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After funding the construction of the outdoor basketball court at Providence House in 2012, the Cavaliers teamed up with their partner Rust-Oleum to recently renovate the court for the many Cleveland-area children that utilize it. The two organizations provided a new hoop, painted the court and surrounding sidewalk, bench and fence.

The Cavs and Providence House officially unveiled the refurbished court on Thursday.

Cavs Vice President of Global Partnerships, Shelly Cayette, joined Providence House CEO & President, Natalie Leek-Nelson, to speak to the guests in attendance, including staff and children from Providence House. Cavs in-arena host Ahmaad, Cavs Legends, Scream Team members and mascots and were also on-hand to entertain the kids. After a ribbon cutting the kids were able to play on the updated court.

COMMUNITY

The Cavs and Rust-Oleum also presented a check to Providence House for $10,000 for their Children’s Educational Enrichment Program. Through the initiative, Licensed Social Workers work alongside Providence House staff to plan daily lessons, activities, and community field trips to enhance early learning skills, reinforce developmental milestones, focus on school readiness, and provide children with positive exposure to their community.

About Providence House:
Providence House protects at-risk children (newborn through twelve years old) and supports families through crisis, strengthening communities to end child abuse and neglect. They are Ohio’s first and one of the nation’s longest operating crisis nurseries. Providence House has cared and advocated for 8,000 children and families throughout their 37-year history, including more than 300 children last year alone. They use a two-generation approach focused on both the child and their caregiver(s) delivered through a holistic, integrated program focused on both child abuse prevention and family preservation. They are Cleveland’s only free, voluntary, non-custodial program designed to protect at-risk children in emergency shelter when parents are not able to care for them due to crisis situations. For more information: https://www.provhouse.org/

The children who come through Providence House—a crisis nursery providing free, voluntaryemergency shelter to children living in crisis situations where they are at risk of abuse or neglect—have enough going on in their worlds without having a quiet, relaxing place to think, reflect, or just be alone.

Last week, Valley City-based landscape tool manufacturer Troy-Bilt sent six gardening experts to Providence House on W. 32nd Street to help revive the facility’s sensory garden as a place where even the youngest clients can take a peaceful time out.

The experts took a triangular plot of land with raised beds zig-zagging around the garden and transformed it into an inviting haven for the children—as well as staff and volunteers—to stimulate each of the five senses.

“This is a really great opportunity for our kids and parents,” says Kaylee Quanbeck, Providence House’s events and marketing coordinator. “When parents bring their kids here, they are dropping off and trusting us with their most precious possessions. We always want it to feel like home, not like an institution. These will be the touches that make a difference.”

The gardeners installed latticework fencing; planted fragrant, colorful plants like lilac, lilies, and herbs; and mixed them with edible tomato, pepper, and onion plants.

“We tell them, ‘This is a pizza garden,’” says Barb Roueche, Troy-Bilt brand manager. “Come out and pick your toppings.” The team also planted pumpkins, so this fall, kids will have access to a fun arts-and-crafts project.

Nothing in the sensory garden has thorns, burrs, or anything else that can potentially harm the children, and everything is deer-resistant, according to Roueche, but they also kept the staff in mind with the plantings.

“Everything we planted are perennial, so they will come back every year,” she says. “We didn’t want it to have too much maintenance, so we were careful on what we chose so that we didn’t add to the Providence House staff [responsibilities].”

Additionally, Roueche notes a small area in the back corner of the garden that had gone particularly unattended. The group took that patch and installed a bird bath, Adirondack chairs, and pollinator plants to attract birds and butterflies—creating a reflective space in the sensory garden.

“You are one step removed from what’s actually going on,” says Roueche. “I would guess there are times when you need alone time, but you don’t really want to be alone. This is a place to regroup and get a little quiet time.”

The transformation took about four hours, but Roueche was just happy any planting was completed, given the wet weather Cleveland has been having. “After about a week of watching the weather reports and wondering if we would be able to plant anything at all, or if we’d be under water, I don’t think we could have scripted it better,” she says.

Troy-Bilt has used its group of national experts—Erin Spain, Serena Appiah of Thrift Diving, Sarah Fogle of Ugly Duckling House, Eric Rochow of GardenFork, Mary Nielson of The House that Lars Built, and Rochelle Greayer of Pith + Vigor —for the past eight years on community gardening projects with organizations that need help maintaining and beautifying their outdoor spaces.

Quanbeck says the kids at Providence House love the new sensory garden. “They were looking at all the different kinds of plants and the bird bath,” she says. “One of our staff members commented on how calming it was for some of our kids.”

By Roxanne Washington, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Children sheltered at Providence House in Ohio City are enjoying a sensory garden filled with colorful perennials that soon will bloom, fragrant plants, vegetables, a birdbath and more, thanks to a Greater Cleveland lawn and garden power equipment manufacturer, and six garden and DIY experts who flew in from all over the country.

“It will be wonderful to kick off summer with a really great space for our kids to enjoy all the way into the fall,” said Kaylee Quanbeck, Providence House events and marketing coordinator.

Providence House, on West 32nd Street, shelters children newborn to 12 whose families are undergoing a crisis, such as homelessness, domestic violence or addiction. The 38-year-old nonprofit can shelter as many as 30 children at one time.

Troy-Bilt, in Valley City, which is south of Strongsville, helmed the garden project, providing all of the plants and accessories, and flying in the designers for their expertise. Troy-Bilt is owned by MTD Products.

A sensory garden engages sight, smell, touch, taste and sound, explained Barbara Roueche, Troy-Bilt brand manager. The garden includes daylilies in a variety of colors, shasta daisies, cone flowers, a lilac bush, yarrow – which can bloom into fall – and evergreens such as boxwood and juniper. There’s also a pumpkin patch, a birdbath and bright red Adirondack chairs.

Vegetable beds include tomatoes, peppers and herbs.

“We call it a pizza garden for kids,” said Roueche.

Kids can help harvest vegetables and herbs when the time is right, added Quanbeck. “It will be great to show them how food is grown,” she added.

Troy-Bilt has funded the installation of other gardens at nonprofits, but this is the first one in Cleveland, said Roueche. An executive at MTD is on the Providence House board.

“We thought it would be nice for the children to have a quiet area,” Roueche said.

All of the plants are low-maintenance.

“We didn’t want to burden the caretakers,” said Rochelle Greayer, whose PITH + Vigor website is at pithandvigor.com. “These are plants that are easy to grow and care for. There’s nothing tricky, but they are pretty and joyful. This is a quiet area where the children will have respite and an education.”

The other five garden and DIY experts who came to Cleveland are Erin Spain, erinspain.com; Serena Appiah, whose Thrift Diving website is at thriftdiving.com/about-3; Sarah Fogle, Ugly Duckling House at uglyducklinghouse.com; Eric Rochow, whose GardenFork site is at ericrochow.com; and Mary Nielson, of The House that Lars Built at thehousethatlarsbuilt.com.

“We’ve been given instructions for watering and upkeep,” said Quanbeck. “We’re really excited, and very grateful for this.

By Jerry Milner, Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau and Acting Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families

The Children’s Bureau will honor five winners of its Champion Awards at this year’s 21st National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect. The award recognizes the efforts of agencies, community-based organizations, businesses, courts, individuals, parent leaders, and others who have made exceptional contributions in promoting the health and well-being of children and families. The 2019 Champion Awards recipients are:

For Preventing Child Maltreatment
Providence HouseVisit disclaimer page (Cleveland, OH)

Founded in 1981 to provide emergency shelter for children in Greater Cleveland whose families were experiencing a crisis, Providence House supports one of the longest lengths of stay among nurseries in the U.S. and offers the deepest levels of services beyond children’s emergency shelter, promoting family stability and preservation and preventing foster care placements.

For Reshaping Foster Care as a Support for Families
Andrew and Amy Baker (Searcy, AR)

Andrew and Amy, foster parents since 2014, are committed to partnering with birth parents to help ensure that every child they have fostered is eventually reunified with his or her biological family. Andrew is the founder of Red Door Table Foundation, an organization committed to supporting biological parents, children and foster families.

For Promoting Child and Family Well-being
Sue Williams (Columbia, SC)

Sue has been a tireless advocate for children and families throughout South Carolina and at the national level. As CEO of the Children’s Trust of South Carolina, Sue has built a collaborative program model where local partners deliver community knowledge, leadership, and access to families and program delivery.

For Building Community Capacity
Good Samaritan Community ServicesVisit disclaimer page (San Antonio, TX)

Good Samaritan Community Services serves as a catalyst for change, supporting youth, individuals, and families by providing community-based services designed to help empower them to overcome the impact of poverty. These services, reaching more than 5,500 individuals and families across six sites in South Texas, include a child development program, youth development services, afterschool and summer youth enrichment programs, a college readiness program, and family services.

For Supporting the Workforce
Justin “Jay” Miller (Louisville, KY)
Jay Miller is Associate Dean for Research, Associate Professor, Director of the Self-Care Lab, and the Doris Y. Wilkinson Distinguished Professor in Social Work Education in the College of Social Work at the University of Kentucky. Jay founded the Self-Care Lab at the university to address potentially toxic employment conditions for child welfare professionals. He is also engaged in state-wide efforts to support foster/adoptive/kinship caregivers.

The Children’s Bureau received over 60 nominations for the Champion Award. View the complete list of each category and eligibility requirements.

Providence House, a crisis nursery, will open a second campus in Cleveland’s Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood, growing its capacity to care for children and families in crisis.

With the second campus, Providence House will increase the number of infants and children it serves annually to more than 700, and expand services to more than 1,000 parents and caregivers.

Providence House’s “Giving Hope for the Phuture” — $13 million campaign to support the new campus and sustain the organization into the future — has raised around $2.5 million to date, including leadership gifts from Saint Luke’s Foundation and campaign chairs Karen Dolan, a trustee of the Providence House board, and her husband, Paul Dolan, chairman and CEO of the Cleveland Indians.

“Providence House has always responded to the needs of our community’s most vulnerable members, children whose families are in crisis,” said Natalie Leek-Nelson, Providence House CEO and president, in a prepared statement. “It’s our priority to meet the tremendous demand in our community for our services and be accessible to the children who are at risk of abuse and neglect. We’re so thankful for the gifts from Saint Luke’s and the Dolans at this early stage in our fundraising campaign, as it demonstrates their confidence in Providence House delivering needed services to our East Side community.”

Providence House’s current Ohio City campus serves about 350 children a year. Due to limited space, the organization last year couldn’t admit 170 infants and children at its West Side campus, according to a news release. Roughly 70% of those unserved lived on the East Side of Cleveland, prompting the organization to look for a second location to serve those children and families in their neighborhood.

“The board and the staff really rose to the challenge and said, ‘OK, we need to go where the children are,’ ” Leek-Nelson said in an interview. “And we began a process of just looking at what our options were for facilities on the East Side.”

Renovations, addition planned

Providence House in January bought the historic Weizer Building located at East 118th Street and Buckeye Road. Plans for the new campus include a $3 million renovation of the existing building and a $5 million, 7,000-square-foot addition to house a 24-bed crisis nursery residential wing.

The Weizer Building will house Providence House’s administrative offices, a children’s education center (complete with classrooms and activity spaces, a gymnasium, medical exam rooms and more) and a family resiliency center, where families can access case management, connect to community resources and visit their children. The site will also have playgrounds for the kids, including basketball courts and grassy areas.

Pending reaching fundraising milestones, the goal is to begin renovation of the Weizer Building in June and begin occupying it with administrative and family services in October. New construction of the residential nursery is slated to begin next spring with an eight-month build, aiming to have children in the building in late 2020/early 2021.

The plan also includes some minor work on the West Side campus to address wear and tear. Moving administrative offices from the West to East Side also frees up space on Providence House’s original campus to give people more appropriate, confidential workspaces.

“Saint Luke’s Foundation is proud to support Providence House in their expansion to the East Side,” Anne C. Goodman, Saint Luke’s Foundation president and CEO, said in a prepared statement. “Their work aligns well with our mission to improve and transform the health and well-being of individuals, families and the neighborhood surrounding Saint Luke’s. We’re excited to see the impact Providence House will have in this neighborhood and beyond.”

Once the renovation and new building are completed, Providence House anticipates it will hire an additional 40-45 new employees, the majority of whom will be full-time.

“What’s really kind of cool about those positions is 30 or so of those jobs are jobs we train individuals to,” Leek-Nelson said. “They don’t need special certification or a degree. They’re child-care providers, housekeeping, maintenance. And so we’re really hoping we can generate some live-work opportunities in the Buckeye Neighborhood, which unfortunately is one of the neighborhoods with the highest rate of poverty and the highest rate of unemployment in Cleveland.”

Neighborhood catalyst

Providence House hopes to help catalyze future development and partnerships in the Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods, according to the release.

The new campus will serve an additional 325 children in the East Side Crisis Nursery with free, noncustodial care and emergency shelter to children newborn through 12 years old whose families are in crisis. Providence House also offers families a range of services, including, according to the release: family preservation services to support family stability for parents/guardians with children in the East Side Crisis Nursery; onsite aftercare program to support families reunited with their children to offer continued guidance and resources; and a community-based family resource center and basic needs support programs for families referred by local partners.

“While the children are with us, we’re very holistically working with the children — their medical wellness, their developmental milestones, school readiness, school enrollment, all that work,” Leek-Nelson said. “And while we’re doing that with the children, our social workers are working intensively with the parents to address homelessness, domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health issues, and sometimes it’s a combination of a bunch of those factors. And so really, our goal is to keep that family together by creating a support network that will be with them when their children return home and continue to see them remain safe and stable.”

CLEVELAND – Providence House, a crisis nursery committed to ending child abuse and neglect, was recognized as one of thirteen programs in the nation by ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center for its Innovative and Exemplary Service. The award will be presented at the 2019 National Lifespan Respite Conference in Buffalo, New York.

“Providence House is honored to be recognized by ARCH for our innovation and exemplary service,” said Natalie Leek-Nelson, Providence House CEO and president. “This recognition is validation of our work and the commitment of our staff to assure the highest quality service to the families we serve using our evidence-based model.”

ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center assists and promotes the development of quality respite and crisis care programs in the United States, and helps families locate these vital services in their communities.

“Providence House exemplifies the characteristics that ARCH values in respite programs,” said Jill Kagan, ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center Director. “They have demonstrated their commitment to children and families in their community by implementing a data driven model accompanied by best practices in our field.”

Providence House was selected by ARCH for its establishment of a “data culture” to assure continuous quality, identify barriers to participation, documentation of successes, and for making data-based decisions. Additionally, Providence House’s approach to social and economic changes as well as changes in best practices including social determinants of health and trauma informed services place Providence House at the forefront of the field of crisis care.

For more information about Providence House, please visit provhouse.org.

Author: John Hillbery

Baker Mayfield’s influence has electrified Cleveland Browns fans. This is a recounting of my first-hand experience with Cleveland’s franchise quarterback, and how he helped raise of $5,000 dollars for a local Cleveland charity.

As a lifelong Cleveland Browns fan, I’ve always dreamed of the day that we would have a franchise quarterback. I’ve seen the ups and downs of this franchise for my entire life. I can only remember 2007 as the one winning season I’ve ever experienced as a fan of the Browns. But after coming off a promising 2018 campaign, we are headed in the right direction and have found our answer at quarterback.

Late in the 2018 season, Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield was fined $10,026 dollars by the NFL for unsportsmanlike conduct, during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Many of us Browns fans were shocked that he was fined. In a spur of the moment response to this news, I created a GoFundMe page to raise money to pay the fine for him, and over the course of a week, I experienced first-hand the power of Mayfield.

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Shortly after I created this campaign, I quickly realized that I wouldn’t have been able to pay the fine. Per the NFL: “the league withholds the amount of the fine from the player’s next check.”

So, then it was decided that this money would go to a Cleveland based charity, known as Providence House. Mayfield had worked with them previously throughout the season, and I thought that there was no better match out there! By this time, a couple thousand dollars had been raised by Browns fans, using my own personal social media accounts.

But then on the first day of 2019, the most unbelievable thing happened. Mayfield tweeted the link out. I was astonished. It was one of, if not, the most surreal moments of my life. I had never experienced this type of exposure before. What was I going to do? Soon enough, we had raised over $5,000 dollars for Providence House. It was an awesome way to start the new year. Mayfield had rallied Browns fans to come together to donate towards an amazing and heartfelt cause.

Mayfield’s electric personality is something so unique and intangible. To take a franchise on his shoulders that hasn’t had success in such a long time and completely seize the moment is something that has captivated us all. Being able to start my 2019 off this was such a surreal moment and one that I will never be able to forget. We are still only in the beginning of Mayfield’s career. But his influence is undeniable and the electricity that he has put into this team has revived our long-dormant franchise.

As part of its ongoing commitment to communities, Dominion Energy, parent company of Dominion Energy Ohio, is contributing a $10,000 Critical Community Needs Grant to West Ohio Food Bank in Lima.

The local grant is part of $155,000 in such grants presented in Ohio and an overall $1.6 million overall awarded to more than 200 nonprofit organizations providing essential human services in 12 states. This is the fourth year the company has awarded more than $1 million to meet critical community needs.

“Each year we look at ways to support charitable organizations that work day-in and day-out to make a positive impact in our communities,” said Hunter A. Applewhite, president of the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, the company’s charitable arm. “These grants will help provide the food, shelter and medical care needed by many for a better life.”

Other Ohio grant recipients are:

• Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Cleveland, $15,000.
• Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, Cleveland, $15,000
• Cleveland Municipal School District, $10,000.
• Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center, Cleveland, $10,000.
• Eliza Bryant Village, Cleveland, $10,000.
• A Second Home for You, Cleveland, $5,000.
• Battered Women’s Shelter, Akron, $5,000.
• Children’s Hospital Medical Center of Akron, $5,000.
• Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, $5,000.
• Enterprise Community Partners, Cleveland, $5,000.
• Family Promise of Summit County, Akron, $5,000
• Family Promise of Greater Cleveland, $5,000.
• Joseph’s Home, Cleveland, $5,000.
• Lake County Free Clinic, Painesville, $5,000.
• Providence House, Cleveland, $5,000.
• Rahab Ministries, Akron, $5,000.
• St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, $5,000.
• West Side Catholic Center, $5,000.
• Mobilemed 1, Lyndhurst, $5,000.
• Second Harvest Food Bank, Youngstown, $5,000.
• Stark County Hunger Task Force, Canton $5,000.
• YMCA Mahoning Valley, Youngstown, $5,000.

CLEVELAND — Quarterback Baker Mayfield gave the Cleveland Browns’ fans plenty of reason to cheer with his on-the-field accomplishments during his rookie season, and he continues to do so on a national level for his commitment to bettering the City of Cleveland.

In a national media appearance on The Jim Rome Show on CBS Sports Network in Atlanta at Super Bowl LIII Wednesday, Mayfield talked about auctioning off a dinner for two, which raised $40,000 for Providence House to help at-risk families in Cleveland.

“Unbelievable,” Mayfield said of being able to have a positive impact so quickly into his career.

“To be able to have that opportunity is very special, and to be able to give back to a city that’s believed in me and supported me, and just to be able to impact the youth, give every kid a chance to have the same opportunities as everybody else, I think that’s the important thing about it.”

With Mayfield’s help, the Browns were able to raise more than $100,000 in just 10 minutes to benefit Providence House at their annual “Deck The House” event at FirstEnergy Stadium.