Author: Kelly

The weather may have postponed our February event but it did not stop our cubs from spreading joy at The Harbor Court this February.  Caring Cubs made Valentine’s Day cards, colored signs to decorate the building throughout the spring, and spent time with some of the residents.  The children personally delivered the handmade Valentines and entertained the residents with a few songs and dancing.  While visiting with the residents, we also got to meet their resident therapy dog!  Thank you to our families for making this such a heartwarming event!

2013 is off to a great start!  65 Caring Cubs and their parents volunteered at the Hanna Perkins Center on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to support the Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland and Providence House.

We listened to a child-focused presentation on the great services of these organizations and completed three fun and meaningful projects.  For Providence House, our “cubs” made friendship cards for their staff to give to children when they arrive or when they need to be cheered up.  The Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland received Valentine’s to distribute to  families staying there in February and decorated brown bags that will be filled with breakfast items and given to the families each day as they depart for the hospital from Ronald McDonald House.

In addition to the hands-on projects, our families have been collecting pull tabs that were donated together to Ronald McDonald House at the event.   A special thank you to Brecksville Middle School for donating three large bags of pull tabs!  The funds raised from pull tabs are used by the Ronald McDonald House to support their Family Fund.  Caring Cubs will continue to collect pull tabs at all of our 2013 events.

Providence House is the nation’s oldest Crisis Nursery, committed to child abuse prevention and family preservation. More than a shelter for at-risk children, the agency offers holistic services for children and their families including education, mentoring, case management and aftercare focused on family preservation.

Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland is a home away from home for families with a hospitalized child. Ronald McDonald House offers a place to stay at little or no cost so families can access the best health care, regardless of their location.

Thank you to Hanna Perkins Center for donating the use of Furman Hall!

In honor of Veterans Day, Caring Cubs volunteered at the American Red Cross of Greater Cleveland on Saturday, November 10.  Caring Cubs signed and decorated holiday cards nearly 140 that will be delivered to veterans, military families and active-duty service members at hospitals and installations around the world this holiday season.  The children and their families were very enthusiastic and we hope that our cards brighten the day of someone serving our country!

If you were not able to attend the Caring Cubs card making event, you can still participate in the Holiday Mail for Heroes program.  Visit http://www.redcross.org/holidaymail to learn more and see how you and your family can be involved.  Be sure to watch the video about the program!

We also learned about the many services that the Red Cross provides locally as well as worldwide.  The American Red Cross provides disaster relief, supports military families, is the largest supplier of blood in the U.S, provides health and safety courses, and is part of the world’s largest humanitarian network with 13 million volunteers in 187 countries.

Caring Cubs volunteered at the Cleveland Foodbank for our first event of October.  The families generously donated 68 pounds of food and the children decorated 85 bags that will be used to distribute food in.  In addition to our hands-on project, we learned about the significant impact the Cleveland Foodbank has on our community.  The statistic that resonated the most with the volunteering families is that when school is out for summer, the Foodbank prepares 1,700 nutritious lunches for children in Greater Cleveland area every day!  We were proud to make some of those lunch bags special.

Caring Cubs’ summer event was a great success!  The children learned about police dogs and we helped students of the Shaker Heights School District go back to school with the necessary supplies.  Nearly 400 school supplies were collected, including backpacks, markers, pencils, rulers, scissors, glue, notebooks, pens, and crayons!

Several organizations contributed to the success of this event.  By working together, we were able to help others and make a difference in our community!  Caring Cubs would like to thank:

• The Shaker Heights Police Department and K-9 Unit.  A special thank you goes to Officer John and Carlos (the police dog)!  The children were excited to learn how police dogs are trained and see Carlos demonstrate his abilities.
• Dr. Bernice Stokes for representing the Shaker Heights School District at the event.
• Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeastern Ohio for sponsoring this event.  Their generous grant allowed Caring Cubs to hold a larger event and provide more hands-on activities for the children.

Caring Cubs demonstrated their artistic abilities in May by painting summer camp banners at Cornerstone of Hope.  We also toured their amazing facility and learned about their many programs and services.  To thank Cornerstone of Hope for hosting Caring Cubs, we donated supplies for use at their upcoming children’s summer camp programs.

Cornerstone of Hope (www.cornerstoneofhope.org) is a center dedicated to providing support, education and hope to the grieving.

Caring Cubs visited Whole Foods Market Cedar Center on Saturday, April 21 to learn about the importance of a healthy and varied diet. Caring Cubs and their parents rotated through the dairy, meat, produce, and bakery sections of the store to learn about healthy food choices and to sample foods of varying textures, colors, and consistencies.  Caring Cubs made cheese and pretzel people, painted with celery, sampled healthy snacks, and had fun learning!

Whole Foods is the world’s leader in natural and organic foods, and is committed to supporting the community through giving, education, and outreach.  Caring Cubs donated canned goods and non-perishable items to University Settlement at this event.  University Settlement is a neighborhood center that provides social services to residents of the Broadway/Slavic Village neighborhood in southeast Cleveland. The agency operates three facilities and hosts 10 major programs that serve children, families, and seniors in need.

Caring Cubs gathered at the Canalway Visitor Center in March for a fun and educational event with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD). Representatives from the NEORSD demonstrated how water from your house and in your yard eventually makes it to streams, rivers, and Lake Erie. Caring Cubs had a great time and learned a lot about the urban water cycle. The water treatment demonstration with slime was a definite highlight! The Caring Cubs were especially interested to learn that there is a finite amount of water in the world, meaning that just because you drink it doesn’t mean it’s gone. It recycles through you, through the urban water system, and eventually will end up back in your drinking glass. The water we drink is the same water dinosaurs drank!  The event was capped off with a walk around the visitor center.

Caring Cubs also demonstrated their generosity by donating 27 packages of new socks and underwear (totaling 143 pairs of underwear and 21 pairs of socks) to Shoes and Clothes for Kids. Shoes and Clothes for Kids (www.SC4K.org) is the only non-profit organization in Greater Cleveland providing new shoes and clothes to thousands of children in need at no charge throughout the year. Through a network of 35 distribution partners, SC4K positively impacts the lives of area children by giving them the self-esteem and confidence that comes from having brand new shoes and clothes.

Thank you to the Canalway Visitor Center for hosting us and to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District for a great program!

It was cold and snowy outside, but inside, our Caring Cubs made Valentine’s Day special for the residents of Kemper House!  The “cubs” made homemade Valentine’s and personally delivered them to the residents.  Caring Cubs also participated in the residents’ regular Moving to the Music physical activity.  The children sang, danced, bounced balloons on a parachute, and rolled around an excercise beach ball.  The residents thoroughly enjoyed their young guests and the children (and their moms) had a blast entertaining them!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Caring Cubs started 2012 with two great events at The Gathering Place!

Caring Cubs volunteered at both the Westlake and Beachwood locations of The Gathering Place on MLK Day.  Our Caring Cub parents and children received a tour, learned about the programs and services offered, read a story, and made bookmarks for their resource library.  The bookmarks will be a special touch for individuals in need of the services and information provided by The Gathering Place.   The Caring Cubs also donated books to The Gathering Place’s library.

The Gathering Place opened 2000 as a nonprofit, community-based cancer support center to fill an unmet need in the greater Cleveland community. The programs and services offered address the social, emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of individuals with cancer and their support network. The mission of The Gathering Place is to support, educate and empower individuals and families touched by cancer through programs and services provided free of charge.