FreshWater Cleveland is teaming up with Cleveland Neighborhood Progress and Cleveland Development Advisors for a new reporting and engagement series looking at community-building in Cleveland’s neighborhoods.

This new series, called Community Development Connection and funded in-part by a Google Grant, seeks to raise awareness about the work of 29 Community Development Corporations (CDCs) currently receiving support from Neighborhood Progress —ranging from West Park Kamm’s Corners to the west, to Collinwood to the east, Harvard to the south, and all along Lake Erie to the north—while also amplifying the voices of residents in their respective neighborhoods.

To this end, FreshWater will be embarking on a year of regular reporting that will explore the efforts of neighborhood-based organizations, leaders, and residents who are focused on moving their communities forward during a time of unprecedented challenge.

The coverage will be similar in spirit to FreshWater’s On The Ground projects in Old Brooklyn, La Villa Hispana, Fairfax, and Euclid—but broadened to incorporate more neighborhoods and perspectives.

This series comes at a time when local media has furloughed employees and cut jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving fewer resources to tell the stories of innovation and resilience in Cleveland neighborhoods.

Ultimately, our hope is to spotlight the work being done by CDCs and neighborhood residents in their communities, while encouraging the development of local journalists who can tell the story of Cleveland from a firsthand perspective.

Expect to see the first installment in Community Development Connection next week.