Outreach Teen & Family Services, Mt. Lebanon’s nonprofit counseling organization, will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2024, and to mark it, the group launched a large-scale endowment initiative meant to raise more than $300,000 by the anniversary.

What started last year with a silent phase has brought in pledges of $185,000 from prominent local residents who are committed to Outreach’s mission of keeping mental health counseling services affordable and accessible for Mt. Lebanon families. The project is being organized as an endowed fund through the Mt. Lebanon Community Foundation.

“We started Outreach 5.0 with the goal of obtaining 50 percent of our goal and continue to be gratified by the overwhelming support our donors demonstrated from the beginning of the campaign’s quiet phase,” says Mary Birks, executive director of Outreach. “We now turn to the public and it’s our expectation and hope that donors will continue to give generously to the campaign, to assist us in helping more families to address important issues. We recognize that Outreach provides essential services to Mt. Lebanon families, especially throughout the pandemic.

Ensuring its continued operation will help Mt. Lebanon to remain a great place to live, raise a family and work.”
Birks says stress, anxiety and depression are the most common reasons clients seek help from Outreach. The organization receives some of its budget from Mt. Lebanon tax coffers, and in return, Mt. Lebanon residents can receive free and low-cost counseling sessions. Outreach was budgeted to receive $104,040, in 2020 plus another $5,000 to add services at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library. “We expect to work closely with the library as students make their way back to school and seek out resources there,” according to Birks.

To donate, contact Birks at mbirks@outreachteen.org, or go to outreachteen.org and download a donor brochure. All pledges may be made over a five-year period.