With the new year comes the inevitable glut of new year's resolutions. Cleveland Clinic's Fairview Hospital is aiming to ensure people keep their health-related resolutions with its Fit in Fairview Health Challenge fitness program.

The eight-week program, sponsored by the hospital, Gemini Recreation Center and the City of Fairview Park, kicked off January 5. Participants are given an initial health assessment that includes a free lipid profile and screenings of their body mass index and blood pressure. Challengers will be re-screened in early March when the program ends to see how far they have come.

"The challenge is for people to get healthier," says Rosemary Miles, community outreach manager at Fairview Hospital.

Developing strong exercise and eating habits will be encouraged through free fitness classes. Another piece is “Walk with a Health Professional” sessions where body-conscious Northeast Ohioans will hike a track in gradually increasing increments along with a cardiologist, oncologist or dietitian. The walk will be increased by two laps every week.

"It's about upping levels of stamina and working a little harder each week to reach a goal," Miles says.

Prizes will be awarded at the end of the challenge to the top three participants based on involvement in walks, screenings and fitness classes. The program is aimed at people ages 18 and over, and has drawn 180 participants so far. Miles believes the challenge will motivate partakers to make healthy lifestyle choices that keep them out of the hospital.

"People will get sick, but being physically fit helps them fight disease," she says.

To register for the challenge, visit www.activityreg.com. Click on Ohio, then Fairview Park. Select "register for activity" link, then "adult fitness," then "Fit in Fairview." The challenge costs $10 to enter.

 
SOURCE: Rosemary Miles
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

Physical power is an important component of most any successful sports-related endeavor. However, athletics can also be used as a source of inner strength, a lesson Liz Ferro knows well.

Ferro is founder and executive director of Girls With Sole, a Rocky River-based nonprofit offering athletics programs to young victims of abuse throughout Cuyahoga, Lorain and Stark counties. Since its inception in August 2009, the program has aided nearly 500 girls. The organization offers traditional team sports as well as yoga, dance, Pilates and other wellness and nutrition activities.

"It's an outlet for these girls to expend their negative energies," says Ferro, whose organization brings its programming to different venues throughout the Cleveland area.

Ferro founded Girls With Sole to help girls who have experienced abuse gain self-esteem and mental strength. An abuse victim herself, Ferro used athletics as a source of empowerment when she had nowhere else to turn. Through the nonprofit, local girls have a chance to put teamwork, confidence and plain old fun into their daily routines.

"It's an amazing feeling for them to do something physically," Ferro says. "They can take that and use it in other areas of their lives."

Ferro has numerous success stories among her young clients. One girl, a ward of the state in residential treatment, initially rejected Girls With Sole. Today, she's a marathon runner and triathlete, a far better option than drugs or other unhealthy coping mechanisms troubled teens undertake.

"These kids don't get this kind of encouragement elsewhere," says Ferro. "Seeing positive and healthy people around them makes an impact."

 
SOURCE: Liz Ferro 
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

The legal and arts world don't seem like a natural pair, barring the occasional tabloid story about a drug-addled starlet backing her BMW into a police car.

The Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts Committee (VLA) is bringing those realms together in a more positive fashion by providing the local arts community information about the law as well as free access to legal services.

VLA, a committee of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, refers low-income artists and arts organizations to lawyers for pro bono legal representation, gives informational talks to artists and arts groups, and presents legal seminars to lawyers regarding the arts.

In other words, if an artist needs legal advice about starting a nonprofit arts organization, protecting a copyright, or even forming a band, he or she can turn to VLA, says chairman Todd Masuda, an attorney with Schneider, Smeltz, Ranney & LaFond.

"It's by-need legal work," Masuda says. "Our attorneys will review applications and determine if they meet our criteria" of financial need and relation to the arts.

VLA recently gave a talk to lawyers at the new MOCA. The organization is planning a spring seminar for artists on nonprofit formation issues and health insurance options for the underemployed. 

Steve Day, a VLA volunteer and attorney with Calfee, Halter & Griswold, believes the arts-law connection is an important one for Cleveland.

"If you want an attractive city, you need a lively, vibrant arts community," says Day. "We're helping artists navigate legal roadblocks that would be too expensive for them to handle otherwise."

 
SOURCE: Todd Masuda, Steve Day
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

Do you love Cleveland?

That's the question asked and vociferously answered by the Brain Gain Cleveland Project (BGCP), a nonprofit advocacy group created to grow the city through the creativity and energy of its citizens.

BGCP was founded this spring by a group of lawyers working with the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. The group, led by Jon Leiken of Jones Day, soon realized that the message BGCP was trying to spread wasn't just for legal types, but for Clevelanders everywhere.

Debra Mayers Hollander is no lawyer. She's a freelance marketer also serving as the organization's deputy director of scouting. "We're an online booster club," says Hollander of BGCP's mission. "It's an opportunity for people who love Cleveland to talk about Cleveland."

BGCP's website launched in March and has attracted about 350 “scouts," a term referring to its members, Hollander says. Scouts join for free, and are encouraged to create a profile on the site. Their involvement can include anything from simply adding themselves to the group's email list to creating Cleveland-centric events supporting local brain gain.

The organization has gained backing from local institutions including Greater Cleveland Partnership and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Another supporter is Dan Gilbert, who owns large stakes in the Cleveland Cavaliers, Horseshoe Casino and Quicken Loans.

BGCP is cranking up for a big 2013. The group hopes to surpass 1,000 members soon, and hosts its first event of the new year at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on Thursday, January 10.

"We have such a diverse group of people committed to this already," says Hollander. "There are many ways to shape a city."  

 
SOURCE: Debra Mayers Hollander
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

Cleveland State University has had a busy year expanding its international reach, and now it has the accolades to prove it.

CSU produced the second highest number of Fulbright scholars in the nation during the 2012-2013 academic year. The second-place ranking was shared among eight universities, with each producing five Fulbright scholars. Tying for runner-up this year with CSU were Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Rutgers, Texas A&M at College Station, University of Florida, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and University of Washington at Seattle.     

CSU's Fulbright grant winners are staff members Jayne Mary Fuglister, Rama K. Jayanti, Brian Edward Ray, Janche Sang and Miena Sterio.

"This is an important distinction," says Joe Mosbrook, CSU's director of strategic communication. "CSU has an outstanding faculty that's been doing some remarkable things."

The Fulbright program allows participants to study, teach and conduct research abroad. CSU's grantees are studying the fields of law, business and computer science, respectively, and within the next year will be headed to far flung destinations including India and Azerbaijan.

The honor is nothing new for CSU. The university achieved the same ranking during the 2010-2011 academic year. With nearly 50 Fulbright grants awarded to CSU faculty in the past decade alone, the school consistently ranks among the nation’s top universities for Fulbright scholars, its supporters note.

"People don't think about Cleveland State as a research institution," Mosbrook says. "Look at the track record and you'll see the work being done. We look forward to continuing that trend."
 
 
SOURCE: Joe Mosbrook
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

Recent transplants to Cleveland arriving from so-called "big-ticket" metropolitan markets say that they are experiencing appreciable cost savings in terms of housing, transportation, entertainment and food. And that translates to a better standard of life with little lost in terms of quantity and quality of offerings.

The current generation of soon-to-graduate college students is not just looking for a job, but also a fun and dynamic city that suits its lifestyle needs, says Christy Walkuski, director of (i)Cleveland.

This reality is the impetus behind an upcoming city-centric event hosted by Cleveland Leadership Center. On January 4, (i)Cleveland, a program of the leadership center, will welcome 150 college students and recent graduates to connect with career, civic and social opportunities in Cleveland.

The Winter Edition event will include a networking lunch with downtown executives, a meet with Cleveland's entrenched young professional community, behind-the-scenes tours of East 4th Street's amenities, and an "employer showcase" of current internship and job opportunities.

Combining job and leadership possibilities with highlights of Cleveland lifestyle trumpets a single, distinct message: "The city wants you here," says Walkuski. "Young people have the ability to make their mark on Cleveland."

Walkuski has read the worrisome headlines about young people leaving Northeast Ohio for the bright lights of bigger cities. The (i)Cleveland director herself lived in Chicago and Florida before returning to her home city.

"When I came back, I saw Cleveland with new eyes," says Walkuski.

Opening the eyes of college students requires a community-wide effort. The "Winter Edition" program aligns with (i)Cleveland's mission of using local assets to build relationships and foster lifelong civic engagement. Registration is limited, so Walkuski suggests prospective participants sign up as soon as possible.

"We have a huge education base here," she says. "We must continue to engage this (college-aged) population, because if we don't recruit them, someone else will."

 
SOURCE: Christy Walkuski
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

A little imagination this holiday season could go a long way to building a home for a needy Cleveland family.

The Cleveland chapter of American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) is collecting homemade Christmas ornaments from local creatives during its Art of Ornament event on December 14. The decorations will be auctioned off at 78th Street Studios, with proceeds going to Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity, a Christian-based organization that constructs homes throughout Northeast Ohio. The only rule is that ornaments can be hung for display and use.

"It's an opportunity for the design community to get together and give back using their natural creative tendencies," says Maggie Durguner, president of AIGA's Cleveland chapter.

All community members can make an ornament for the free, public event whether or not they are employed by the local creative sector. Last year, AIGA collected $2,000 through the auctioning of 80 ornaments. Designs ranged from an intricate depiction of 18th-century women to a tyrannosaurus rex covered in glitter. 

"Some of the designs were incredible," Durguner says.

Ornaments usually sell from $15 to $100. A new element this year has AIGA's corporate sponsors matching the highest bid.  Every dollar counts, particularly when it "hits home" for Cleveland's underserved, says Durguner.

 
SOURCE: Maggie Durguner
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

Domestic abuse often is treated as a taboo subject and not something the general public likes to admit exists, says Molly Scheetz, development marketing officer at the Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy Center of Cleveland.

This reluctance makes events like the organization's January 5 benefit at Negative Space Gallery vitally important in reaching out to victims of abuse. Funds procured at the gallery will be put toward programming that aids Cuyahoga County residents suffering in-home violence and other forms of mistreatment.

"We'll be grateful for whatever is raised," says Scheetz.

Awareness of the center's programming is just as important as funding, Scheetz believes. The community should know of the variety of services available to teens, adults and families, including:  An education component bringing knowledge about teen dating violence to local schools; a 24-hour family helpline fielding crisis calls and offering referrals for abuse resources; and a shelter available for victims of domestic violence and their children.

"Anytime people can become more educated about the services we provide, it's a good thing," Scheetz says.

The center is working to overcome its own challenges these days. The nonprofit is the result of a merger that took place earlier this year between Bellflower Center for Prevention of Child Abuse and the Domestic Violence Center.

The transition has been fairly seamless, and the organization will continue to shed light on violence shuttered behind closed doors. "We have to acknowledge problems in order to reach solutions," says Scheetz.
 
 
SOURCE: Molly Scheetz
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

Measured discourse is something that's not exactly commonplace these days, notes Jonathan Rodriguez-Lucas. Even this November's presidential debates had the two major candidates talking "at" each other rather than "with," he says.  

The argumentative atmosphere of last election season was a major catalyst for the launching of The Cleveland Salon, a seminar series where traditional, even-handed debate is the rule rather than the exception.

The "social experiment," created by Lakewood resident Rodriguez-Lucas and Andrew Samtoy, encourages participants to share their divergent opinions with others in a respectful manner. There have been two seminars this year, both held at Mahall’s 20 Lanes in Lakwood. The most recent, on November 29, touched on the role of the media and what effect the downsizing or loss of The Plain Dealer could have on local journalism.

Seminars are moderated by a facilitator, who kicks off the topic and then opens up the discussion to the group.
The rules of engagement are simple: "Someone can have a belief opposite yours; that doesn't mean they are wrong," says Rodriguez-Lucas, 28.

That means no shouting, finger-pointing or other unseemly behavior.  "That's always a concern, but it hasn't been an issue so far," says the co-founder.

The first Cleveland Salon was held this past summer at Ingenuity Festival. The idea was not to bring in a speaker to lecture for an hour, but rather allow non-experts to air their own constructive opinions. Rodriguez-Lucas looks forward to continuing the conversation during the next seminar in January.

"Everyone has a voice," he says.

 
SOURCE: Jonathan Rodriguez-Lucas
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

Boards are shaping the nonprofit sector in unprecedented ways. The Cleveland BVU: The Center for Nonprofit Excellence is aiming to mold prospective board members to meet the trials and opportunities facing organizations today.

On December 7, BVU will host The Role of the Board, a seminar for current board members or those just thinking of joining a board. Speakers including David Goodman of Cleveland law firm Squire Sanders will discuss the roles and responsibilities of those that sit around the big table. Insight on leading an organization through change will also be shared, says BVU executive vice president Elizabeth Voudouris.

"We're providing people with practical training," she says. "We want to inspire them to service, too."

In general, boards are designed to hire and support a CEO, set the mission of the organization, and give financial oversight, among other duties. Modern pressures like shrinking resources have altered these best practices, Voudouris says.

"Good boards take a lot of work," she says. "There are significant strategic and financial challenges no matter what [a board's] size."

BVU officials expect the seminar to draw about 80 attendees representing nearly 40 businesses. Over half of the expected audience members currently are going through BVU’s board matching program and are planning to serve on a board in the near future. The December 7 event is sold out, but BVU hosts a handful of seminars a year for people looking to get educated about board life.

"It's a great introduction to nonprofit leadership," says Voudouris.

 
SOURCE: Elizabeth Voudouris
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

The national #GivingTuesday movement has a mission to create a day of giving at the start of the holiday season. The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is taking that one day and expanding it well beyond the holidays in support of the next generation of classical musicians.

On November 27, in conjunction with #GivingTuesday, CIM launched an eight-week campaign to fund the training of students at the Cleveland School of the Arts (CSA). The school enrolls over 700 students in grades sixth through 12. Part of the curriculum covers instrumental music, hence donors are encouraged to give not only monetary contributions, but also fulfill a "wish list" of much-needed musical instruments, accessories and books to the school and its students.

"We wanted to make this about giving, so there's no goal or amount we're looking for," says Karin Stone, CIM's vice president of institutional advancement.

The official campaign ends January 22, culminating with a Black Heritage Concert on January 27 at CIM's Kulas Hall. The music school will present CSA with the collected contributions during the concert event.

CIM staff, faculty and students regularly work with their peers at CSA, says Stone. Last spring, the schools combined their talents for a concert that was "an amazing experience" for both entities.

CIM's grassroots fundraising effort will ensure there will be more such concerts in the future, Stone says.

"Whatever we get the kids, they will be excited," she says. "We have a long-running relationship with CSA, and this is one more way to enhance it."

 
SOURCE: Karin Stone
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

The musCLE house may not be a gym or cable-access bodybuilding show, but it does give Cleveland students the opportunity to flex their musical talents in exchange for a bit of their free time.

Students taking part in the program receive one hour of free music lessons in exchange for volunteering one hour toward philanthropic involvement or community service, says musCLE house co-founder Eric Kogelschatz.

The Detroit native created the program with his wife Hallie Bram Kogelschatz and Cleveland Institute of Music alums Ariel Clayton and Carlos Javier. The musCLE house works with students from Cleveland Municipal School District, although its co-founder would like to expand the program to other districts.

"Music is a basic building block of intelligence," Kogelschatz explains. Due to school districts cutting music programs, "not enough young people have exposure to it."

The musCLE house launched its fundraising campaign this week. Kogelschatz aims to raise $55,000 over the next two months to finance more than 600 hours of music lessons from paid instructors, along with the procurement of instruments, sheet music and more.

With its volunteerism aspect, the program has the tenet of community building at its core, says Kogelschatz. Adding music to the mix is a bonus for the Shaker Heights resident, who grew up playing the saxophone and clarinet.

"We're encouraging kids to get involved with their communities," he says. "Students get to see the change taking place around them, and they're getting a reward."

 
SOURCE: Eric Kogelschatz
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

"Reading is fundamental" is a message that's been transmitted to the nation's children for years. Research shows that's no empty slogan: Kids who are not reading proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave school without a diploma, says Robert Paponetti, executive director of the Literacy Cooperative of Greater Cleveland.

Enter the Literacy Cooperative's STEP (Supporting Tutors Engaging Pupils) program, an in-school tutoring program designed to help build reading and language skills in underperforming K-3 students. Young participants are taught in one-on-one, structured tutoring sessions that coordinate with classroom curriculum.

The students chosen for the program usually are close to their grade's reading level, says Paponetti. Lessons are delivered twice a week and are designed to develop fluency, vocabulary development, comprehension and word knowledge.

"Reading to a child is one thing," Paponetti says."We are working with the child."

STEP started as a pilot program for first-grade students at Marion-Sterling School in Cleveland during the 2010-2011 school year. Shoreview Elementary was added to the mix for 2012-2013.  There's also an after-school program taking place at Warrensville Heights Library this year.

The program, funded by Cleveland Foundation and several other groups, has resulted in positive gains for its young readers, notes Paponetti. Participating students at Marion-Sterling, for example, showed improvement in all measures of reading skills compared to non-tutored students.

Further success will see future expansion of the program. "There's a beautiful simplicity to structured tutoring intervention," says Paponetti. "It could be a real tool for helping children."

 
SOURCE: Robert Paponetti
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

After 35 years producing theatrical performances in rented spaces, the Near West Theatre finally is getting its own place. The community theater broke ground on its first-ever permanent home on November 27, and its supporters are happily looking ahead to the first show at the stand-alone building.

It will be about two years before the Detroit-Shoreway theater opens at W. 67th Street, just north of Detroit, says chief operating officer Hans Holznagel. Until then, Near West Theatre will continue to operate out of its longtime rented home on the third floor of a hall owned by St. Patrick's Church at W. 38th Street and Bridge Avenue in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood.

The new 25,000-square-foot theater will have extra seating and increased stage space. It also will have rehearsal space and air conditioning, two amenities the current facility has done without for years.

"It opens up all kinds of possibilities for us," says Holznagel.

Hundreds of people from the Gordon Square Arts District, the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood and the local theater community were invited to celebrate the theater's groundbreaking. The project will cost nearly $7 million -- a portion of the $30 million Gordon Square Arts District campaign set aside to revitalize the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood using the arts as an economic catalyst.

A new space won't detract from the intimacy that Near West Theatre shows are known for, promises Holznagel. When it opens in fall 2014, the space will offer the professionally produced, large-scale shows long-time fans have grown to love.

 "We're excited to be part of a diverse, vibrant community that matches with the mission of our theater," Holznagel says.

 
SOURCE: Hans Holznagel
WRITER:  Douglas J. Guth

Soldiers are trained to not leave their comrades behind on the battlefield. That commitment shouldn't be relinquished by the public once combat veterans return from war, say supporters of housing solution organization Purple Heart Homes.
The City of South Euclid is partnering with the North Carolina-based nonprofit to build a home for Clevelander Demond Taylor, a veteran of the U.S. campaign in Iraq now suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The city, along with Purple Heart Homes, One South Euclid Community Development Corporation, and the Cuyahoga Land Bank, will renovate the home located at 1171 Avondale Road. While Purple Heart Homes was founded in 2008 by two Iraq combat veterans, the idea to use their services locally was that of retired South Euclid service director and Vietnam veteran Ed Gallagher, says director of community services Keith Ari Benjamin.

The home has not been lived in for several years and needs new windows, flooring, interior walls, plumbing and more. South Euclid is taking cash donations as well as in-kind donations like paint. Contractors willing to help rebuild the home on a volunteer basis are also needed

South Euclid held a mission kickoff event on Monday, November 12, with the eventual aim of  raising $60,000 to $70,000 to refurbish the house. The program drew over 100 people, some of whom have already stepped forward to give of their money or time. "It's great to see so many folks wanting to get involved, but we're going to need more," says Benjamin.

South Euclid has set up a website and Facebook page for those wanting to contribute. Purple Heart Homes immediately contributed $20,000, which will allow work on the house to begin as soon as next week. Construction should be completed by the spring.

The city has implemented several home rehab projects since the housing crisis began. Says Benjamin, It's an honor for South Euclid to give the dream of home ownership to someone who's sacrificed so much.

"Our goal is to welcome veterans like Demond," he says. "We want to take care of him like he took care of us when he served our country."

 
SOURCE: Keith Ari Benjamin
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth

Seven is a lucky number for North Collinwood's burgeoning arts community, as a like-numbered group of the neighborhood's creative thinkers recently received grants from the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC).

The seven artists, most working out of North Collinwood's Waterloo Arts and Entertainment District as part of CPAC's "Artists in Residence" initiative, will get a total of $45,000 in funding for projects including a music education series for local children and an "intergenerational story circle" starring some of the community elderly residents, says CPAC strategic initiative director Seth Beattie.

The grants will address community priorities through arts activities between this month and the end of March. Overarching themes of the grant cycle are residents, community assets and youth involvement. CPAC is awarding the grants in conjunction with the nonprofit Northeast Shores Development Corporation.

"We had 30 proposals this time around," says Beattie of CPAC's second of three grant periods; the third round will come next spring. "These particular ones rose to the top."

The grants are a component of the Artists in Residence program, which is using the North Collinwood neighborhood as "a laboratory" for increasing artists’ engagement with the population, says CPAC president and CEO Tom Schorgl. Area painters, sculptors, videographers and musicians are given perks like affordable housing with the hope they will be a major participant in neighborhood revitalization.

"Artists want communities where they can live affordably with a great quality of life," says Beattie. "They can be a tremendous force in absorbing space in the neighborhood. Collinwood is poised to see a dramatic turnaround in the coming years."

The Waterloo Road arts district can be part of that transformation, with CPAC's latest granting round a good beginning on getting that done, believe the organization's leaders.

"We're marrying strengths here," Beattie says. "It's about money and developing a system of support that helps artists build up projects now and in the future."

 
SOURCE: Tom Schorgl, Seth Beattie
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth