Cuyahoga County residents needing food assistance now have some healthy alternatives thanks to a new program developed by the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition.

Twenty farmers markets and two farm stands throughout the county are partaking in the “Double Value Produce Perks” initiative, which offers incentive dollars to customers utilizing the Ohio Direction Card. Produce Perks are tokens given to customers at participating farmers markets w... Read more >

Every tragedy carries its own story, believes Diane Snyder-Cowan, director of the Hospice of the Western Reserve’s Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Bereavement Center. If that's the case, children in particular may need help in translating those stories into something they can understand.

Thanks to funding the hospice recently received for its school crisis response programs, deciphering scary or sad incidents will continue to be a part of its mission. Earlier this ... Read more >

 About 2,000 days pass from when a child is born to the moment he or she enters kindergarten. Officials from The Centers for Families & Children believe every one of those days is critical in preparing a child's educational future, and have created a new campaign to back up that point.

The 2,000 Day Pledge asks parents already involved with The Centers to keep their kids in an early learning program for as many days as possible within the first 2,00... Read more >

Entrepreneur Ryan White is a Clevelander, but when it comes to providing children with clean water, his thoughts are thousands of miles away.

White, through his work with the local chapter of the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), recently hosted Drop in the Bucket.  The nonprofit is dedicated to building water solutions in schools and communities in Africa through wells, sanitation systems and various community involvement programs.

In taking on thi... Read more >

The Cleveland Hostel welcomes travelers from all over the world, so it makes perfect sense for owner Mark Raymond to expand that welcoming attitude to an important issue impacting both the country and the state of Ohio.

On April 18, Raymond's Ohio City-based hostel hosted an event that raised awareness and signatures for the Freedom to Marry Ohio movement dedicated to ending marriage discrimination.

Over 75 attendees gathered to support the Freedom to Marry a... Read more >

Heights Arts has announced the hire of a long-time Cleveland arts administrator, educator and musician as the nonprofit's new executive director.

This triple threat is named Rachel Bernstein. She will take over the role from Peggy Spaeth, who helped found Heights Arts in 2000 and has led the organization ever since. The switchover is effective as of July 2.

"Rachel shares Heights Arts' mission of the arts being essential to a healthy community,"... Read more >

Providence House wants to take some of the strain off local hospitals dealing with non-medical family issues. The solution, believe crisis nursery officials, is a forthcoming facility that will care for children whose households are dealing with emergencies that doctors cannot touch.

It's true that Elisabeth's House -- The Prentiss Wellness Nursery will take in kids with minor medical needs, notes executive Providence House director Natalie Leek-Nelson. ... Read more >

A nonprofit seeking to create environmentally sound, high-performance building districts in Cleveland recently got a hand with its city-greening mission.

The Cleveland 2030 District, a group that would like downtown edifices to consume less energy and water and produce less greenhouse gases, received a $175,000 grant from The Kresge Foundation, funding that will go in part to the salary of the organization's first executive director as well as additional sta... Read more >

The 2014 Gay Games was a great "get" for the Cleveland-Akron area, as the region was selected over larger competing metropolises like Boston and Washington, D.C. The Cleveland Foundation has reinforced the notion of the games' importance with some hefty financial support.

The foundation recently awarded the games a $250,000 grant, forming a partnership that makes the organization the games' top sponsor. The event is now named the 2014 Gay Games presented... Read more >

The third Saturday of every month might go swimmingly for folks fascinated with underwater life.

The Greater Cleveland Aquarium's "Discovery Lecture Series" features aquatic experts and aquarium partners who will share their knowledge with guests. Programs are directed at visitors of all ages interested in the denizens of the briny (or freshwater) depths, says Kayla Ott, aquarium marketing and sponsorship manager.

The programming has no theme beyond... Read more >

Memories of flashing lights, digitized explosions, rock music and quarters being ritually plunked into plastic coin slots have a happy place in the minds of many folks of a certain generation. Two Clevelanders want to bring those sights and sounds back to the city this summer in the form of a pop-up arcade.

Coin-Op Cleveland is a Kickstarter project helmed by John Stanchina and Mike Scur. While arcade gaming collapsed in the 1990s with the ascension of home consoles, the ... Read more >

For some, the term "Rust Belt" conjures unpleasant images of empty factories, foreclosed homes and unhappy people wandering cracked streets, wondering when times will get better. But what's really happening in some of the Midwest's major cities, and how different is it from the way these cities are often depicted?

Jack Storey thinks he has an answer. The impassioned city advocate has created a documentary chronicling what he believes is a more accurate r... Read more >

Bullying prevention is a hot topic in U.S. schools. Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio is partnering with Cleveland educators and creative types to curtail such unkind behavior through the arts.

The arts education organization, which promotes innovative arts-infused learning for local children and teenagers, has created a series of anti-bullying and healthy living programs designed to empower students and create a kinder classroom community. About 20 area artists lent thei... Read more >

With a record-setting recent round of grants, The Cleveland Foundation is ensuring, among other things, that a well-loved local institution will continue to make beautiful music.

Last week, the foundation's board of directors approved a best ever $26.6 million in grants for the first quarter of 2013. The funding included a $10 million grant to the Cleveland Orchestra in support of operation and programming efforts as well as the organization's larger initiative to... Read more >

The Cleveland Orchestra is well known for its residencies in cities like New York, Vienna and Miami. Now the famous ensemble is bringing its talents back to where it all began.

In the first of a handful of planned residencies in Northeast Ohio, the orchestra has partnered with Gordon Square Arts District for a week of events May 11 through May 17. Visitors walking the neighborhood are bound to encounter orchestra or youth ensemble musicians performing at one happening joi... Read more >

A one-day crash course in urban gardening is coming to Cleveland later this month thanks to Fresh Fork Market.

The free-to-the-public event will feature a full day of classes and workshops taught by area farmers, with detailed demonstrations on maintenance, harvesting and anything else participants need to know to make their gardens grow. The April 27 fair will be held at Urban Community School in Cleveland.

Connecting people to local foods is just one goal of th... Read more >

The Greater Cleveland Aquarium (GCA) has a fish story to tell. Starting this spring, the aquarium will bring its compelling undersea tale to students throughout the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD).

GCA has partnered with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) for the education outreach program designed to teach kids the deep interconnection that Ohio has with its freshwater systems. This will be accomplished through Native-American lore, one-on-... Read more >

Cleveland Leadership Center (CLC) director of engagement Earl Pike can't turn around in downtown Cleveland without seeing a crane or some other piece of construction equipment erecting a new building.

There's certainly good work happening locally, but there's also one critical question that Pike wants answered: With all the development in our region, who is being left behind, and what can we do to ensure that "all boats rise"?

This complex q... Read more >

University Circle already holds claim as Cleveland's premier medical, cultural and educational district. But what does the future hold for the rich, square-mile enclave and the neighborhoods around it?

"Building the Circle 2035: Height, Density and Social Equity" will attempt to answer that question during a free panel discussion on April 10 in the Cleveland Museum of Art's Gartner Auditorium. The program is part of the Circle Neighbors lecture series sp... Read more >

"Ever dream of running your own restaurant as an executive chef, pastry chef or sommelier?"

That is the question asked by leaders of EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute. Fulfilling that dream would be a challenge for most anyone, but what about a person reentering society after incarceration?

Hoping to provide the answer is Brandon Chrostowski, general manager, sommelier and fromanger at L'Albatros restaurant. ... Read more >