E11: The Pittsburgh Project: 40 Years of Northside Youth Empowerment

What makes Rick Mason with The Pittsburgh Project a good neighbor?  

Every child deserves to feel loved, safe, and valued – that's the driving philosophy behind The Pittsburgh Project, a remarkable nonprofit that's been serving youth on Pittsburgh's North Side for 40 years. 

Executive Director Rick Mason brings us inside this vital community organization that offers summer camps, after-school programs, and leadership development opportunities for local youth. With a personal connection to the North Side spanning two decades, Mason shares how his journey from program coordinator to executive director has been fueled by his own experiences as a middle schooler navigating life's challenges. "Having positive adults in my life that influenced me, encouraged me, helped me make good decisions," Mason reflects, "was why I was excited to work with youth at this point in my life."

The Pittsburgh Project's deep roots in the Perry South neighborhood have allowed them to build meaningful partnerships with local schools like Allegheny Traditional Academy and Perry High School. These connections create pathways for students to access their programs, where they receive much more than just supervision – they find mentorship, skill development, and a sense of belonging. As summer temperatures soar, Mason describes pools filled with kids seeking relief from the heat, while inside their facilities, young people participate in activities designed to prepare them for bright futures. Whether through their high school leadership programs focused on job training and college preparation or their year-round youth development initiatives, The Pittsburgh Project remains committed to its core mission: ensuring every child who walks through their doors discovers their inherent value.

Want to learn how your family can benefit from these transformative programs or how you can support their mission? Connect with The Pittsburgh Project through their website at pittsburghproject.org or find them across social media platforms. After four decades of community service, they're just getting started in their mission to empower Pittsburgh's youth.

To learn more about The Pittsburgh Project go to: 

https://www.pittsburghproject.org/

The Pittsburgh Project

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Lila Carter.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a nonprofitsupporting after-school programs
and summer camps onPittsburgh's north side?
One might be closer than youthink.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
rick Mason, with the PittsburghProject.
Rick, how's it going?

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Things are going well .
I'm excited.
We're in the middle of oursummer camp right now, so it's
going well.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Oh, excellent.
We're excited to learn allabout you and the business.
Tell us about your company.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
Yeah, so I'm the executive director of the
Pittsburgh Project.
We've been around for 40 yearswe actually just had a 40th
anniversary celebration a fewweeks ago and we have summer
camps, after school programs,year round programs for young
people that are on the northside of Pittsburgh, and we also
have leadership programs forhigh school students, where they
get job training excuse me andcollege prep for the students

(01:09):
that are in high school.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
Wow, so many cool offerings.
How did you get into thisbusiness?

Speaker 3 (01:21):
Yeah, I've been with the organization for about 15
years now.
I started off as a programcoordinator coordinating one of
the high school programs, and Ibecame executive director just
about four years ago now.
So I've been connected with theNorthside for about 20 years.
So I live in the community andjust knew about the work of the
Pittsburgh Project from a longtime ago and just wanted to be a

(01:57):
part of it Excellent.
So what are some myths ormisconceptions in your industry?
From different neighborhoodsall have different issues and
different concerns and problems.
You know, depending on the agegroup, and you know families
come to us with, you know,different types of issues and

(02:18):
different places in life.
But all kids, I think, need asafe place to spend time, a
place where they can learn, aplace where they can grow, where
they can make friends, connectwith positive adults.
So I would say that if you're akid person, all those things
make sense to you.
If you're not a kid person,that may sound like gobbledygook
, so I would say that that'skind of where some of the myths
come in people that don'tnecessarily interact with kids

(02:39):
having thoughts about kids thatmaybe seem crazier than what
they are in reality.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
Sure, sure so, as you find who you can help the best.
Who are your target customersand how do you attract them?

Speaker 3 (02:51):
Yeah, so we are located in the Perry South area
of the Northside, so majority ofthe young people in the
families that we connect withare from the Perry South
community, but we're open to allyouth across the Northside, so
and we connect with them bypartnering with some of the
local schools.
We pick up at some of thedifferent schools for the

(03:14):
afterschool program AlleghenyTraditional Academy, manchester
Academic Charter.
We also have some connectionswith Perry High School.
You know so different schoolsPropel Northside.
Uh, have some connections withuh Perry high school, um, you
know so different schools uh,propel Northside, which is which
is down the hill from us.
So we connect with the, withthe schools and through the
families, through communityevents and um and through school
relationships.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
I know a lot of the youngsters these days are kind
of, uh, connected to media, youknow, and on social media and on
these different platforms.
Have you ever thought aboutdoing your own podcast to
connect with them?

Speaker 3 (03:48):
So it's interesting.
A few years ago we actually gota donation for some like
podcasting, youtube equipment,and some of the kids have done
some.
We've had one of the electivewhere the kids have done some of
that you know type of work.
We haven't really thought aboutdoing anything official yet,
but that's actually something toconsider.

(04:08):
I feel like that's somethingthe kids could really get
excited about.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah, I feel like they relate to that.
What do you do for fun?

Speaker 3 (04:17):
Oh man, my wife, I'm married and we have two little
kids.
We have a nine-year-old and asix-year-old.
So I feel like my fun timeright now is, you know, chasing
after them and taking them toall types of fun activities.
We went swimming, you know,over this weekend with all this

(04:37):
hot weather, so that was fun.
And then, whenever my wife andI get a chance to not have our
kids with us for a little bit,we always like to try different
restaurants and things like thataround the city.
We love to eat, so it's alwaysfun to go to new restaurants and
things like that.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
Very nice.
Yeah, I feel like everyone wasat the pool with this heat wave
that we've been having lately.
Huh.

Speaker 3 (04:58):
Yep, that's definitely we.
Actually we went to two poolsbecause the first pool we went
to there was a long line just toget in, so we had to hop to
another pool just to trysomething different.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
So All right.
So let's switch gears here.
Can you describe a hardship ora life challenge you overcame
and made you stronger?
What comes to mind?

Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yeah, yeah for sure.
I think when I think about thehardships of life, something
that comes to mind for me isjust the I remember being being
like a middle school kid andkind of like figuring out life
and not you know, and on somelevels feeling like you really
had a grasp, a grasp andunderstanding of things.

(05:37):
And then on other levels,feeling like the world doesn't
make any sense to you and I feellike being being a middle
schooler and not reallyunderstanding what was going on
in the world.
And I had positive adults.
I had a choir director, I had afootball coach, those positive
adults that were around me andencouraging me.
And my parents were there, ofcourse, but as a middle schooler

(06:00):
, teenager, listening to yourparents is not necessarily the
top of your priority list, isnot necessarily the top of your
priority list.
So, for me, having programs,having positive adults in my
life that influenced me,encouraged me, helped me to make
good decisions, I think waskind of the transition for me
while and why I was excited towork with youth and on behalf of

(06:22):
youth at this point in my life,knowing the impact that having
those positive adults in my lifehad on my life.

Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yeah, it's so important.
Every kid needs a good supportsystem.

Speaker 3 (06:33):
Exactly.

Speaker 2 (06:33):
Positive adults and someone to look up to really.

Speaker 3 (06:36):
Yeah, for sure?

Speaker 2 (06:38):
Yeah, all right.
So, rick, please tell ourlisteners one thing that they
should remember about thePittsburgh Project.

Speaker 3 (06:45):
Yeah, I would say if you're going to think about the
Pittsburgh Project, the, I wouldsay if you're going to think
about the Pittsburgh Project,the thing I'd want you to
remember is that when kids arehere, when families are here,
the kids feel loved, they feelsafe, they feel cared for.
And that's our goal for thekids to be a part of our
programs and to see their value.
Just like all of us need toknow that we are valued and that

(07:06):
we have have self-worth.
So I just want people toremember that that when your
kids are here, they will, theywill feel loved, that we care
for, and we will try our best tomake them feel like they're at
home here.
That's very special.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
How can our listeners learn more about the Pittsburgh
Project?

Speaker 3 (07:23):
Yeah, so you can.
You can check out our website,pittsburghprojectorg.
We're on Instagram, we're onFacebook, linkedin, all at the
Pittsburgh Project.
You can connect with us throughall those different ways social
media to find out what's goingon, to know when our next

(07:43):
program cycles are happening, toknow when we're having
different events and things likethat.
So that's the best way toconnect with us.

Speaker 2 (07:51):
Excellent.
Well, Rick, I really appreciateyour time today and you being a
guest on the show.
We wish you and the businessthe best moving forward.

Speaker 3 (08:00):
Thank you so much.
It was great to connect withyou.

Speaker 1 (08:03):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNPPittsburghcom.
That's GNPPittsburghcom, orcall 412-561-9956.