Social Change

Not your everyday daddy-daughter dance: Him & Me offers families a party with a purpose
All daddy-daughter dances have that “aww” factor, but the Him & Me Dance is truly awe-inspiring. With its seventh go-round scheduled for this Sunday, August 4, the annual event is planned by suicide prevention nonprofit Alive on Purpose to strengthen the bond between dads and daughters—and bring much-needed awareness to the fact that 63 percent of all suicides come from fatherless homes.
Racial equity trainings aim to build awareness about structural racism
Third Space co-founder Evelyn Burnett says the point of the workshops is simple: to build awareness around racial equity and inequity. More than 3,000 people from 700 organizations have attended the trainings, which are now offered monthly.
New child advocacy center helps children at time of greatest need
Each year, Cuyahoga County receives approximately 50,000 calls through the Child Abuse Hotline at the Division of Child and Family Services, according to the county website. These calls report acts of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect to children throughout Northeast Ohio. Nationally, abuse affects three million children annually, and causes the death of about four children every day.
This dynamic councilwoman is amplifying the voices and visions of Ward 14 residents
If someone had told a teenage Jasmin Santana that she would one day be the first Latina elected to Cleveland City Council, she probably wouldn’t have believed it.
5 up-and-coming artists to watch in Cleveland
From a dynamic duo bringing back Glenville to a Sudanese designer working on a welcome center for Irishtown Bend, these artists are changing the city's creative landscape.
Clevelander Allison Meyer showcases Northeast Ohio’s resilient population
Fifty years after the Cuyahoga River caught fire, Case Western Reserve University School of Law Student Allison Meyer is demonstrating how Clevelanders continue to persist no matter the struggles they encounter.
Local black babies are 4x as likely to die before age one. This Clevelander is saying, “No more."
In Cuyahoga County, the infant mortality rate for African-American babies is 15.1 per every 1,000 live births, compared to 3.8 for white babies. In other words, Cleveland's black babies are approximately four times more likely to die before their first birthday than white babies.
MetroHealth goes all in on affordable housing for the Clark-Fulton neighborhood
MetroHealth recently announced an investment of $60 million to construct three new buildings housing 250 apartments—along with community-centered amenities including a grocery store, job training center, childcare facilities, and more—near its main campus.
Ohio City Pizzeria will serve pizza and pasta with a mission
The neighborhood restaurant will reopen this month under the West Side Catholic Center using the EDWINS model of employing formerly-incarcerated adults.

 
Meet the changemakers ready to rally for justice at the Cuyahoga County Jail
Devin* is no stranger to adverse circumstances. The 24-year-old’s background includes military training, specifically ECAC: Evasion and Conduct after Capture (a multi-day, hardcore immersion program that trains service members to survive high-risk environments that may place them at increased risk of isolation). That extreme experience was nothing compared to the week he spent in the Cuyahoga County Jail.
Inside the Lead Safe Summit and the quest to save CLE kids from lead poisoning
Cleveland's decades-long lead poisoning epidemic has dominated policy and community debates in recent years. The concern is warranted: Each day, four Cleveland children are poisoned by inhaling or ingesting lead dust—putting our city's childhood lead poisoning rate at four times the national average.
This new foundation is giving $1,000 grants to help make Cleveland even more awesome
Earlier in June, Cleveland's newly minted chapter of the Awesome Foundation selected its first two grantees: BigHearted Blooms and Building Furniture to Build Futures. Both initiatives were awarded $1,000 by the recently formed group of 25 Awesome Foundation–Cleveland Chapter trustees—helping to turn two impactful ideas into reality.
How NLDP is helping community leaders harness their superpowers for powerful change in CLE
You likely know the unelected, unsung leaders in your community. They’re the ones volunteering at local events, spreading the word in online neighborhood groups, leading grassroots initiatives, and giving voice to residents who might not otherwise have one. But what you—and they—might not know is that there’s a free program dedicated to helping them harness their superpowers and make even more of an impact.
Putting Northeast Ohio workers on the map: The road to employment begins with worker mobility
If she could afford a car, Antaneshia Fletcher could drive to her job at Bloom Bakery in less than 20 minutes. Instead, she rises at 4:30 am every day so she can spend two hours taking the two bus routes necessary to travel from her home in Euclid to the store near the Cleveland State University campus by 6:30 am.
An inside look at the 12 Learning Lab projects beautifying and inspiring Cleveland
Local artists and nonprofits are teaming up to create change through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture's Learning Lab.
How would 21 teens better Cleveland with $25,000? United Way gave them a chance to find out.
During a recent afternoon ceremony at the Halle Building, the mood was celebratory and inspiring as five local organizations received $5,000 grants in support of youth-geared initiatives. Even cooler? The benefactors are ambitious, civic-minded high school juniors and seniors who spent nine months serving on United Way of Greater Cleveland's John K. Mott Youth Fund Distribution Committee.
A place at the Table: How the Open Table Model is opening doors for CLE's foster care youth
When Ebony Naylor received her cosmetology license two years ago, she figured she’d mark the achievement by herself. The eight women who had mentored her for a year had other ideas.
GoRock.com fuels the painted rock craze by tracking rocks on their journeys
Yet another reason Cleveland "rocks:" Clevelander Michele Gehrmann has created GoRock.com, a free website for people to track painted rocks in public.
Hear them roar: Windsong Feminist Chorus celebrates 40 years of herstory
Cleveland’s feminist chorus, Windsong, is celebrating an anniversary almost as old as modern-day feminism itself. This little-known cultural gem began 40 years ago with just a few members and has grown into a thriving arts mainstay since becoming official in 2002.
One in 11 Ohioans has a felony conviction. Isn't it time they received a second chance?
Your spirits will be instantly uplifted within mere seconds of sitting down with Karen McAlpine. The 38-year-old mother of three radiates a positive energy that is no less than supremely infectious. Currently, McAlpine is seeking an opportunity to channel her gift of an inspiring personality into a career where she can help people, make a difference, and somehow give back. Her ever-present smile only falters when she reflects on her experiences trying to secure such a job.