The BCA was established in 1944 and is now working toward reinvigorating itself as a 501(c)3. Our mission is to strengthen the fabric of our community by offering educational, social and outreach activities in the east end of Pittsburgh. Our programs are open to everyone – we are a very diverse organization that embraces and supports people of all economic backgrounds and ages.
Some of our key programs and services (past and present) include:
Educational and Environmental Programs
Anti-Fracking Education, Beer Brewing and Tasting, Bottle Club, EJ’s Army (Street clean-up), Finance Seminars, Garden Club Classes, Jazzercise, Mary Pat School of Dance, Personal Defense (Lady Beware), Swim Club, Classes and Swim Team, Venture Crew, Wine Tasting Seminars, Yoga Classes, Zumba Classes
Outreach and Spiritual Services
Blackboard Newsletter, Block Captain Ambassadors, Boy Scouts, Crime Watch, Day of Caring, Garage Sale, Meet the Candidates Series, Neighbors Unite Wilkinsburg, Pick-up Soccer, Playgroup (family group), Victory Calvary Prayer Group, Website and Community Email Blast (Notices)
Community and Social Events
Beef and Beer, Children’s Christmas Party, Fall Fest, Fourth of July Parade, KinderCare Event, Scandinavian Society Annual Event, Strawberry Festival
With our new status we will expand our outreach even more with additional programs!
Items of Note
View our by-laws and our past meeting minutes.
Blackridge History
The Blackridge Civic Association was founded in 1944 to promote the welfare of the community.
Through the efforts of the five year old Garden Club, trees now lined the streets of the new community of Blackridge, work was ready to start on the corner plantings, and funds were raised for handsome new road markers. The years of hard work resulted in an attractive and prestigious residential community – leading to an unwelcome jolt of a substantial increase in property taxes.
The ladies of the Garden Club took action by circulating a petition claiming that tax penalties were being levied because of individual and collective improvements. When the petition produced no practical results, the civic committee of the Club called a meeting on Sunday afternoon in 1944 and invited their husbands to join in the effort to reduce the new assessments. That afternoon, the Blackridge Civic Association was launched and with it a new era in Blackridge history.
Today, the Blackridge Civic Association seeks to provide community identity for the more than 600 houses in the neighborhood that now includes parts of Wilkinsburg, Churchill and Penn Hills. The Civic Association built its Clubhouse through community support in 1953 and opened the swimming pool as an independent subsidiary in 1972. Property includes approximately ten acres of wooded land, ball fields, and a playground. A full social program for adults and children has also evolved over the years along with the regular publication of a community newsletter known as “The Blackboard.”