HONOREES DORIS CARSON WILLIAMS, SALEEM GHUBRIL, JANIS BURLEY. (PHOTO BY J.L. MARTELLO)
by Renee P. Aldrich
For New Pittsburgh Courier
On Friday, May 8, the organization Three Rivers Youth (TRY) held its annual gala, celebrating 146 years of servicing disenfranchised youth and families. The organization is the second-oldest surviving institution to provide a home for abandoned, neglected and abused children of color. In direct alignment with the founders’ motivation to care for the most vulnerable, Three Rivers Youth continues to specialize in service to low-income and minority populations.
For the occasion of this celebration, Zane Ice Newton, 12 years young, took to the stage and when asked what advice he had for the attendees, he had no problem telling them to hold God’s hand and all would be alright. He also told the audience to thank God for every day in which they wake. He was uniquely qualified to speak about faith and God’s goodness since he was just days away from being officially adopted, by Lois Newton.
This year’s theme, “Race of Roses—A Kentucky Derby Affair,” was in keeping with the theme of the three previous years. The backdrop for the over 400 audience members were the men and women decked out in their finest Derby attire; women in their fascinators and men in straw hats, and the Wyndham Grand Hotel ballroom draped in pink roses all over.
Event co-chairs this year were Derrick Wilson, of The Wilson Group, and Howard Russell of Hui Huliau, a native Hawaiian organization. Mikey Hood of KDKA-TV was the emcee.
The Nellie award winners for this year were Janis Burley (President/CEO of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center), Doris Carson Williams (Retired President/CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce) and Saleem Ghubril (Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Promise). The awards are aptly named after Three Rivers Youth’s first client, Nellie Grant, who was found wandering the streets of what’s now the North Side in 1880.
Additional winners for the night were students who were recipients of various different scholarships such as the Three Rivers Youth Scholarship, Chuck and Nancy Adreon Scholarship and the Lois Leeds Memorial Scholarship. They were presented to Elani Lynn Wanzo, Ethan Webb, Emily Eisenberg and Mubarak Salifu.
The evening continued with its two mainstay highlights; the live auction, and the Kentucky Derby party, consisting of horse racing, cocktails, coffee, tea and dessert.
President and CEO of Three Rivers Youth, Peggy Harris, spoke to those in need of TRY services: “There are many in despair who sometimes will find themselves locked out of the good or promise of life; however, I know some doors that remain open and swing wide to people who need a hand up, a hand out and a hand in hand. These are the doors of Three Rivers Youth that open other doors and possibilities unimaginable, not bound by geography alone; one can find these doors on Pittsburgh’s East End where on Highland Avenue peace can be found. You can enter that door, where you are welcome to share a meal, share a story and receive compassion.”
Harris continued: “And further up the street is another door at the intersection of Broad and Centre (6117 Broad Street is Three Rivers Youth’s address), you’ll find another door. At the epicenter of a bustling East Liberty, these doors also swing wide with the opportunity for you to unload your burdens that have become too heavy to carry alone. Inside you’ll find a care team member whose lived experience matches yours, a person who has traveled and overcome a road with the same bumps and speed blocks as yours. A person who looks like you and without judgement will open a space for your healing. You will also find a whole care team of professionals, clinicians, psychologists and more. Individuals with whom you’ll be able to travel together back to your personal wholeness. You only need to open one door to find freedom with us.” Harris has now been the President and CEO of Three Rivers Youth for 25 years. “My vigor is as strong tonight as it was 25 years ago when I first met Little Nellie, a child for whom we made a home. We are still serving Little Nellie, and the journey continues.”
SOME OF THE THREE RIVERS YOUTH BOARD OF DIRECTORS…(PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)
SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS ELANI LYNN WANZO, ETHAN WEBB, EMILY EISENBERG AND MUBARAK SALIFU
BEING ADOPTED IS ZANE ICE NEWTON, WITH JAMES A. NEWTON AND LOIS NEWTON.
THREE RIVERS YOUTH PRESIDENT AND CEO PEGGY HARRIS