The Courage to Speak

From Jeff Griffiths, Executive Director-HandsOn Northeast Ohio:

This holiday season, we have had several reminders of the power of an individual or group of individuals to create a positive change. Whether it has been the CNN Heroes show, the local Plain Dealer Heroes section or others, each story is a powerful example of the power of caring, of how simple acts can be transformative, of how standing up for what is right is never wrong.

This fall, I was at a volunteer project and had the pleasure to meet a few of the many quiet heroes working daily to make their neighborhoods great. During our Make A Difference Day events in October, we had the pleasure of supporting the E. 73rd Street Block Club in Cleveland. The E. 73rd Street Block Club is a collection of amazing, older women who have transformed a street devastated at one time by drugs, crime and prostitution. When these ladies moved onto the street, they were told by the drug dealers that they were not going to last, that the street was not going to change. That wasn’t acceptable to the ladies of the E. 73rd Street Block Club. For them, silence was acceptance. These citizens had the courage to speak and act in ways that would redefine their neighborhood.

Over the time that the current group of women have led the Block Club, they have fought for vacant homes, havens for crime, to be destroyed. They have fought for new homes, now in beautiful rows down their street, to be built. They fought and received funding for a KaBoom playground to be built for the neighborhood children. Over time, these courageous women have transformed their street into a safer place for families to live. The women of the 73rd Street Block Club could have been silent in the face of the threats that the encountered. It would have been easy to just stay in their homes in fear or with the excuse of being “too busy”. They could have let the minority of bad people in their community set the tone and standard of living for the majority of good, hardworking people. But they didn’t. The E. 73rd Street Block Club had the courage to speak, to stand up for what is right. This small number of diminutive women stood like giants for a cleaner, safer and nicer place to live. Today, E. 73rd Street is still not a perfect place. There is still crime to combat and there is still a daily battle for right and wrong. I can say with confidence after hearing their story and serving with them in Oct. that my money is on the Block Club to win this battle outright.

To hear stories about the economic and social cost of emptiness on places, here is a recent story by Changing Gears .

To read a recent story on the foreclosure crisis in Cleveland on 60 minutes, click here .

Holiday Giving 101

From Kirsten McClain, Coordinator, Volunteer & Agency Relations - HandsOn Northeast Ohio:

It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but I can already feel the holiday giving spirit creeping up. The winter holidays always seem to bring out a newly found generosity in people. I cherish individuals that want to give back (no matter what the weather outside is), however after years of working with non-profit agencies I can understand the strain that non-profit agencies feel during the winter holiday season. From closing their fiscal books and sending out annual appeal letters, to having clients requesting extra assistance during the cold winter months, staff members at nonprofit organizations are overwhelmed with daily administrative tasks. Add on top of that phone calls from individuals looking to volunteer on Christmas or schedule a time to drop off a box of donated toy trucks and teddy bears. Agencies are easily overcome with volunteer requests and donations that pile up and require extra time and attention to ensure that they are put to best use.

I have in my apartment a box of goods to be donated that has been sitting at my front door for over 6 months. The box has not moved partly out of laziness, but more importantly because I haven’t found the right agency that has an actual need for the items (a harry potter book, old clothes, and an internet router). There are two types of giving: (1) giving what you have, and (2) giving what is needed.

Giving what you have is easy. Open your cupboards and closets and pull out everything you don’t want or need. Drop if off at the closest agency and hope they have a need for the items.

Giving what is needed is harder, yet more powerful. When you give what an agency requests you empower the agency to fulfill their mission and best serve their clients. I only donated specific items requested by an agency, which is why my box of junk may sit by my door until either the right agency requests the items, or I move to a new apartment.

I invite you to follow these three easy steps to maximize your giving this holiday season and give what is needed in your community:
(1) Call ahead before making a donation. Ask the agency for their list of most needed donations. Be specific in your donation, including the exact coat or boot sizes of clients, or the types of toys or games needed.
(2) If you are planning to give monetary donations, do your research. Visit sites like www.guidestar.com to see where your money will be going and whether it will be used for administrative costs or programming that assists clients.
(3) Every little bit can help. Whether it is $5 to an animal shelter, or a box of crayons to a school teacher the right donation and the right time can make all the difference for an agency.

Feeling short on extra cash this holiday season? Volunteering can be as valuable as any monetary or in-kind donation. In Ohio, each hour a volunteer gives equates to roughly $18.50* in saving for an agency. What you cannot give in gifts, consider giving in volunteer time. Volunteering is the easiest and cheapest (free!) way to give back and support an agency’s mission.

* http://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time