"Since I could talk, I could sing."

Justin Manns, a recent high school graduate, is already making ground in his music career, which was kickstarted many years ago.

---

Over ten years ago, a six-year-old boy penned a song for the first time, titled ”Waddle.” From that moment, his fate to be a musician was sealed.

“Since I could talk, I could sing,” said Justin Manns, a freshman studying marketing and music at the University of San Francisco. 

As a child, he participated in elementary school musicals and plays and would help his father, a producer, record music in their home studio. He received his first keyboard in fifth grade and has been making songs on the piano ever since. 

Now as a solo artist, Justin has an instinct for performing. 

“Once I get on stage, it's pretty easy from there,” Justin said. He admitted that he sometimes gets the jitters, but once he’s in the spotlight, confidence is on autopilot.

His success thus far is a testament to his dedication. He writes and makes music every single day. Reggae, R&B, hip-hop, and the “oldies” inspire Justin, whose favorite artists include Frank Ocean, Daniel Cesar, the Weeknd, and Saba. 

In the future, he aspires to fill a studio with many instruments and learn them one by one. Guitar, which he revealed he might like even more than piano, is one of his first goals. Brass and percussion are also on his bucket list. Eventually, he’d like to produce all the sounds for his songs.

Sometimes he conceptualizes what he wants to sing or rap about first. And sometimes the lyrics will come to him. But most of the time, he starts on his keyboard or laptop with various sounds and beats. He enjoys rapping and freestyle, but singing is his vocalization of choice.

“As of right now, singing is my passion,” Justin said. “I mean, just music in general. I love it all.”

During his junior year of high school, he released his first work, Picture Perfect, the genre falling under the category of R&B. He described it as an experimental “love” album. He wrote the lyrics and played the keyboard, while his dad did most of the mastering and engineering. 

He has since released another album called Avant Garde, an EP called NEEDLESS, and a single called “Say You Love Me,” his all-time personal favorite. 

My personal favorite is “Euphoria,” which I was lucky enough to hear in person when he performed at Mr. West Allegheny, a friendly competition for male students in their senior year at West Allegheny High School. Some might describe the event as a comedic “beauty pageant,” with a mission to fundraise for various charities. Justin walked away with the title of Mr. Congeniality with a majority vote from the audience, proving that he’s not just musically inclined, but charismatic, too. 

As a basketball and soccer player, he’s also athletic. Sports were his first love (yes - even before music!).

His time in high school show choir provided an avenue for him to exercise his musical abilities in the company of other singers, and on his free days, he’d make music “for hours on end.”

It’s safe to say Justin never rested. His passion for what he does overrode the chaos of a full schedule.

He recently moved to California and has already been performing in the short time that he’s been out there. On top of it all, he’s a skilled self-proclaimed “video game enthusiast.”

Clearly, Justin is a man of many talents, but more than ever now, his number one priority is music. He plans to rap more, explore alternative genres in his songwriting, and increase his strategy for releasing music.

“I don't want to waste time,” he said.

Like many college students, he sees himself growing a network. After graduation, he’d like to land a job in the music industry, using marketing as “a foot in the door, a way to meet people.”

Look out for new performances and projects from Justin, and if you plan on attending USFCA, you might very well see him shooting hoops or hear him playing the piano down the hall.

Socials:

Instagram: @justin.manns

YouTube: Justin Manns

Spotify: Justin Manns (Unfortunately, “Waddle” isn’t streaming)

Apple Music: Justin Manns

Twitter: JustinManns

This Pizza Joint Is On A Mission To Keep Crusts Crunchy

Their “pizza in a bag” is just one of many things that makes this place so unique.

---

I’ve driven past Don’s Pizza in Imperial for years, not ever knowing about the backstory behind this quiet little shop on Steubenville Pike. 

In 1963, it began as a franchise of Campiti’s Pizzeria in Dormont, which is no longer there. The very next year, they became Don’s Pizza Inc. Ever since, it has been a family business that has spanned four generations.

I spoke to Shaylee, whose great grandfather bought the shop and whose great uncle ran it for the first 20 years or so. Shaylee’s dad and uncle have now been running the shop since the 80s, and she has been here on and off for 15 years. 

I asked Shaylee what their secret is as a local family business that’s been around for more than 60 years. 

Owning the property has allowed them to steer clear of rent costs. Additionally, due to their lack of indoor seating and delivery services, the pandemic actually did really well for them.

“We’ve seen a lot of pizza shops come and go, and we were blessed luckily,” she said. “We weren’t affected by it at all.”

However a large part of their success and timelessness is due to their adherence to simplicity and consistency. They rarely change anything.

There was a time when the usual cheese they use for the pizza was discontinued when the company that produced it went out of business. They were scrambling to find another cheese that was similar, but during their trial-and-error phase in search for the best alternative, their regular customers were savvy detectives and immediately knew something was different.

Don’s is perhaps most famous for their “pizza in a bag,” concept, which is something I had never heard about before. 

Yet, apparently, the idea that pizza boxes aren’t an ideal method of transportation isn’t a new one, having been featured in the Atlantic, the New York Times, and countless other online publications. 

“When you put the pizza in the cardboard box, all that steam soaks into the cardboard,” Shaylee told me,”so it takes all the crunch out of the crust.” 

With pizza in a bag, however, the airflow prevents steam from getting trapped, ensuring that the pizza won’t arrive soggy by the time you get home.

At Don’s, you can only get your pizza in a bag if it’s a large, I learned, and if you order two large pies, one of them will come in a box so it’s easier to carry. Although you used to be able to get a pizza of any size in a bag, the bags are harder to find nowadays, and not every bag is equal. They must be a certain size and weight, so Don’s gets them from a specific supply company out of Chicago.

Now, enough about bags already, let’s get to the good stuff. This unconventional pizza shop makes fresh sauce and dough every day. Their sausage is ground in house, and they’re also known for their curled pepperoni.

Their most popular toppings are pepperoni and sausage, but Shaylee’s favorite combination is the sausage, green pepper, and onion. They also do two different kinds of hoagies (Italian and steak), cheesy bread (made with their pizza dough), and garlic balls (pizza dough that’s cut up and tossed in garlic butter). 

“We keep it simple,” Shaylee said. “And that way you know everything's fresh all the time.”

Customers can also get a “take n’ bake” pizza, where you can freeze the pizza or bake it later, and during Valentine’s Day, Shaylee will make sure you get a heart-shaped pizza (it was her idea to start doing them a couple years ago). 

Don’s loyal customers come from all over, and some have been regulars for decades. Several Facebook users on their old page expressed sentiment over their pizza.

One Facebook user commented on his desire to fly to Pittsburgh and book a hotel simply to visit Don’s Pizza, as he hadn’t been there in over 34 years at the time. Several other now out-of-state customers also revealed that they always make sure to stop by Don’s whenever they visit home.

Some users even joked that Don’s should deliver or ship pizza as far as New Jersey, Virginia, and even South Carolina. 

Shaylee said it’s not like any other pizza in the area, and countless other customers confirmed on their page that Don’s pizza is the “best” around.

As I sat outside the little shop on one of the benches interviewing Shaylee, a customer sat nearby, at one point even offering me a slice of his pizza. He was stopping by Don’s right before his flight home to Florida and, like so many other steadfast customers, just had to get a taste before leaving town.

I find it so endearing that for so many people, even years after they’ve moved away, something calls them back to this place. Despite Don’s being a small business that relies primarily on word of mouth, they seem to have made a big impact.

If you enter the store as a first time customer who’s been living in the area your whole life, they just might ask you, “Well, where have you been?”

These Two Giving Girls Give Generosity a Whole New Meaning

This local nonprofit has been making Christmases more special, school dances more affordable, and giving back more accessible since 2016.

---

Gianna Zarillo and Antonella Brkich weren’t even ten years old when they started Two Giving Girls, a nonprofit organization with a mission to serve the people of Beaver County, Pennsylvania. 

At the age of eight, the pair began working on their very first project; care packages for soldiers overseas. 

“It all started with the idea of care packages,” Gianna said, telling me about her experience as a seven-year-old and her visits to Pittsburgh. It’s there where she witnessed the homeless crisis and, as young as she was, thought she had to do something about it.

With the help of friends and family, she assembled 75 care packages and distributed them to homeless people in the city.

Soon after Gianna’s debut act of kindness, she and Antonella joined forces, and the rest is history. 

Nearly nine years later, the girls are both 16 and are still managing their food pantry in the Beaver County YMCA, which sits adjacent to the entrance doors. It’s their organization’s longest-running initiative which has been in operation since the beginning. 

The pantry is ruled by the motto “take what you need and give what you can.”

The girls also host pop-up dress sales every year, where attendees can purchase low-priced gently-used dresses. 

“The dresses we sell are all donated by anybody who has homecoming or prom dresses or even bridesmaid dresses that they aren't going to use again,” Gianna said. 

Money fundraised from this event helps fund other events. 

This year, Two Giving Girls hosted the dress sale on August 30th and September 1st at the Beaver Valley Mall. Dresses have been previously sold for as low as $15 or $25. Purses and jewelry go for $5, and shoes are $10. 

The annual Christmas party is the second longest-running initiative (and Gianna’s favorite event) that, in partnership with Adoption Connection and Children and Youth Services (CYS), helps make the holidays more magical for more than 100 foster kids in downtown Beaver.

The foster children first write letters to Santa, outlining their top five wishes. Thanks to generous donations, there’s lots of food, games, raffle baskets, and gifts at the party, and even Santa stops by.

In previous years, a Steelers watch, iPad, and Penguin tickets were among special prizes.

“They get so happy over all of it,” Gianna said.

This event has been around for about seven years now and even operated throughout COVID in a “drive-by” style, where children could pick up their presents at the YMCA.

I asked Gianna how she’s grown since first starting the nonprofit.

She told me that she’s become a better, more confident speaker and more empathetic, although one could argue that her large capacity for empathy is what initially drove her to start this organization.

She has gotten so much joy from seeing people smile and knowing that she has inspired others.

In just a couple years, Two Giving Girls will get to celebrate a decade since its inception, and Gianna would like to see it go on as long as possible.

She encourages others who want to start their own altruistic projects to power through the hard parts - fundraising, event planning etc. - so that they can experience the reward of seeing others happy. Simply donating to an organization, or even donating your time, can be a good feeling.

“You don't even have to tell people about it for it to feel good,” she said, “You know you did it, and you feel good that you did it.”

Gianna and Antonella truly prove that to make a difference, you don’t need to travel thousands of miles away.  

If you would like to get involved with Two Giving Girls, you can check out their Facebook page.