The Jessie Games is a family-friendly day of fun and games to celebrate the life of Jessie Egan Smith - and at the same time, to help local children in need. All proceeds from the event support children's enrichment activities offered through Catholic Charities' Summer Lunch Program and "Roller Coasters" at Greene County Outreach. To find out more, please visit thejessiegames.org.
Since its inception in 2012, Catholic Charities' Summer Lunch Program in Pittsburgh has provided nearly 2,000 free and nutritious meals to children ages 18 and under. Along with lunch, the 10-week program provides children with creative enrichment activities such as visits from a caricature artist, singing, dancing and presentations from The Carnegie Library, Heinz History Center, and Animal Rescue League. At the end of the summer, each child receives a backpack filled with school supplies.
Roller Coasters is an eight-week psycho-educational program that serves elementary school children living in the Greene County school districts who are battling with family upheavals such as divorce, loss, and parental incarceration. Through Roller Coasters, children learn via play to recognize and manage painful emotions, and so become better equipped to tolerate and triumph over past and future difficulties.