Category: Miscellaneous

Thank you to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District for a fun and educational event!  Caring Cubs learned about how we use water every day, the Urban Water Cycle (where does the water come from and where does it go), different types of pollution, and what happens when pollution is on the ground.  The age appropriate presentation included a fun scientific experiment – making SLIME! – that demonstrated the wastewater treatment process.

The mission of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is to serve customers by leading effective wastewater and storm water management that protects the health and environment of our region while enhancing quality of life.

To thank the Greater Cleveland Food Bank for hosting our event, Caring Cubs participants donated 40 pounds of food and decorated 50 brown bags which will be used by the Food Bank to distribute healthy lunches to local children!

The Greater Cleveland Food Bank is the largest hunger relief organization in Northeast Ohio having provided nearly 39 million meals in 2013 to hungry people in Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Ashland and Richland counties. Their mission is to ensure that everyone in our communities has the nutritious food they need every day.

Thank you to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, and our participants for making this another great event!

View pictures of the event on our Facebook page!

Thank you to the Mary Draves and the students at Berea Midpark High School for creating an awesome outdoor event for Caring Cubs! The students from the biology department lead the event in their Certified Wildlife Habitat, vegetable garden, and rain garden. There were six stations of activities including planting, weeding, mulching, digging, chalking drawing, and reading. They were even thoughtful enough to create an indoor station with crafts, a snack and a movie! We had a few rain sprinkles but plenty of sunshine to make this a great event!

A special thank you to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Ohio for awarding Caring Cubs a grant to purchase plants for this event.

Visit the Caring Cubs Facebook page to view pictures of the event!  Click here!

Thank you to the many families who volunteered for one of Caring Cubs’ favorite organizations – the Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland!

The children painted their hands for a welcome poster for Ronald McDonald House, wrote notes of encouragement for the families staying at the house, decorated the fronts of blank thank you cards, and made festive door hangers for each guest room.  Each of these projects is focused on creating a welcoming and supportive atmosphere within the Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland.

In addition to the projects, Caring Cubs has been collecting pull tabs throughout 2013 and 2014 at all of our events.  The funds raised from pull tabs are used by the Ronald McDonald House to support their Family Fund.

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.

The Hanna Perkins Center for Child Development has served children and families across Northeast Ohio since 1951 by promoting understanding of the inner emotional life of children. Its work is founded on the knowledge that a child’s behavior is a means of communicating important feelings and emotions that he or she may not yet have the ability to put into words. Located in the historic renovation of the former Malvern School in Shaker Heights, Hanna Perkins includes the Hanna Perkins School, continuing education and training, the Hadden Clinic for Children & Families, The Reinberger Parent Child Resource Center, and child and adolescent psychoanalytic training.  Thank you to Hanna Perkins Center for donating the use of Furman Hall!

Pictures of the event are on the Caring Cubs Facebook page – click here!

Caring Cubs and Youth Challenge partnered in March for a joint service event.  Caring Cubs families, Youth Challenge participants, and a Youth Challenge teen volunteer all worked together to support the Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland.  This was a unique opportunity for our “cubs” to volunteer with their families as well as other young people.

The projects completed include a welcome poster for Ronald McDonald House, notes of encouragement for the families staying at the house, decorating the fronts of blank thank you cards, and festive door hangers for each guest room.  Each of these projects was focused on creating a welcoming and supportive atmosphere within the Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland.

Youth Challenge brings together children with physical disabilities and youth volunteers who enrich each other’s lives through one-on-one participation in adapted sports and recreational activities.  Youth Challenge provides services to 160+ children, ages 4-18, with physical impairments, such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida and a variety of other disabilities, who reside at home and attend local schools.  They offer over 300 year-round activities with adaptive sports and recreational equipment and adjustments to suit each child’s interests.  Youth Challenge has 450+ teens, ages 12-18, who are trained seasonally by professionals and peers to work with children with physical disabilities.  Best of all, all programs and transportation are offered free of charge.

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.

Visit the Caring Cubs Facebook page for more pictures of this great event!

Thank you to the nearly 90 volunteers that joined Caring Cubs on Martin Luther King Jr. Day!  We held events at The Gathering Place (Westlake and Beachwood locations) and decorated 141 gift bags for The Gathering Place to use at retreats for cancer patients, survivors, and their families throughout the year.  It’s wonderful to see the dedication and creativity of our “cubs”.  Thank you to the children and their families for volunteering and to The Gathering Place for hosting us!

Visit our Facebook page to see pictures of the event.

Caring Cubs spent Saturday, November 2 completing two important service projects.

Caring Cubs collected 253 stuffed animals and toys in our annual collection to benefit the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).  DCFS lets children in crisis choose one to keep when they first arrive at DCFS and also allows parents to select an item to give to their children during visitations.

Caring Cubs also decorated 277 holiday cards for the American Red Cross of Greater Cleveland and their Holiday Mail for Heroes program.  The holiday cards that will be delivered to veterans, military families and active-duty service members at hospitals and installations around the world.

Thank you to Cuyahoga Community College for hosting Caring Cubs and to the Education Department for volunteering at the event!

The wonderful pictures were taken by Shannon Ahlstrand of Shannon Ahlstrand Photography (www.ShannonAhlstrandPhoto.com).  Thank you to Shannon for donating her time and talents to Caring Cubs!

Caring Cubs purchased the supplies for this event as part of a generous grant from the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeastern Ohio.  Thank you!

Photos of the event can be found on our Facebook page – Click here!

Caring Cubs spent a beautiful October morning volunteering in the forest, prairie and marsh habitats of the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes.  Our families of volunteers divided into three groups and, under the guidance of a Nature Center staff member, set off to different locations throughout the park.  Our families continue to impress us with their dedication and enthusiasm to make a difference for the organization Caring Cubs is volunteering for!

Our youngest cubs and their families helped to plant trees and shrubs along a trail to protect it from erosion.  Along the hike, they were excited to discover a box turtle with an old tracking device still attached.  We’re looking forward to learning more about the history of the box turtle!

The two other groups of Caring Cubs collected seeds for future propagation and pulled invasive plants to help maintain the health of the wetland.  The volunteers had their choice of the less muddy prairie or the really muddy marsh!  Those in the marsh also enjoyed washing their boots off in the stream!

The mission of the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes is to conserve a natural area, connect people with nature and inspire environmental stewardship.  The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes was founded in 1966 as the result of a grassroots community effort to preserve the Shaker Parklands from becoming the route for a new freeway connecting Cleveland’s East Side to downtown. Thanks to the community effort ten thousand children participate annually in more than 30,000 hours of curriculum-related school programs, including a strong early childhood program for several East Side school districts and the Cleveland Public Schools. Additionally, an estimated 10,000 walkers, runners, and bird-watchers use the trails and grounds for exercise and enjoyment of nature.

Click here to view pictures of this hands-on event!

Caring Cubs volunteered at the Cleveland Kids in Need Resource Center on Saturday, September 21, 2013.  Caring Cubs participants generously donated many much needed school supplies to help local children.  The Caring Cubs families also volunteered their time to sort pens, package chalk, prepare glue sticks and highlighters, and help stock the shelves with a variety of school supplies.  The “cubs” were able to put their individual donations on the shelves as well as help with other corporate donations that needed to be displayed for teachers.

     

Thank you to the 57 people who attended our volunteer event at the Cleveland Foodbank!  Caring Cubs families donated 101 pounds of food and decorated 229 brown bags!  The bags will be used by the Foodbank to distribute food in.  As the pictures demonstrate, our “cubs” were very thoughtful and creative artists.  We were also able to take tours of the facility and learn more about the services that the Cleveland Foodbank provides.

The Cleveland Foodbank partners with more than 600 agencies that serve the needy and supply a majority of the food used in local hot meal sites, shelters, and food pantries. They also provide food to child care centers, group homes, and programs for the elderly.  Visit www.clevelandfoodbank.org to learn more!

Caring Cubs purchased the supplies for this event as part of a generous grant from the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeastern Ohio.

More pictures of the event are on the Caring Cubs Facebook page!