Social Change
Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge hosted a For the People job fair and town hall meeting at Cleveland State University on Monday, August 8 to help combat Ohio's rising unemployment rate. The job fair featured nearly 100 employers were on hand, offering more than 1,200 jobs in healthcare, banking, sales, retail, hospitality, education, manufacturing, nonprofits, and government affairs. Thousands of eager job seekers showed up at the event.
"By hosting a job fair, I want to do my part to connect people in our community who are ready to work with employers who are ready to hire," said Congresswoman Fudge.
The day-long job fair included job readiness workshops and technical assistance seminars including resume writing, interview skills and salary negotiations. Cleveland was the first stop on a five-city For the People Jobs Initiative sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus. The fair was followed by a town meeting at which Fudge asked for input from residents and organizations in Northeast Ohio about how to solve the nation's unemployment crisis.
The fair was followed by a town hall meeting. Nine members of the caucus joined Fudge to discuss the initiative.
Source: Marcia L. Fudge
Writer: Karin Connell
On August 30th, dozens of new fruit trees will be planted near W. 85th and Franklin Boulevard on vacant land that was recently home to dilapidated row houses.
According to Jeanette Toms, Special Programs Coordinator with the nonprofit Cudell Improvement Inc., the neighborhood secured the gift after winning enough votes in an online competition to place among the top five entries in the country. Facing stiff competition from entries around the country, Cudell solicited votes from as far away as Florida, Italy and Portugal in order to land the win.
"My dad lives in Florida, so when he came to visit, we asked him to help spread the word among his friends," says Toms. "You could vote once per day."
The competition is sponsored by Edy's Fruit Bars and the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, an international foundation that is "dedicated to planting fruit-bearing trees in places that best benefit the community -- public schools, city parks and low-income neighborhoods," according to the program's website.
Cudell Improvement plans to install an irrigation system to ensure the trees are properly watered. In three to five years, when the trees begin bearing fruit, the group plans to give the fruit away to neighborhood residents and food pantries.
Source: Jeanette Toms
Writer: Lee Chilcote
More than 200 people in various industries donated their time and talent last weekend at the second annual Cleveland GiveCamp at LeanDog Software in Cleveland to help area non-profits.
Software and database developers, graphic designers, marketing professionals, copy writers, video producers, photographers, social media experts and food service volunteers donated more than 4,500 hours to 22 non-profit organizations, coming away with new technology applications valued at nearly $500,000 to help them in their efforts to help others.
"I think people want to be a part of a good thing," says GiveCamp spokesperson Amy Wong, adding that the 187 media volunteers is an exponential increase from the 100 people who helped out last year. "Thirty other cities participate, and we think we are one of the biggest."
Sponsors donated more than $14,000 in goods and services to make the event possible. Top sponsors included LeanDog, Burke Lakefront Airport,, Explorys, Hyland Software, OneCommunity, Rosetta, Saint Luke's Foundation and Sollie Rosen Memorial Foundation.
The volunteers worked long hours, often late into the night and early in the mornings to complete the projects. Organizations benefitting from the services were 501(c)3 groups in Northeast Ohio that had projects that could be completed over the duration of camp.
GiveCamp is an international initiative started in 2007 to bring together technology talent to help local nonprofits in need.
Source: Amy Wong
Writer: Karin Connelly
MedWorks' first-ever vision-only clinic at Quicken Loans Arena last Wednesday proved to be quite successful. So much so that it also illustrated the need for more free or affordable vision care in the area.
"We served over 900 people with exams or glasses," says MedWorks office manager Alyson Andrassy. "We anticipated up to 800 people. We had to turn away 500 people."
Optometrists, opticians and ophthalmologists from all over Ohio volunteered their time, while the equipment for the eye exams was donated by Optics Inc. as well as Onesight. Patients had more than 2,000 donated frames from which to choose. Roughly 180 volunteers, from students to doctors, made the event happen.
MedWorks has been trying to accommodate the people who were turned away last week, as well as re-assure those who were seen by doctors but did not get their glasses that their specs will be delivered to them soon. "The phone has been ringing off the hook," says Andrassy. "For those who were not able to be seen, we're setting them up with our partner organizations to be seen as soon as possible."
For now, Andrassy is referring people to Vision USA, an organization run by the American Optometric Association that provides vision care to those who do not qualify for government aid or private insurance.
Given the success of the vision clinic, MedWorks hopes to organize future clinics, perhaps on a yearly basis.
Source: Alyson Andrassy
Writer: Karin Connelly
That money will go toward making those neighborhoods safer, healthier, more prosperous places to live and work. The grants will support a wide range of projects, including real estate development and restoration, urban green space transformation, commercial-property renovation, and efforts to improve streetscape safety and appearance.
Joel Ratner, president of Neighborhood Progress Inc., said in a release, "We see this financial support as the catalyst for new businesses in the Waterloo commercial district in Cleveland's Collinwood neighborhood. And, as a lifeline for residents in the Fairfax neighborhood who are raising grandchildren and need access to safe, affordable housing that can easily accommodate non-traditional families."
Here's a complete list of the organizations and the amount each was awarded:
Buckeye Area Development Corp. $195,000
Burten Bell Carr Development Corp. $190,000
Detroit Shoreway Community Development Corp. $225,000
Fairfax Renaissance Development Corp. $190,000
Famicos Foundation $190,000
Northeast Shores Development Corp. $195,000
Ohio City Near West Development Corp. $195,000
Slavic Village Development $221,500
Tremont West Development Corp. $195,000
According to Deepa Vedavyas, Associate Director for Development at Buckeye Area Development Corporation (BADC), this is just the beginning. She hopes to see Buckeye Road merchants become the first "green-certified retail district" in Cleveland.
"We're using this as a learning opportunity, and encouraging them not to stop after the audit and retrofit," she says. "Energy-efficient businesses save on utility bills, which gives them an extra dollar to use towards marketing or expansion."
In all, 20 Buckeye Road merchants received energy audits, which assess the energy-efficiency of storefronts and determine cost-effective ways to help them save on their energy bills. Ten of these also received a $3,000 retrofit grant and participated in the Green Plus educational program. Green Plus is a national organization that is based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and provides technical assistance and certification for retailers that go green.
The energy audits and retrofits were supported by a partnership with the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE) and funding from the Ohio Department of Energy (ODE). The Generation Foundation provided funding for the Green Plus program.
Buckeye businesses that completed audits also received $150 energy saver kits that included such items as LED exit lights, spray-in foam insulation and water-saving faucet aerators. Those that did retrofits have completed such tasks as adding insulation and sealing up air leakages at windows and doors.
Vedavyas plans to work with merchants to monitor their progress, evaluate their energy usage and see how much they save on utility bills over the next year.
Source: Deepa Vedavyas
Writer: Lee Chilcote
BVU's mission is to link businesses and nonprofits to foster excellence in the nonprofit sector. Since 1993, BVU has connected 228 businesses to 439 nonprofits to complete over 1,600 service projects.
The idea is to help out the non-profits while also providing a social event.
"The event is great in different ways," says Nick Borchers, an intern at BVU's Volunteer Center. "Some of the things we were hearing from businesses is interns and young professionals really want to get involved in the community. A lot of the volunteer projects are geared toward leadership functions and team building skills."
The 2011 Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey reports that more than 60 percent of young professionals factor a company's commitment to the community in making a choice between similar jobs.
The summer of service also provides a great networking opportunity. "It's an opportunity to meet with other people," Borchers says. "It's another way to connect with more people -- the organizations are looking at the interns and the interns get to see what the organization is really about."
Source: Nick Borchers
Writer: Karin Connelly
The two-year, $500,000 pilot program will provide a small loan program for artists buying or rehabbing homes in the target area, a small grant program to support artists' work in carrying out community-based projects, and artist home ownership services such as credit counseling and saving programs.
A panel of arts, community development and planning experts selected the target neighborhood through a competitive process. Seth Beattie, Strategic Initiative Director for CPAC, said the panel was impressed by the grassroots, arts-based approach of Northeast Shores Development Corporation, the nonprofit that serves the neighborhood. A total of 13 community development corporations from various Cleveland neighborhoods applied to the program.
"We wanted to work with someone that got it, and Northeast Shores made a compelling case," says Beattie. "They've done a great job of giving artists license to use the neighborhood as their canvas, yet they've followed behind and supported them, resulting in organic, grassroots redevelopment of the neighborhood." He cited the arts-based businesses on Waterloo Road as one example.
Although the details of the program have yet to be worked out, Beattie mentioned several possibilities, including $2,500-$10,000 grants to artists for community-based projects, arts-based community dialogues, and integrating arts-based development into current redevelopment projects in a deeper way.
The program is being funded in part through a $250,000 grant from Leveraging Investments in Creativity's Creative Communities Challenge Grant Program, a one-time competitive grant program made possible through the support of the Kresge Foundation.
CPAC is a nonprofit arts and culture service organization that works to strengthen Greater Cleveland's arts and culture sector. Some of its programs include the Artist as an Entrepreneur Institute, a business training course addressing the needs of working artists, and From Rust Belt to Artist Belt, a conference series that examines the role of artists in the redevelopment of industrial cities.
Source: Seth Beattie
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Local entrepreneur and Cleveland State University alumnus, Monte Ahuja, has donated $10 million to his alma mater to fund scholarships and an endowed professorship in business. The announcement was made during a special celebration on June 24 in the university's student center, marking the largest gift in the university's 47-year history.
The founder of Transtar Industries, a $600 million a year global leader in transmission replacement parts, Ahuja got his start at CSU in the 1970s with his business plan for a marketing class. He got an A for the plan that launched his career. He's been an active alumnus ever since, serving as chairman of the board of trustees from 1992 to 1998.
"Monte Ahuja has been a strong supporter of the school for a long time," says spokesperson Joe Mosbrook. "In support of CSU president Ronald M. Berkman's transformation plan, it seemed a good time to step up with this gift."
The majority of the money will be earmarked for scholarships in business, with a portion dedicated for scholarships in engineering. The gift will also fund an endowed professorship in business, the Monte Ahuja Endowed Chair of Global Business.
"The endowed chair will allow Cleveland State to bring in heavy hitters in global business," says Mosbrook. "The business school has a particular focus on global business, more so than any other school in the area."
Before the event, the board of trustees unanimously voted to re-name the college of business the Monte Ahuja College of Business.
Source: Joe Mosbrook
Writer: Karin Connelly
Mike Perry has a rather strange hobby. In his spare time, the president of Szarka Financial Management uses his skills as a hiring manager to help people spruce up their resumes and find new jobs.
"It all started when one of the financial managers literally walked a client into my office and said, "so-and-so got laid off from the Cleveland Clinic. Can you take a look at her resume?'" explains Perry. "So I sat down with her. Soon, I had a parade of clients, family members, and friends coming to me."
In the three or so years he's been doing it, Perry estimates he's consulted with nearly 500 people -- free of charge. He sees eight to 10 resumes a week, from everyone from tool and die makers to CEOs, and he has an 85-percent success rate finding his 'clients' new jobs. Additionally, Perry speaks to job-seeking groups on a regular basis and has a job-seeking tips blog, In the Business of You.
Perry speaks from experience. "When I was laid off from KeyBank in 2001, I found there's a lot of inaccurate and poor advice for job seekers," he says. "When the economy took a turn for the worse, I saw it as a chance to pay it forward. People are getting terrible advice on how to get a job. I don't rewrite people's resumes. I give them the tools to do a much better job of it."
Source: Mike Perry
Writer: Karin Connelly
In 2009, the two-day Bridge Project reopened the space to the public for one of the first times, attracting some 20,000 people. The offbeat festival of music and art featured a design charrette that solicited input for making the bridge more accessible and friendly to the public. More recently, the space has played host to Ingenuity Fest.
Those who do tour the half-mile walkway are treated to breathtaking views of downtown, the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie. There were also tantalizing remnants of Cleveland history: segments of old streetcar track, an historic subway station, and a watery pool fed from a natural spring in the hillside.
Now a new effort is underway to open the bridge to the public year-round. Organizers envision a bicycle and pedestrian link that bridges downtown and Ohio City, a performance venue and an authentic connection to Cleveland's past.
Led by the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC), James Levin and the Cuyahoga County Engineer, the Bridge Project has been nominated for a coveted "This Place Matters" award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Voting takes place between June 1st and June 30th. Currently, the Bridge Project is number six out of 100 projects that made the first cut.
"Since the voting started, we've moved from 40th place to 6th place, so we're hopeful that we'll be one of the three finalists to receive funding," says David Jurca, Urban Designer at the CUDC. "We plan to use the funding to match a grant we've received from the Transportation for Liveable Communities (TLCI) program that will allow us to plan and design the future of the space."
A community-driven effort is now underway to move the project into one of the top spots. First prize is $35,000; second prize is $10,000; and third prize is $5,000.
Source: David Jurca
Writer: Lee Chilcote
The Fund for Our Economic Future has awarded $5.3 million in grants to six regional economic development organizations collaborating to improve Northeast Ohio's economic competiveness. The Fund has been awarding these year-long grants since 2004.
"Part of what we do through grant making is develop a system in Northeast Ohio that we know hits on things that work," says Brad Whitehead, president of the Fund. "The purpose is to advance the economic agenda in Northeast Ohio."
The Fund for Our Economic Future is a collaboration of more than 100 foundations, organizations and philanthropists from across Northeast Ohio that strengthens the region's economic competitiveness through grant making, public engagement and research.
The grant recipients are: BioEnterprise, JumpStart, MAGNET, Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+, NorTech, and Team NEO. "Collectively, these six organizations have strengthened Northeast Ohio's economy contributing more than 2,000 new jobs, $47 million in payroll and attracting $371 million in capital," explains David Abbott, chairman of the Fund and executive director of the George Gund Foundation.
These six organizations best represent and support industries that have great growth potential -- namely manufacturing in emerging markets.
"Early on we identified the areas in which we need to work on, and we've tried to have constancy in these organizations," says Whitehead. "For a long time people thought that because we're a manufacturing economy that that was a bad thing. What we're learning is Northeast Ohio manufacturing is still an important part of our economy. We're turning old growth manufacturing into new growth products. Manufacturing is cool again."
Source: Brad Whitehead
Writer: Karin Connelly
New Life Community and Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Cleveland (IHN) have come together to form Family Promise of Greater Cleveland, the largest organization in Greater Cleveland focused exclusively on helping homeless families transform their lives and achieve long-term stability while helping families remain together.
The two organizations officially merged on May 1. For the past two years, the organizations have worked to integrate staff, resources and programming to serve more families with even better outcomes at a lower cost per household served. Since 1990, New Life Community has helped more than 700 families. IHN has served more than 450 families since its shelter program was formed in 1998.
Family Promise will serve more than 100 families a year. "The goal is to definitely help families become self-sufficient and find new housing as rapidly as possible, and then maintain their housing long-term," says associate director Sarah Cruise. "By merging we've been able to combine our programming and serve more families long-term."
Two facilities -- an emergency shelter in Tremont for up to six days and interim housing in Mount Pleasant for up to six months -- a job preparedness program and case management services will give families all the resources to get back on their feet. "We're developing a relationship," says Cruise. "We can access services in the community and help with crises, the spiraling down that happens.
The home-based case management aspect of Family Promise is helping to serve more families quickly. "There is such demand for family housing," says Cruise. "By moving families faster, and individualizing the services, we're really serving families in a way that promotes long-term stability."
Source: Sarah Cruise
Writer: Karin Connelly
MedWorks in Shaker Heights was quick to come to the rescue of those ravaged by the tornado in Joplin, Missouri, this week. MedWorks, a non-profit organization that provides free healthcare clinics for the under insured and uninsured in Ohio, sent a truck full of medical supplies to Joplin just 24 hours after the disaster.
The MedWorks team was at WKYC Channel 3 on Tuesday for an unrelated meeting. While there, a Facebook friend of reporter Eric Mansfield volunteered to put them in touch with her brother-in-law, a doctor in Joplin who was working at a triage center.
With that, MedWorks founder Zac Ponsky and his team set to work compiling everything from disposable gloves and bandages to crutches and canes and other medical supplies. The supplies were put on a truck donated by Berman Moving and Storage in Cleveland along with numerous palettes of drinking water donated by Giant Eagle.
"It was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time," says MedWorks office manager Alyson Andrassy. "It was communication, the right resources and the right place. Our goal is to find a need and fill it. We're trying to be that liaison between Joplin and Ohio."
The truck left at 6:30 p.m. Monday, while Ponsky and director of operations Julie Namy were on a plane to Joplin Tuesday to further evaluate what is needed. "They will see who needs what and where," says Andrassy. "When the truck arrives the supplies will be distributed where it's needed most and they will assess what volunteers are needed and if they need other supplies."
Source: Alyson Andrassy
Writer: Karin Connelly
The students quickly found that any time they practiced their instruments in public, they attracted an appreciative audience. Over the course of a year, they developed friendships that spanned generations.
Now one of Judson's intergenerational programs, Community Partners, has been nominated as one of 20 semi-finalists for the prestigious Eisner Prize for Intergenerational Excellence, a $100,000 grant from the California-based Eisner Foundation.
The Eisner Prize will recognize an individual or a non-profit organization that "excels in uniting multiple generations, especially seniors and youth, to bring about positive and lasting changes in their community," according to a press release. Members of the pulbic can cast their vote by visiting the website.
Judson created its first intergenerational collaboration with Ruffing Montessori School in Cleveland Heights 30 years ago. Today, Judson works with over 40 different educational and civic groups throughout Greater Cleveland. Judson's senior residents volunteer in local schools and communities, and in turn, students and adults volunteer at all three Judson facilities, Judson Manor, Judson Park and South Franklin Circle.
"Judson's intergenerational programs offer purposeful two-way learning opportunities that create meaningful relationships for all program participants," said Rob Lucarelli, Judson's Director of Communications, in a press release. "Using curriculum and arts-based programs that serve as a national model for connecting generations, we help to enrich lives and stimulate minds of all ages."
Individuals may vote for Judson once every 24 hours until May 15th.
Source: Rob Lucarelli
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Ohio Housing Finance Agency Director Doug Garver told the audience that the Saint Luke's project was selected to receive competitive Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) because of its unmatched site amenities. The renovation will be energy-efficient, and the site is adjacent to a school, a library, a public transit station, a walking path, shopping and parks. "It's truly green in every sense," he said.
Denise San Antonio Zeman, President and CEO of the Saint Luke's Foundation, highlighted the rich history of Saint Luke's Hospital. Cleveland General Hospital, as it was known then, was originally located at 274 Woodland Avenue. "Public health nurses rode around on bicycles to make their rounds," she said. "Today, we'd call that green."
Throughout its long history, Saint Luke's Hospital remained committed to the needs of the community and the poor, Zeman added. "Now it's time to change the hospital's focus to meet the contemporary needs of the community," she said.
The developers also highlighted artists Angelica Pozo and Anna Arnold, who recruited Harvey Rice Elementary School students to create artistic boards that will cover up windows in the portion of the building awaiting future redevelopment. "This was a way to involve the local community while also beautifying the building," said Joel Ratner, President of NPI.
Sources: Doug Garver, Denise Zeman, Joel Ratner
Writer: Lee Chilcote
"To me it was a very exciting idea," Green says of the donation. "I like exposing people to new things. It's stuff like this at FusionFest that people would not otherwise see."
Green is honorary producer of the festival that has been celebrating new works since its inception in 2005. She also sits on Cleveland Play House board. "Arts are what make us human; without the arts we're nothing but machines," she says. "I said, 'this is something I can sink my teeth into.' This has become my baby because it perpetuates people doing new work."
Additionally, next year will mark the beginning of the annual Roe Green FusionFest Award. The $7,500 award will be given to a promising mid-career American playwright. "Having arts in the community is very important to the community," Green says, noting that for every dollar spent on theater tickets also means dollars spent for parking, food and other expenses associated with going to the theater.
The winner of the Roe Green Award will also receive script development support. The selected playwright will spend a week in residency at CPH during FusionFest, overseeing rehearsals and reading of the work and engage in workshops and master classes with young theatre artists from the region.
Source: Roe Green
Writer: Karin Connelly
The agreement was adopted at a special meeting of the Shaker City Council on March 14, after recommendation by the Shaker Heights Economic Development Department.
One of the first endeavors the two have launched is the 2011 Idea Competition. The contest is open to students at any Ohio college or university with an innovative business idea. Ideas should focus on software and Internet technology, low-tech medical devices, and clean energy.
"We really want to get the juices flowing of entrepreneurs in the region," says Shaker LaunchHouse managing partner Todd Goldstein. "We believe it's extremely important to provide an outlet for good ideas."
The winner gets a $2,500 scholarship to the Nance's global AMBA program and $1,000 from LaunchHouse, including incubation space, legal support, accounting support, and business planning assistance. The winner will have the chance to compete for $5,000 in seed funding.
Entry forms are due by noon on Monday, April 25. Finalists will then give a two-minute pitch to a panel of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists at Shaker LaunchHouse on Thursday, May 5. SLH will be offering educational seminars for the contestants to help them with their presentations.
Source: Todd Goldstein
Writer: Karin Connelly
The CAC's standard Project Support (PS) grant has an upper limit of $50,000 and requires a rigorous application process, including detailed financial and participant data, and a one-to-one cash match for each dollar of CAC funding. This program simplifies the amount of financial data required and allows for 25 percent of the match to be made up in "in kind" professional donations.
"The reason behind creating this program is small community-based non-profits don't have the resources to meet the financial requirements of the larger program," says CAC external affairs director Jonah Weinberg. "This should mean we're able to expand access to these projects throughout Cuyahoga County."
The guidelines for the grants will be available this month. Organizations can begin submitting intent to apply letters June 1. Applications will be reviewed by a public panel, and grants will be awarded at the CAC's November board meeting.
CAC grants are funded by a cigarette tax in Cuyahoga County earmarked for local arts and cultural funding. The CAC has awarded nearly $65 million since the ballot initiative was approved in 2006.
Source: Jonah Weinberg
Writer: Karin Connelly