Suresh C Ramanathan, Volunteer for the PIC-5K Event
 Five years ago, the Pittsburgh Indian Community and Friends (PICAF) Nonprofit was established to bring the entire community together across all languages, religions and social and cultural groups around a single event, the PIC-5K Walk/Run. Its purpose was simple and
Some of the volunteers in the PIC-5k Event.
straightforward: to try to make a huge impact in the lives of people in the region where we live, work, study, and raise our families through a fun-loving fundraising event in the fall. All the money raised through donations in this annual event goes to nonprofits. Volunteers cover all the operational costs.
These last five years, PIC-5K has raised about $250,000, including the operational costs that are covered by volunteers who run this unique event. Thanks to the generosity of donors and the frugal approach of the organizing volunteers, this year, PIC-5K raised nearly $58,000 in the September 22 event. And the organizers will distribute the $58,000 raised in the event to various community organizations.
Great efforts go to due diligence for identifying, vetting and selecting the non-profits in the
      Volunteers at the East End FitBit Program booth.
Greater Pittsburgh area mitigating homelessness, helping with healthcare and education for the needy, and emergency first responders. We request award recipients to use all the funds we donate to deliver programs to the deserving individuals in our region. We try to ensure that the recipients of our funds follow-through by requesting outcome-based reports following our funding guidelines.
You have helped us make a huge impact over the last four years and it shows! With your help we have impacted many local programs including but not limited to:
- After-school education program that helped 525 homeless children
- Nutrition program targeting low-income families
- Helping adults finish high school
- Exposing 500 underserved girls to arts and culture
- Mobile employment training to homeless people
- Setting up computers for use by the homeless
- Shoot, Don’t Shoot VR training program for 900 Police officers
- Book donations for underprivileged children.
PIC-5K’s community investments from fund raised in 2018:
- Mary’s Market Program, a stop-gap food pantry for the needy
- Home Again Program for moving homeless to their next home
- AP/EA Program to bridge the gap of textbooks for needy students
- Mother & Son Program to bring them together and make them more responsible and successful
- Additional incremental funding for Backdraft Simulator
- Books for needy children
So, PIC-5K needs you in the walkathon event, and also your material support in 2019! Next year’s PIC-5K event will be on September 14, 2019. Looking forward to seeing you there!!  ♠