Events

2026 Helpers’ Holiday Wish

This Giving Tree is an opportunity to offer a little holiday support to the people in our community who spend so much of their time caring for others. Social workers, therapists, healthcare providers, first responders, and other helping professionals are navigating increasing economic pressures alongside the emotional demands of this work and the broader stress of the current social climate.

To that note, we want to make the end of the year a little easier for helping professionals in Allegheny County who could use some extra care themselves. We’re currently looking for WISH GRANTERS - community members, colleagues, and organizations who would like to sponsor a gift and help give back to the families of the people who spend their days helping others.

HOW IT WORKS

Wish Granters (community members, colleagues, organizations, and businesses who would like to provide or sponsor a gift) are invited to sign up between October 15 - November 15 via the secure form linked below.

Wish Recipients (Allegheny County healthcare providers, first responders, and other helping professionals in need) will be able to submit their wishes and requests confidentially between November 7-14 (or until the capacity of Granters has been matched.) Submissions will be accepted through a separate form posted here and that will be live on November 7. Each wish will receive a gift. We will make every effort to honor requests made and fulfill specific items, but cannot guarantee that higher-cost or specialties can be fulfilled exactly.

As the wishes come in, Fourth River Therapy’s practice owner (Ashley Gallo LCSW) will review details, assign each wish a number for privacy, and then match the wish to a Granter to coordinate fulfillment. 

Granters will be provided their wish’s number and only the pertinent details on what the request entails so Recipients’ privacy remains confidential. Granters then shop, complete, and drop the gifts back off to Fourth River Therapy by December 7.  Granters will label the gifts by their number to ensure their own anonymity and that they go to the intended Recipient.

Fourth River Therapy will distribute the gifts to the Recipients by December 18, preserving sensitive information, identities, and ensuring ethical boundaries remain intact. Recipients can either arrange for pick up at our office or have the gifts delivered to them by a therapist from Fourth River.

If you have any questions, please email us at info [at] fourthrivertherapy [dot] com. We love this community and we are looking forward to helping spread some holiday cheer!

Happy Holidays!
SIGN UP TO BE A WISH GRANTER!

If you’d like to donate towards costs for unfulfilled needs, wrapping supplies, or for the program to use in its discretion to fulfill this program - please use our Venmo! Privacy is enabled. Please put your email address as the description so we can properly thank you as well as provide details on what your generosity made possible! We appreciate you!

Past Events

BLS CPR & AED Community Training & Brunch for Therapists

Friday, February 27, 2026 | 9AM - 12PM

FREE EVENT - In alignment with our commitment to serving populations who are at higher risk for cardiac emergencies, and in the spirit of being better equipped to care for our community at large, Fourth River Therapy purchased an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) for our Southside office in the spring of 2026. We hosted a BLS CPR training / retraining event for our own clinicians and were excited to welcome and sponsor a number of therapists from neighboring practices to join us in this important effort. BLS CPR is designed for healthcare professionals and includes advanced skills like team dynamics and increased considerations for airway management. The training will include first aid as well as naloxone administration.
The event included the training as well as a brunch spread and refreshments compliments of Fourth River Therapy. Participants received an individual certification valid for 2 years as well as a supply of Narcan to add to their own emergency response kits at the completion of the event.

Let’s Talk About Hospice (and Palliative Care, Death, Dying & Grief) Lecture with Elizabeth Schandelmeier, LCSW, APHSW-C, FT

Saturday, May 17, 2025 | 1:30PM - 3:00 PM

FREE EVENT - A continuing education based presentation for clinicians and mental healthcare professionals followed by a Q&A. Attendees received a participation certificate and a complimentary lunch / light refreshments were available, courtesy of Fourth River. The event was facilitated by guest expert Elizabeth Schandelmeier, LCSW, APHSW-C, FT who has supported grieving families for over a decade, including as a palliative care social worker, a senior hospice bereavement counselor, and as founder of Howling Lion Grief Support, a private practice in the Pittsburgh area focusing exclusively on grief, loss, death, and dying.