Heritage Community Initiatives was featured in two articles in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, a nationally published newspaper for charity leaders, fund raisers, grant makers, and others involved in philanthropic enterprises.

Stories by Debra E. Blum. Reprinted from The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Originally Printed May 27, 2012.

Photo:  Michele Atkins, head of Heritage Community Initiatives, had to make tough decisions to help the social-service charity dig out of debt and lessen its dependence on state aid. Among its fundraising efforts: an auction of kid-size chairs decorated by local artists. Photo by Scott Goldsmith, for The Chronicle.

Pa. Chairity Battles Back From Financial Brink

So many people and businesses had disappeared from Braddock, Pa., in the decades since its steel industry collapsed that Heritage Community Initiatives, a home-grown social-service charity, didn’t want to be among them. But saddled with nearly $1-million in unpaid bills, programs bleeding cash, and questions from the state about its financial audits, the group considered shutting its doors a few years ago.

Today, with new leadership, wiped-out debt, cleaned-up financials, and a burgeoning fundraising operation, Heritage has been able to continue to run the preschool center, bus service, and job-training programs the city so desperately needs.

Its story is a tale of a once-richly endowed nonprofit in a once-rich town outside Pittsburgh, battling its own demons and the economic forces that ensnared the region. At the same time, Heritage’s struggles, including bouts with sloppy management and state budget woes, are probably familiar to many charities around the country slogging their way out of the economic downturn.

Heritage’s experiences, say nonprofit experts, could be a road map for other troubled charities.

Story by Tory N. Parrish. Reprinted from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Originally published Thursday, May 17, 2012.

Photo:  Callee Bradley, 17, a junior at Winchester-Thurston, works on the bleachers on Tuesday afternoon in a North Braddock ballfield. Heritage Community Initiatives has received several grants, including $25,000 from the Buhl Foundation and $5,000 from the Pittsburgh Pirates, to rehabilitate the field that was built in the 1920s. Photo courtesy of Justin Merriman, Tribune-Review.

On a warm, sunny day in North Braddock, teenagers painted to the rhythm of music while mouthing lyrics spoken by Kanye West.

The rapper's song "Power" blared from speakers hooked to the iPhone of Michael Curry, 17.

He and 39 other students, mostly juniors and seniors at Winchester Thurston School, a private school in Shadyside, let hip-hop tunes inspire them on Tuesday as they pulled weeds; replaced rickety, wooden bleachers; scraped grease and dirt from a worn-out concession stand; painted walls; cut down trees; and did other chores to rehabilitate a nearly century-old ballfield at the corner of Jones Avenue and Anderson Street.