Advocacy Action Days - Thank You!

We appreciate everyone who mobilized to advocate for federal Adult Education funding during our Advocacy Action Days last month. While the budget negotiation process is far from over, we led the State in grassroots mobilization, with Representatives Deluzio and Lee receiving the most emails/calls of any PA Representatives, and Senators McCormick and Fetterman receiving the most emails of any senators in the country.

In addition, Representative Summer Lee signed onto the Dear Colleague letter advocating for increased adult education funding. She is the only PA Representative to do so. Please consider sending a thank you email to her through this link.

Thanks again for supporting this important effort. Stay tuned for more opportunities to advocate on behalf of our Literacy Pittsburgh's programs.

July Digital Skills Calendar

Celebrate Independence Day by learning new digital skills as an independent learner!

Please check out our virtual classes and in-person offerings at Literacy Pittsburgh Downtown, PA CareerLink^® Downtown, and PA CareerLink^® Allegheny East. We’re also hosting Digital Skills Orientations, Intro to Zoom, and Google Career Certificate Info Sessions to help new students get started with classes. The full calendar is available at www.LPStudent.com/calendar.

Literacy Pittsburgh Downtown:

Intermediate Microsoft Excel (5 sessions)
Job-Search Series (4 sessions — attend individually or all four to earn a Certificate of Completion!)
Preparing for a Virtual Doctor's Visit (6 sessions)
Digital Skills Orientation
Intro to Zoom
Open Lab

PA CareerLink^® Downtown:

Intermediate Microsoft Word (4 sessions)
Open Lab

Virtual Classes (Online via Zoom):

Digital Skills Orientation
Google Career Certificate Info Session
Intro to Google Docs (6 sessions)
Intro to Excel (6 sessions)
Intro to Zoom
Typing 101
Using Email (6 sessions)
Using Outlook

PA CareerLink^® Allegheny East:

Computer Basics (6 sessions)
Internet Basics (8 sessions)

Please note the updated Open Lab listing!

Open Lab Schedule (except as noted below):

Mondays: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm (Literacy Pittsburgh);
Mondays: NEW! 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm (PA CareerLink^® Downtown)
Tuesdays: 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm (Literacy Pittsburgh)
Thursdays: 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm (Literacy Pittsburgh)

We hope we have some classes that interest you! As always, please email us at DigitalPGH@LiteracyPittsburgh.org and please specify which class(es) and dates you are interested in.

Note: Literacy Pittsburgh will be closed on July 3 and 4, 2025, for the Fourth of July holiday.

There will be no classes or Open Labs the first week of July. That is a planning week for our teaching teams.

Happy July! 🎆

Service Coordination Events

June Office Hours: Duquesne Light CAP Enrollment

📍Monday, July 7 & Tuesday, July 8, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Literacy Pittsburgh's Downtown Center

Electricity bill too high? Come see student services at Literacy Pittsburgh's Downtown Center lobby for help enrolling in Duquesne Light's Customer Assistance Program (CAP). We will take names, emails and phone numbers to schedule appointments to apply for CAP. If you have any questions, please contact Manique (mbraziel@literacypittsburgh.org) or Ezekieli (eseti@literacypittsburgh.org) for assistance.

Student and Career Services Classes and Workshops

Upcoming Workshops and Events

Upwardly Global Open Lab
📍Every Tuesday, 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Literacy Pittsburgh's Downtown Center  

Open Lab is a drop-in time where you can get help with any basic computer skills. Open Lab will be in Classroom 8. Computers are available for you to use, and an instructor is there to help guide you in learning. No registration necessary. Free and open to all students! Questions? Email digitalPGH@literacypittsburgh.org

Urgent Job Search Crash Course
📍Tuesdays 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Online on Zoom

Need a job ASAP? Career Services is hosting a new series of weekly workshops discussing the general and local employment necessities. There are both basic and advanced job search skills taught in this workshop.

This workshop will take place every Tuesday in July at the Downtown Center
Interested? Register here. Questions? Email icenteno@literacypittsburgh.org with any questions.

Waitlist Workshop:
📍Wednesdays, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Online on Zoom

This is a series of 3 workshops available to all students — even before you start classes. These workshops are designed to get you started thinking about your goals, and to ease you into learning with us. This month's workshops are:

Wednesday, July 9: Career Exploration (Interest Surveys)
Wednesday, July 16: Resume Basics
Wednesday, July 23: What is Career Services?

Classes are open to all Literacy Pittsburgh Students, but will prioritize waiting students. This is a virtual event and will be held over Zoom. Interested? Register here. Questions? Email dpelter@literacypittsburgh.org.

Career Day
📍Wednesday, July 30, 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Literacy Pittsburgh's Downtown Center 

Join Literacy Pittsburgh at our Career Day for a chance to meet and network with new employers at this in-person job fair. Representatives from Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, Trade Institute of Pittsburgh, Concord Hospitality, and PA CareerLink^® will be present!

CareerLink Representative at Literacy Pittsburgh Downtown Center
📍Thursday, July 31
Literacy Pittsburgh's Downtown Center

PA CareerLink^® is an organization dedicated to helping Pennsylvanians get jobs and build job skills. The PA CareerLink^® representative can meet with students 1:1, answer questions, present workshops, and more. To schedule a 1:1 session with the CareerLink^®advisor, email dpelter@literacypittsburgh.org. Learn more about PA CareerLink^®: https://www.pacareerlink.pa.gov/jponline/

Understanding Immigration News: Get the Facts to Protect Yourself and Your Family

There’s a lot of confusing and sometimes misleading information about immigration issues like travel bans, TPS (Temporary Protected Status), ICE, and deportation. It’s important to have accurate, trustworthy information so you can make the best decisions for yourself and your family. To help you stay informed, visit the USAHello website, where you’ll find clear and up-to-date resources in multiple languages.

Invite Your Friends and Family to Support Literacy Pittsburgh

You’re working hard, and that deserves to be celebrated. Every class you attend and every goal you reach brings you closer to your dreams.

Now, your friends and family can be part of your journey, too. When they give a gift to Literacy Pittsburgh, they’re helping make sure students like you have the resources and support needed to succeed.

Want to invite them to join our community? Share this link: https://give.literacypittsburgh.org/give/542447#!/donation/checkout

Even a small gift can help support a student’s path forward.

Thank you for being part of this amazing community. We’re so proud of you!

June Events

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is participating in the 2025 Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in order to ensure Pittsburgh youth have access to free food during summer vacation. This is incredibly important because good nutrition is essential for learning!
Check CLP’s 2025 summer meals and snacks schedule.

CITIPARKS Summer Guide 2025 Pittsburgh is a city built on and by the community of our smaller neighborhoods. Citiparks works hard to serve these neighborhoods while providing meaningful programs and activities throughout the year to engage residents and visitors!
Citiparks created a summer guide for all events and activities. Check it out! English / Spanish / Simplified Chinese

Independence Day, celebrated on the 4th of July each year, marks the anniversary of the United States declaring independence from Great Britain in 1776. Commonly known as the Fourth of July, it is a national holiday in the U.S. The day is widely observed with festivities including fireworks, parades, concerts, and family gatherings.

Here in Pittsburgh, activities will kick off at 4:00 pm on the North Shore, with festivities such as a children's fun zone, hot-air balloon, musical performances, and more. Fireworks will begin at 9:35 pm.

Student Success Stories

Congratulations to the following students!

Janel, a 2024 Literacy Pittsburgh GED graduate, was invited to address this year’s graduates at our GED Graduation Celebration. She emphasized the importance of persevering on your own path and destigmatizing society’s perception of the value of a nontraditional education. Janel is a Pittsburgh native, living predominantly in Homewood, and is currently attending CCAC. She holds a 3.7 GPA and was recently accepted into the 2025-2026 Nursing Program.

Cynthia Ann attends teacher Tina's class, where she has demonstrated great determination during her job search. She performed well in class, completed tasks independently, and was always willing to help others. Teacher Tina is so proud of her progress! This opportunity gave Cynthia Ann the chance to practice and strengthen skills needed to secure employment.

Congratulations to Jose for earning his Microsoft Office Specialist Certificate.

Congratulations Latoya for earning Microsoft Office Specialist Excel Certification! This is Latoya's second MOS certificate. She earned Word in December.

Share your success story with us! You can help inspire others who are overcoming barriers and working toward their goals. Email it to Najlaa at nebrahim@literacypittsburgh.org

“Education is power. It is just like a light in complete darkness.”
— Ziauddin Yousafzai

“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”
— Sydney J. Harris