Remember and Reflect is a collaborative project between the Observer-Reporter and Herald-Standard to observe the anniversary of 9/11 and the overarching impact it had on our community. These stories honor our local residents with ties to the attack and look into how kids today are taught about 9/11. First responders, veterans and police all share their thoughts. We also visit the Somerset County Flight 93 memorial. Thank you for reading these powerful and impactful stories.
A world-renowned glass sculptor sourced her most famous piece from the abandoned Pennsylvania Wire and Glass Factory in Dunbar where she chiseled a 4-ton, 9-foot-tall hunk of emerald glass into a $3 million work of art.
In 2012, Megs Yunn, founder of Beverly’s Birthdays, asked a little boy at a domestic violence shelter what made birthdays so important.
A non-profit organization based in Florida that specializes in training service dogs to help military veterans is preparing to build a new $20 million campus in Washington County.
Kim Manfredi and Jatnely Gonzalez, co-founders of the Postpartum Depression Project, a Washington County support group for mothers struggling from PPD, acknowledge that the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on new moms’ mental health.
While in and out of jail for nearly a quarter-century, Jeffrey Johnson said he never felt like he could find the right support to help with addiction issues that kept cycling him through the justice system.
What began as a short trip to Washington, D.C., has blossomed into a nonprofit that serves area veterans in a sentimental, meaningful way.
The Miracle League of Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands gives players with special needs the opportunity to do something many of them thought they could never do: Play ball.
Verticals Community Learning Center is expanding rapidly in its second year after launching in Brownsville to provide more opportunities for youth in underserved communities with classes including robotics, drones and sports.
The loss of her son to gun violence led a local woman to start a nonprofit in his name.
Founded nearly 30 years ago in Peters Township, Watchful Shepherd is hopeful it will be able to provide assistance to those in situations involving domestic violence and child abuse.
When Dr. Michele Pagen was a child in Dunbar, she would have loved to attend a performing arts school, but her parents could not afford the cost and the only such school in the area was in Pittsburgh.
Those who know Grace Reid-Vensel, a compassionate, creative 17-year-old North Franklin Township resident, know she has a penchant for shopping.
Chestnut Ridge Counseling Services in Connellsville is expanding its services through participation in newly launched state and federal programs, said CEO Mike Quinn.
An animal shelter that aims to serve the community is gearing up to open its doors after selecting its future home in Lemont Furnace.
The Donora Historical Society is the oldest in Washington County, dating back to 1946, and since that time has done its best to preserve the borough’s history.
For a decade, the Washington County Gay Straight Alliance has provided education, socialization, well-being and empowerment to the area’s LGBTQ+ community.
For more than four decades, Washington Christian Outreach has been spreading the gospel and fulfilling the material and spiritual needs of the less fortunate in the community.
The past two years were a one-two punch for Habitat for Humanity, but the nonprofit is ready to once again start building from the ground up.
Steve Kassimer was the type of person who would strike up a conversation with the stranger in line behind him and have a new friend by the time they got to the front of the line.
The mission for Dress for Success Pittsburgh, including its Washington County branch, goes far beyond providing clothing for women: the nonprofit empowers women who are entering and returning to the workforce.
The four pillars of Blueprints, which calls itself a “change agency,” are the mind, the home, health and the wallet.
For the visually impaired, Vision Services of Washington-Greene provides assistance to facilitate continued independent living.
Since 1986, Pet Search has been building a network of foster families for dogs and cats in need of homes.
The Washington Jazz Society could always use donations of both money and musical instruments.
Born of the grieving process was Elana’s Blessings, a Washington-based nonprofit co-founded in 2015 by Jessica Segen Hinkler and her brother David Segen, to honor their late mother, Elana, who died in 2014 following a 16-year battle with breast cancer.
Editor’s note: Today, we kick off a series of stories to highlight the nonprofits in our area. From now until Christmas, look for the “Helping the Helpers” logo to read about a different organization every day. The series will profile nonprofits in the region that focus on human services, co…
After school on weekdays throughout the school year, the LeMoyne Community Center is a hub of activity, with children from the city of Washington working on homework, playing games and enjoying a healthy dinner and snacks.
“Literacy,” said former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, “is the bridge from misery to hope.”
Perhaps the best way to describe the Mon Valley Youth and Teen Association is that it’s an organization “that helps families and people and kids.”
Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania has launched a “Giveback” program that issued $200,000 of in-store vouchers to distribute to agencies within its 17-county area in western Pennsylvania and north-central West Virginia.
The Washington Area Humane Society needs food for animals throughout the year, and goods for them, too.
Since it was launched in December 2009, WeCare Street Outreach has worked tirelessly to help reduce chronic homelessness in the city of Washington.
On a recent Thursday evening, the teenagers who gathered at the Common Ground Teen Center on North Main Street in Washington cooked a pot of chicken noodle soup.
Jameson's Army, based in Cecil Township, helps out families who are dealing with children who have congenital heart defects.
Peanuts comic strip character Linus van Pelt, the security blanket-toting brother of Lucy, famously said, “Happiness is a warm blanket.”
In-Stride with Therapeutic Riding is more than horse therapy.
One of the country’s most urgent problems is food insecurity, and the Corner Cupboard Food Bank Inc. is doing its best to help end hunger in Greene County.
The Greater Washington County Food Bank, a division of Food Helpers, is serving the area hope for a world without hunger.
The Humane Society of Greene County is more than a refuge for the neglected, the cold, the sick.
The Daughters of the American Revolution, a lineage-based service organization, focuses on supporting patriotism, education and historic preservation.
For the Herald-Standard
Tracey Crompton recalls sitting at her dining room table with five friends in November 2017 and chatting about rescuing unwanted, homeless, abused animals.
The region's only diaper bank is in need of volunteers and drop-off locations to help fight the ongoing diaper crisis many families are facing.
Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Aid (SPLA) is filling in the gaps in the judicial system when assistance is needed in civil litigation.
Junior Achievement of Western PA is dedicated to giving students the skills they need to succeed in the real world, including financial literacy and workplace readiness, said its leaders.
What began in 1941 as a soup kitchen has grown into a beautiful campus that offers food, shelter and clothing to the homeless and hopeless in Washington County.
The Dreamers Company wants to bring a renaissance to the city of Washington.
Working parents often need day care.
CASA for Kids volunteer Linus Mayernik described his work with children in the Washington County’s juvenile court system as “a pretty humbling experience.”
With dogs in need of expensive medical treatment and cats who need socialization, Angel Ridge Animal Rescue looks toward the community for support.
