Hounds in the Community

By Adam Bossers

When people typically picture heroes, they think of superhuman individuals with powers like flight, super strength or invisibility, winning recognition for saving the city. But in everyday life, community heroes striving to make the Pittsburgh community a safer, healthier and more equitable place often go unnoticed.

To honor those striving to make an impact on our city, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds will host Community Heroes Night at 7 p.m. this Saturday when they face league-leading Louisville City FC at Highmark Stadium.

There are many different ways to be a community hero. Midfielder Jackson Walti, one of the longest tenured players in Pittsburgh between his time at the University of Pittsburgh and with the Hounds, defines it as lending a helping hand when possible.

“(It’s) being present in the community, whether it’s community service projects or just reaching out and being a part of what it means to be a Yinzer,” he said. “I’ve been here a long time, and just being active in this community, I think, is what it’s about.”

Walti has worked with the Boys & Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania and is currently supporting Pittsburgh Youth for Climate Change Action through the Riverhounds’ Play for Change ticketing program. A tireless worker on the field, Walti has embraced the Yinzer ethic of being active in the community.

The Pittsburgh community cultivated by countless heroes over the years is one that people from outside the city sometimes don’t immediately connect with. Fortunately, Hounds midfielder and captain Danny Griffin fit right in when he first arrived in Pittsburgh in 2020.

“It’s a tight-knit community,” he said. “People are there for each other. I noticed that coming in my first year in Pittsburgh. It was welcoming.”

Griffin, like Walti, has also come to embody the same Pittsburgh attitude — hard-working and selfless.

“There are people in times of need, and when you can give a hand, you give a hand,” he said. “Treat others the way you want to be treated. I think the biggest thing for us is knowing what we can do to make someone better around us.”

Last week, Griffin and his teammates, defender Sean Suber and goalkeeper Ben Martino, visited the Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh, a nonprofit that provides care and adoption services for animals in addition to community events involving pets and their owners.

“For me, I’ve had a strong affection for all kinds of animals,” Griffin said. “I had rabbits growing up, and being around dogs and cats, I’ve always wanted them to have a special place to call home, and the community heroes here do that.”

To see more about the Hounds’ visit to the Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh (HARP), check out footage of their visit on the Riverhounds’ YouTube Channel. To learn more about HARP, visit their website, humaneanimalrescue.org/ 

Along with the Hounds’ visit to HARP, players also took trips to see the work done by community heroes at a few other local nonprofits, including 412 Food Rescue, the McGuire Memorial and the Ronald McDonald House.

WATCH: Click here to watch the entire Community Heroes video series!

Being a community hero takes incredible self-sacrifice, unwavering dedication and great belief in a mission or group. For those steadfast individuals who make this daily commitment, the Hounds send their thanks for making our city a better place and hope to see them at Highmark Stadium to celebrate Community Heroes Night.

 One thing Griffin has learned about his role as a leader in the community is that every step forward, or even a half-step, can make a real change in a fellow Yinzer’s life.

“Just being there to give a hand, give food, doing what you can to just make the community better — that’s all you can really do,” he said.

Join us this Saturday, the 13th, to celebrate the incredible work of Pittsburgh’s community heroes, and learn more about what you can do to ignite change in your community by following along with our journey on social media.

In addition to Community Heroes Night, Hounds players all season have been supporting many nonprofits through the Play for Change initiative, which gives back to the community through ticket sales. To buy tickets for Community Heroes Night this Saturday, or any future Hounds match, purchase through one of their links on the Play for Change page.

The support of fans buying tickets and packing Highmark Stadium is a major driver of the Riverhounds’ growth and success. 

But starting this season, a chunk of the money coming in through tickets is benefitting charitable organizations around the Pittsburgh region, and the Hounds’ players are the drivers behind the goodwill effort.

Hounds Play for Change, which launched earlier this season, is a special ticketing program pairing players with nonprofit organizations of their choosing. Fans can purchase tickets through each players’ customized link, and $5 from every ticket sold through the program goes to that players’ charity.

The program has gained momentum since its May launch, thanks in part to promotion by the players through their social media accounts and in-person appearances. And with four home matches remaining in the 2024 regular season, fans can still take part in the program and help it continue its momentum going into 2025.

“The players really took to it and engaged with the organizations they chose,” Riverhounds Senior Director of Ticket Sales Nicole Rudy said. “They all took time to research and choose charities that were close to their heart and pick ones they wanted to help impact. The way they’ve taken it a step above on their own time, making appearances and engaging with these charities, has helped elevate it to the next level.”

How the players chose the organizations they partnered with varied with each person.

For some, it was a matter of picking a group serving a cause close to their heart or with a personal connection. Others, such as some of the players new to Pittsburgh this season, chose larger, national organizations, while still others elected to help their teammates and provide a second set of support to their chosen organization.

Dani Rovira, a native of Colombia, has spent some of his personal time throughout his six years with the Hounds supporting Casa San José, a group that supports the Latino community in Pittsburgh hosting clinics, youth camps and community services and more.

“It started back in 2021, when we had an event at Las Palmas (a Hispanic grocery and eatery in Beechview), and Casa San José had a tent there,” Rovira recalled.

“Meeting them and knowing some of their experiences — when I first came to this country, I was also alone — it was a moment where I thought if I’m able to share with them some moments they’ll cherish and make them smile, I wanted to do it. Since then, every year, I’ve been able to help them a little bit more, go see them, do different things with the team. To do that this year, where we can actually support them with our supporters, it’s something I’m very grateful for.”

Rovira was one of the players who enlisted some help in the locker room for his chosen organization. Junior Etou also made Casa San José his chosen group to support through Hounds Play for Change, but his support has extended further, joining Rovira last month in a visit to the group’s summer youth camp, signing autographs, taking photos and playing a pick-up game with the campers.

Robbie Mertz also chose an organization close to him, Autism Employment Network, which helps prepare and place individuals on the autism spectrum for work in professional settings.

“Starting in college, I got the opportunity to work with a program called Team Impact, and we had a young man named Aiden Hansen, who was part of our team at Michigan, and he was nonverbal with autism,” Mertz said. “I also have a cousin I grew up with who is high functioning with autism, so I reached out to my aunt — his mother – who is very involved with programming and organizations that support people with autism.”

Mertz and fellow Hounds veteran Kenardo Forbes both are supporting the group through Hounds Play for Change, and they took the time to visit Spectro Dolce at Monroeville Mall, a candy and sweets store connected with Autism Employment Network. And while the visit was a fun chance for the players to meet staff and fans — and also enjoy a specialty ice cream treat! — it also helped raise awareness for Hounds Play for Change.

But while some of the players had established ties to their groups, others discovered their cause at the start of the program and have since become more involved.

Kazaiah Sterling, a newcomer to the Hounds this season, is supporting Holy Family Institute in Emsworth, which provides educational opportunities, career training and counseling for children from underprivileged backgrounds or who have experience crisis with their family.

Like his teammates, Sterling has extended his contribution beyond the financial support of Hounds Play for Change. He has hosted some of the young men from Holy Family Institute at Hounds games and practices, taking the time to meet and speak with them on the field at Highmark Stadium and AHN Montour Sports Complex.

“I asked Nicole what sort of charities were around that help young people, and she hooked me up with Holy Family Institute,” Sterling said. “It’s been quite sweet. I’ve been able to see them before a couple of games and hear some of their stories. It’s been really interesting, and quite a few of them come from different parts of the world, so to meet them all here, it’s quite amazing.”

With those sorts of relationships developing in the Pittsburgh community, Hounds Play for Change is already a success, even as the club works to expand awareness and raise more money through ticket sales for the final four games of this season and beyond.

But for the players, the financial support they provide is just one benefit of taking part in the program.

“People always talk about the platform you have as a professional player, and you can use that in different ways,” Mertz said. “The first thing people think about is social media and reaching as many people as possible, but sometimes it’s more about the relationships you can make going and spending a couple hours with people.”

To see the complete list of players and the charities they support, and to buy tickets, visit the Hounds Play for Change page.