from The Villager Newspaper: Community West Foundation Awards Over $1.2 Million in Second Quarter Grants

The Community West Foundation Board of Directors has approved $1,052,000 in second quarter grants to support nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing housing and homeless services, as well as assisting incarcerated individuals and those re-entering society. All recipients are in Cleveland, Western Cuyahoga, and Lorain Counties.

In addition, $196,000 was distributed through the Community Impact Fund, bringing the total to $1,248,000. The Community Impact Fund allows donors to invest alongside Community West’s mission, ensuring that 100% of their contributions are distributed directly to grantees on a quarterly basis.

“Most of our grants provide general operating support,” stated Marty Uhle, President and CEO of Community West Foundation. “We are confident that the recipient agencies, given their strong understanding of community needs, will use the funds effectively to fulfill their missions.”

Representatives from each nonprofit recently attended an open house where they received their grant checks. This quarterly event serves as a vital connection point, fostering collaboration among agencies working within similar mission areas.

The grant funds will significantly benefit the community. One notable project is led by True Freedom Ministries, an organization offering various programs for incarcerated individuals, those experiencing homelessness, and those facing addiction. They are collaborating with the Grafton Correctional Institute to renovate a dormitory on prison grounds to house participants in their program.

Organizations receiving grants include:

Cuyahoga County:

• A Place 4 Me – programming for homeless youth, young adults experiencing housing instability, and those aging out of the foster care system
• Chair-ity, Inc. – provides furniture and home goods to youth aging out of the foster care system
• Community Housing Solutions – provides home repair assistance to low-income homeowners, especially seniors
• Community Service Alliance – provides shelter and other services to men experiencing homelessness, re-entering society or facing addiction
• Eden, Inc. (Emerald Development & Economic Network) – provides permanent supporting housing for extremely low-income individuals, especially those challenged by mental illness, substance abuse disorders, and physical disabilities
• EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute – offers formerly incarcerated adults a foundation in the culinary and hospitality industry while providing a support network necessary for long-term success
• Family Promise of Greater Cleveland – provides shelter, basic needs, and supportive services for homeless families
• Galilean Theological Center – program training incarcerated individuals at the Grafton Correctional Institution to serve as peer counselors and addiction recovery counselors
• Goods Bank NEO – provides furniture and home goods to nonprofits so they can provide them to their clients in need
• Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity – helps individuals transition from homelessness to home ownership
• Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry – provides shelter and housing services, workforce development programs and coalition building
• Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH) – street outreach program serving the shelter-resistant; advocacy for the homeless population
• Pathways Enrichment Center – provides essential food assistance for residents of Lorain County
• Reach Success, Inc. – provides comprehensive strategies to bridge the gap between incarceration and community reintegration
• Safe Families for Children Alliance – support for families through a community of devoted volunteers who are motivated by compassion to keep children safe and families intact
• St. Herman’s/Focus Cleveland – shelter and social services for unhoused men
• St. Paul’s Community Outreach – helps sheltered and unsheltered residents and families experiencing food and housing insecurity in Greater Cleveland, including access to laundry services
• The Centers for Families and Children – Cleveland Christian Home – home for extremely troubled youth with wraparound services, specifically for behavioral health services
• The City Mission – Laura’s Home – shelter for women and child who are unhoused or in crisis
• The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland – helps secure safe and stable housing for low-income families and supports individuals who are re-entering society
• The Salvation Army – Zelma George Emergency Family Shelter – a family housing program which also provides additional supportive services
• True Freedom Ministries – provides a variety of programs for those who are incarcerated, individuals re-entering society unhoused individuals, and those challenged by addiction
• Ursuline Piazza – provides housing and services for people who living with HIV/AIDS
• We Care We Share Ministries – My House – provides housing for unhoused youth and those who have aged out of foster care
• Westlake United Methodist Church – Westside Food Ministries – works to alleviate hunger in Cleveland and the western suburbs through doorstep food delivery to low-income, homebound persons and in-person food pantries
• YWCA Greater Cleveland – Norma Herr Women’s Center – low-barrier shelter to women in need
• Zelie’s Home – provides wraparound physical, emotional, spiritual, and professional support for pregnant and parenting women up to one year after a child is born

Lorain County:

• Blessing House – provides housing to children whose families are in crisis
• Good Knights of Lorain County – constructs beds and provides them along with bedding to children in need in Cuyahoga and Lorain Counties
• Humility of Mary Housing – operates a supportive housing program for chronically unhoused single parents
• Neighborhood Alliance – Haven Center – provides shelter and crisis services to men, women and children in need; largest home-delivery meal service for seniors in Lorain County
• The New Community – provides trauma therapy services for men and women recently released from prison
• United Way of Greater Lorain County – United Community Assistance Network – stabilizes households threatened with eviction/utility disconnection due to a financial crisis

About Community West Foundation:

The mission of Community West Foundation is to advance the health and well-being of our community. The staff and Board of Directors are guided by the words in Matthew 25:35-40. While their grantmaking is based on these teachings, they are not affiliated with any religion. Their grantees, friends and donors come from diverse faiths and practices.

For more information, contact Community West Foundation at 440-360-7370 or visit communitywestfoundation.org

Source: The Villager Newspaper - Community West Foundation Awards Over $1.2 Million in Second Quarter Grants