90.5 WESA Station News

90.5 WESA Celebrates People Making A Difference

Western Pennsylvania has a strong tradition of neighborhood, personal and community commitment. Our pride in pulling together goes far beyond supporting our deep-rooted sports teams. 90.5 WESA Celebrates People Making a Difference honors the individuals that are making a difference in people's lives on the ground level and reminding us we are all truly a part of each other's lives.This special series, supported by UPMC, will highlight, honor and celebrate Western Pennsylvanians who are unsung heroes daring to make a difference to others in our community.00000176-e6f7-dce8-adff-f6f770c8000000000176-e6f7-dce8-adff-f6f770ca000000000176-e6f7-dce8-adff-f6f770cc000090.5 WESA PA listening area counties:Allegheny, Beaver, Washington, Westmoreland, Butler, Armstrong, Cambria, Somerset, Bedford, Fayette, Indiana00000176-e6f7-dce8-adff-f6f770cd0000This project is made possible by a generous contribution from UPMC.

Erika Strasburg, Dressing as a Princess to Comfort Kids

90.5 WESA | By 90.5 WESA

Published September 5, 2014 at 3:30 AM EDT

Read and listen to a story about Erika Strasburg as part of a series honoring the individuals who make a difference in people’s lives: 90.5 WESA Celebrates People Making a Difference.

Erika, a singer/actress and graduate from CMU drama school, has used her talent to comfort the children at Children’s Hospital, where she volunteers every week to go room to room dressed as a princess.

It may be Belle, Ariel or Rapunzel, but to dress in these lavish outfits, Erika had to raise a lot money to make them from scratch, due to copyright laws.

She did a tremendous amount of fundraising to be able to recreate the dresses, which cost up to $2,000 each. And every week, the princess makes the rounds at Children’s, singing to them and with them, putting smiles on all of their faces.