Hey there!

Thanks for checking out Trucio!

I began working on Trucio when I worked for local Meals on Wheels programs and found that doing basic outreach to related organizations was surprisingly difficult to facilitate with no comprehensive, updated, and centralized directory. It was a small idea that scratched my own itch, but I knew it had a larger relevance.

In 2016, I became the Program Manager for My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) in the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County and decided to focus Trucio as a tool to visualize and connect the work of My Brother’s Keeper.

MBK’s framework contains six goal areas and over three dozen specific objectives all focused on improving the trajectories and lived experience for African American men and boys. Because many of the opportunity and achievement gaps faced by young men of color are also experienced to different degrees by other communities of color and disenfranchised populations, MBK’s initial equity lens has been expanded to be as intersectional as possible. This means that it is important for us to take a collective impact approach and continuously convene and engage the entities, organizations, and individuals working on behalf of the future.

Walter Lewis and me, Josiah Gilliam

In the original Pittsburgh MBK Playbook, over three dozen Objective Leads and Current Keepers volunteered to report on their progress and participate in the initiative. Since then, others have been organically identified and we have benefited tremendously from getting the right people around the table.

My hope is that Trucio helps anyone interested in My Brother’s Keeper in Pittsburgh to get a better idea of who is doing what and how to engage with the work in their own way in line with their own passions.

Whether you are interested in early childhood literacy, mentorship, career attainment, or any of the other goals and objectives, there is plenty of work to be done and I am happy to provide an easy way to connect with the people actually doing the work.

Trucio is a one-stop shop for nonprofit organizations, volunteers, and funders alike. Many small nonprofits are doing great work, but may have no presence online. This can be frustrating for people trying to find ways to lend a hand in their community and to people who are looking for services.

So stay awhile and check out the great work that is happening around Pittsburgh. We will update the site continuously as the work evolves and progresses.

Yours in service,

Josiah