PUMP Inspires Connection Through Sports and Community Engagement

Softball players slap hands after a game.

Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project, or PUMP as it is known, is a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that engages young professionals in civic life, community building, and social networking through events, advocacy, and sports leagues. The aim of PUMP is to educate and mobilize young adults, primarily under the age of 40, to create positive change in the greater Pittsburgh area. PUMP has many endeavors working in synchronization, such as voting advocacy, early childhood education, service projects, fundraisers, and volunteer opportunities. One of PUMP’s most successful programs is the Pittsburgh Sports League, or PSL. If you are out and about in any of the many Pittsburgh city parks this spring, you may have noticed young women and men in brightly colored T-shirts playing kickball, volleyball, flag football, or softball on any given evening. They also coordinate indoor activities throughout the year such as basketball, tennis, cornhole, and pickleball. The PSL not only promotes health and wellness but creates a sense of community through its many sports leagues, tournaments, and clinics. The PSL is very popular, and approximately 24,000 participants join for the competition, camaraderie, and general enjoyment of sport. There is room for both the recreational athlete and the competitive athlete. North Hills Monthly asked Josiah Gilliam, executive director of PUMP for more than a decade, to fill us in on all the fun and opportunities to play.

Flag football teammates shake hands

North Hills Monthly (NHM): What is PUMP, and how did it begin?

Josiah Gilliam (Gilliam): PUMP was registered as a 501(c)(3) 30 years ago this fall as the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project by young professionals and neighbors in Pittsburgh who wanted Pittsburgh to become an even better place to build a career, a family, and a good quality of life.

NHM: How is PUMP funded?

Gilliam: PUMP is mainly funded by membership dues, PSL league fees, and sponsorships. Recently, we’ve begun applying for grants to start new community programming, but we are self-sufficient and growing year over year.

NHM: What is the cost to join PUMP?

Gilliam: $20 per year. We currently have around 5,800 active members that mostly live in the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.

NHM: Who conceived the idea for the Pittsburgh Sports League? When was it founded?

Gilliam: PUMP leaders created the Pittsburgh Sports Leagues to give Pittsburghers fun, structured, and recreational ways to meet new people, explore the city, and have a great time. The first leagues started in 2001.

NHM: Who can join and play in the PSL?

Gilliam: Any person who is a PUMP member and is 18 years or older. We have had college students as well as neighbors in their 70s participate in our leagues.

A PSL flag football game

NHM: How many sports are included under the PSL umbrella?

Gilliam: There are 11 sports, including softball, sand volleyball, kickball, pickleball, basketball, cornhole, bowling, dodgeball, ultimate, golf, and soccer. There is a fee to play in each league, and prices vary depending on the sport and number of players on a team.

NHM: Tell our readers about Kickball for a Cause.

Gilliam: Kickball for a Cause is one of our yearly signature events. Pittsburghers vote on a list of self-nominated organizations to determine who will be the beneficiary of the event. We hold a kickball tournament the second Saturday of every August with 30-plus teams and 600-plus participants, with proceeds going to the chosen beneficiary. We work creatively with their team to highlight the work they do in our community, and they have a presence at the tournament that day so people can meet them in person.

NHM: What are other ways to participate besides the team leagues?

Gilliam: PSL puts on play-solo nights where folks can sign up to play just for one night. We host learn-to-play nights where folks can try out a sport and learn about it. We do a lot of community programming with a diverse range of partners, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the bikeshare organization POGOH, the Pittsburgh Pirates, Quantum Theatre, and more. We also partner with Pittsburgh Magazine on the annual event Pittsburgh 40 Under 40 — a wonderful celebration of young, ascendant talent in our region.

NHM: What might our readers be surprised to learn about PUMP?

Gilliam: We have been working on an ever-growing number of member benefits for our community. These are usually discounts to shows, gyms, restaurants, and events with an array of partners such as the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the UFC Gym Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and others. If there are creative ways we can drive business, grow awareness, or send people to check out cool things happening in our region, we’d be happy to chat.