive officer of SuVolta Inc. "Through streamlined university policies and investment in support for faculty and students with interests in entrepreneurship, the university is expanding its impact and creating an example for other research institutions around the world."

CMU President Subra Suresh revealed the record and highlighted the startups’ accomplishments at LaunchCMU, a research and entrepreneurial showcase presented by the university’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE).

CMU, its faculty and students have spun out more than 130 companies over the past five years and have attracted approximately $400 million of outside investment. Additional companies launched during this five-year period include Duolingo, creator of a free language-learning app that enables users to simultaneously translate documents on the Web; Surtrac Inc., developer of intelligent and adaptive traffic signals to cut down on congestion, save people time and reduce auto emissions; and ActivAided Orthotics, maker of the RecoveryAid shirt, which trains users to perform with proper body mechanics and correct posture for back pain relief.

For more information about CMU startup companies, go to http://www.cmu.edu/cie/launch-cmu/index.html.

Also participating in the announcement were Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Congressman Mike Doyle (D-Pa.).

“I would like to congratulate Carnegie Mellon on this impressive milestone of innovation and excellence. I continue to be impressed with the talent fostered from CMU’s researchers and entrepreneurs,” Casey said. “The technologies highlighted today will impact a vast number of industries including health care, agriculture and transportation. Pennsylvania has led the way in new technologies, and the startups acknowledged today will continue that strong innovative legacy along with developing future economic growth.”

Toomey, a former small business owner, praised CMU and its innovators for their entrepreneurial efforts.

“Congratulations to Carnegie Mellon and the 36 startups it helped launch this year. As a former small business owner, I can attest to the struggles, uncertainties and risks involved in starting one's own business. With this in mind, I applaud the perseverance of these innovators and CMU’s efforts to help them succeed,” he said.

“It’s remarkable that one university has spun off so many startup companies in just a year, but Carnegie Mellon has so many talented faculty, students and alumni that it shouldn’t be that surprising. CMU’s combination of world-class researchers with centers set up to help them commercialize their work has made the university a national leader in startup creation — and made an important contribution to our region’s economic growth in the process,” Doyle said. “As someone whose top priority throughout my service in Congress has been promoting good jobs and economic growth in southwestern Pennsylvania, I’ve worked many years with CMU to support and expand its research efforts.”

A global university, Carnegie Mellon has campuses in Pittsburgh, California’s Silicon Valley and Qatar, and programs in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and Mexico.


Source: Carnegie Mellon University         READ FULL ARTICLE

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Innovation Institute Launched at the University of Pittsburgh to Promote Entrepreneurship, Commercialization, Economic Development

The University of Pittsburgh has founded the Innovation Institute to advance Pitt’s successes in entrepreneurship, commercialization, and economic development. The new institute will bring together under one umbrella the existing Office of Technology Management, Office of Enterprise Development, and the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence. By consolidating the University’s resources for innovation and encouraging collaboration, the institute will provide a new level of support for entrepreneurial initiatives on campus and throughout the region.

“Innovation is essential for propelling the University to become an even stronger leader in education, research, and regional development,” Pitt Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Patricia E. Beeson said in announcing the program. “Forming this comprehensive institute will allow previously separate units to integrate their resources and avoid duplication of services. The Innovation Institute’s establishment is part of a broader effort to cultivate an environment that empowers faculty, students, and staff to reach greater heights in their innovative research and entrepreneurial activities.”

Beeson has named Marc S. Malandro interim director of the Innovation Institute. Malandro is Pitt’s associate vice chancellor for technology management and commercialization and director of both the Office of Technology Management and Office of Enterprise Development. A national search will be conducted for a permanent director of the Innovation Institute.

“The Office of Technology Management and the Office of Enterprise Development will continue to work with faculty, staff, and students to facilitate the commercialization of new technologies and the formation of new companies originating at the University,” Malandro said. “The Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence will continue to support and educate business leaders in the regional entrepreneurial community. It is clear there are strong synergies between the groups and, working together, we will be able to maximize our impact.”

A University-wide entity, the Innovation Institute will be located in the Gardner Steel Conference Center at Thackeray and O’Hara Streets, Oakland. It will serve as a primary support center in the following areas.

Education
The institute will promote student engagement by establishing research and internship programs related to innovation and entrepreneurship. It also will assist academic departments with infusing innovation and entrepreneurship skills into their curricula; develop non-degree programs for innovators and entrepreneurs within the University and the broader community; and train new entrepreneurs and small-business owners within the region to be successful.

Collaboration
The institute will develop and implement strategies that will promote collaborations within the University and between University innovators and the business community. In addition, it will coordinate with other entities promoting local economic development. This may include cohosting events to bring the University community together with the business community or forming new types of industry-university partnerships on research and development initiatives.

Commercialization
The institute will support the University’s commercialization efforts by introducing technologies and faculty inventors to companies capable of developing University intellectual property into products and services through existing companies or new start-up companies.

Communication
The institute will serve as a conduit for the University community and regional business community to learn about educational programs and resources available at the University, including existing connections between the University and regional entrepreneurs and companies.

Pitt’s leadership in innovation and entrepreneurship has already had a significant impact:
- 98 startup companies have been launched around Pitt innovations since 1996;
- More than 800 startup companies in the region have been guided by the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence since 1993;
- 541 issued patents are in Pitt’s U.S. patent portfolio; and
- 1,400 educational programs have been attended by 40,000 business leaders since 1993.

The Innovation Institute will continue to build on these successes. Visit www.innovationinstitute.pitt.edu for more information.

Source: University of Pittsburgh
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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Organizations Accepting Donations for Post-Typhoon Relief Efforts in Philippines and Vietnam

Here are several organizations supplying aid and support to victims of Typhoon Haiyan (known as Yolanda in the Philippines).
World Food Programme: WFP is mobilizing quickly to reach those in need. Make a donation now to provide emergency food assistance to families and children.

Doctors Without Borders: Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières provides medical aid to those most in need regardless of their race, religion, or political affiliation.

American Red Cross: Sending support specialists to help the hardest hit areas.
Direct Relief International: Direct Relief is collaborating with its partner on the ground, Asia America Initiative (AAI), to coordinate the delivery of needed medical aid, which is expected to arrive in the Philippines capital, Manila, early next week.  The donation contains antibiotics, pain relievers, nutritional supplements, anti-fungal medications, wound dressings, and chronic disease medicines.


Mercy Corps: Mercy Corps is launching immediate relief efforts after one of the strongest storms in recorded history devastates the Philippines.
Oxfam: Oxfam rapid assessment teams are poised to provide emergency supplies and shelter in parts of the Philippines hit by Typhoon Haiyan.
ShelterBox: Donations designated toward ShelterBox’s Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts will be used to supply the most vital equipment needed and will not be assigned box tracking numbers. Each ShelterBox supplies an extended family with a tent and essential equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless.
UNICEF: UNICEF is working to provide safe water, hygiene supplies, food, shelter and a safe environment to recover.
Locally, Brother's Brother Foundation is working with the Philippine American Medical Society of Western Pennsylvania to provide short term and long term assistance in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda which devastated parts of the central Philippines. BBF has worked with PAMS and other Philippine American groups for more than 30 years to send medical supplies to over 30 Philippine hospitals. PAMS supports medical assistance by ocean-going container shipments each year with BBF and sends upward of 70 medical volunteers annually to poorer parts of the Philippines.

Sources: Yahoo, individual organizations

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Monday, November 11, 2013

Number of International Students in Western Pennsylvania Rises 16 percent to 11,437 During 2012-13 School Year, Report Says; GlobalPittsburgh Grows Recruitment Efforts

The number of international students in the Pittsburgh region rose 16 percent during the 2012-13 school year - more than twice the national rate - to a total of 11,437 students, infusing a total of $333.4 million into the region's economy, an increase of nearly 20 percent over the year before, according to a new joint report by the Washington, D.C-based Institute of International Education and NAFSA, an organization representing international educators.

International Students
at La Roche College
 Across the state of Pennsylvania,  a total of 37,245 international students - an increase of 11.5 percent - were responsible for $1.7 billion in economic stimulus, and for sustaining nearly 5,800 jobs in higher education and another 13,100 jobs indirectly related to higher education through their spending during the school year, NAFSA/IIE reported.

In total, international students brought $32.4 billion into the U.S. economy during the 2012-13 school year, with the number of students growing at a 7.2 percent rate nationally to a total of 819,644, the report said.

Economic impact includes tuition, housing, food, shopping and other expenditures for undergraduate and graduate students and their spouses and children, creating thousands of jobs in the region and making education one of the region's biggest exports.

"International students not only contribute economic value, they build bridges between the United States and other countries; bring global perspectives into U.S. classrooms and research labs; support U.S. innovation through science and engineering coursework, making it possible for U.S. colleges and universities to offer these courses to U.S. students; and support programming and services on campus for all students by paying out-of-state tuition, funded largely by non-U.S. sources," NAFSA said in issuing its report.

NAFSA reported the economic impact of international students by dividing data into U.S. Congressional Districts. The Western Pennsylvania region includes Congressional Districts 3, 9, 12, 14 and 18.

The new report confirms the importance - and the economic value - of attracting more international students to the Pittsburgh region, which is the goal of GlobalPittsburgh's Study Pittsburgh initiative.

"This report confirms once again the importance of our efforts at GlobalPittsburgh to bring more international students to the Pittsburgh region, and then to engage them in activities and help them feel welcome so that they will have a positive experience," said Thomas Buell, Jr., Director of the Study Pittsburgh initiative, which represents a growing consortium of colleges, universities and English Language programs in the region called the GlobalPittsburgh Education Partnership (GPEP).

GlobalPittsburgh augments the international recruiting efforts of local educational institutions by:
 Providing a conduit for prospective applicants to ensure delivery and full review of applications.
 Ensuring that applications are complete.
 Directing applicants to information about visa and documentation requirements.
 Providing welcoming activities and networking opportunities for students after they have enrolled.

The Study Pittsburgh initiative provides information and publicity materials to selected advising centers and counseling offices around the world using GlobalPittsburgh’s strong relationships with government agencies and diplomatic channels. These channels include:
 EducationUSA, a U.S. State Department program designed to attract international students to the United States through a network of more than 400 advising centers in 170 countries around the world providing information and assistance to prospective students.
 Trade offices of U.S. Commerce Department and Pennsylvania Department of Economic & Community Development, which are committed to increasing international student enrollment in the United States.
 Education agencies and recruiters in targeted countries around the world.
 U.S. Embassies & Consulates around the world.
 Foreign Embassies & Consulates in the United States.

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Friday, November 8, 2013

Pittsburgh-Based Brother’s Brother Foundation Prepares Response to Super Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda

Pittsburgh-based Brother’s Brother Foundation (BBF) is working with the Philippine American Medical Society of Western Pennsylvania (PAMS of WP) to provide short term and long term assistance in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda which has devastated parts of the central Philippines.

BBF has worked with PAMS and other Philippine American groups for more than 30 years to send medical supplies to more than 30 Philippine hospitals.  PAMS supports medical assistance by ocean-going container shipments each year with BBF, and sends more than 70 medical volunteers annually to poorer parts of the Philippines.

BBF, a 56-year old Pittsburgh-based international charity, has provided over $3.5 billion of medical supplies, textbooks, food, seeds, and other humanitarian supplies to people around the world in over 140 countries.

With the help of gifts from the general public, corporations and foundations, in 2012 BBF sent product contributions to those in need in 66 countries including Burundi, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Liberia, Nicaragua, Philippines, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Zambia.  These shipments were the equivalent of 297 tractor trailer loads.  Also in 2012, BBF provided supplies for 274 medical and humanitarian hand-carry mission trips.

Forbes Magazine highlighted BBF as one of five all-star charities in its November 2012 listing of the top 100 U.S. Charities, with a 100 percent rating for fundraising efficiency and charitable commitment. The Better Business Bureau continues to give BBF its “Wise Giving Alliance Standards” seal of approval.

Donations to assist with shipping costs are always accepted. One hundred percent of donations to BBF designated for Philippines relief will be used directly for relief purposes. Credit card donations can be made at www.brothersbrother.org or by calling BBF at 412-321-3160. Checks should be made to the Brother's Brother Foundation and sent to:
Brother's Brother Foundation/Philippines Relief
1200 Galveston Ave.                                    
Pittsburgh, PA  15233

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