Category: Miscellaneous

A little rain didn’t keep Caring Cubs from pulling weeds and planting flowers at Camp Ho Mita Koda in May!  The children and parents both enjoyed this hands-on event and being able to see the difference Caring Cubs made in just two hours!  Camp Ho Mita Koda is a subsidiary of the Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland and is one of the oldest residential camps for children with diabetes in the United States.  The camp’s programs are designed for children with diabetes to have fun, make friends, and learn about diabetes.

Before Caring Cubs:

After Caring Cubs:

Caring Cubs was excited to visit the Beachwood and Westlake locations of The Gathering Place this March.  After touring the facilities and learning about the services provided, the children decorated bookmarks that will be put in books distributed at The Gathering Place’s library.  The bookmarks will be a special touch for individuals in need of the services and information provided by The Gathering Place.

The Gathering Place is a non-profit, community-based cancer support center that serves all individuals with any type of cancer.  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.

Caring Cub families spread the love this Valentine’s Day by making cards and signs for the residents of Kemper House in Olmsted Falls.  We personally distributed 50 handmade Valentine’s Day cards and brought many smiles to the faces of the seniors.  The children also listened to a story about caring for seniors and Sean Murphy, 11 years old, talked to the group about ways children can volunteer in senior communities.  The children learned that a small gesture can make a huge difference in someones day.  Thank you to the families who participated and to Kemper House for hosting Caring Cubs! 

The last Caring Cubs event in 2010 was a bouncing good time!    Nearly 50 parents and children attended the event and we collected over 100 pairs of shoes to be donated to Soles4Souls.  Soles4Souls distributes donated shoes, free of charge, to people in need around the world.  Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away over 10 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes. The shoes have been distributed in 125 countries, including Haiti, Kenya, Nepal and the United States.  Thank you to The Jump Yard in North Royalton for offering discount admission to Caring Cubs participants.

Caring Cubs volunteered at the Cleveland Foodbank on Saturday, October 16.  This event was one of our largest events in 2010!  The families learned about the importance of the Foodbank in our community, took a tour of the facility, and decorated bags for the food to be distributed in.  Caring Cubs also donated 130 pounds of food that was being packaged for distribution that day!  The Cleveland Foodbank partners with more than 450 agencies that serve the needy and supply a majority of the food used in local hot meal sites, shelters, and food pantries. Thank you to all who made this a successful and fun event!

Caring Cubs volunteered at the community garden of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Berea on a beautiful September afternoon.  The children learned how to build a compost pile, pulled weeds to add to the compost pile, and helped to water the garden.  The garden is maintained by volunteers and the Caring Cubs organization was happy to help!  Produce from the garden is donated to local foodbanks.  

Caring Cubs collected over 175 school supplies at our event in July and delivered them to the Shoes and Clothes for Kids Stuff the Bus event at the Indians game on September 1. Thank you to everyone who participated in our school supply drive!

Caring Cubs joined the staff of Neighborhood Family Practice (NFP) on August 11 to create fiesta decorations for NFP’s 30th anniversary celebration.  Caring Cubs also donated children’s book to support their Reach Out and Read Program.  NFP gives out new books at all well child check-ups as well as used books at regular sick visits.  Neighborhood Family Practice is a non-profit community health center providing quality primary health care services to patients of all ages on Cleveland’s west side.  

 Thank you to Neighborhood Family Practice for allowing Caring Cubs to volunteer!

Caring Cubs learned about nature and the environment on June 12 when we visited the Rocky River Nature Center.  Naturalists led our hike through diverse habitats as we searched for plants and animals that call the woods, wetlands, and river home.  Caring Cubs then decorated the nature center’s walkway with chalk drawings of their favorite animals.

Caring Cubs held it’s first west side event in May 2010!  Our families gathered at Arden Courts Westlake to make homemade greeting cards for Mother’s Day.  The cards were distributed by the staff to residents to celebrate the holiday.