Community West Foundation awards grants to local nonprofits: Short Takes on the Westshore

Westlake, Ohio

In this season of giving, the Community West Foundation, 821 Westpoint Parkway, Westlake, recently announced it has awarded $566,100 in fourth-quarter grants to support the work of local nonprofit organizations.

The total includes $443,000 approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors, and an additional $123,100 distributed through the Community Impact Fund— an initiative that empowers donors of all levels to make a meaningful difference in their community, according to the press release.

The funding supports organizations serving Cleveland, western Cuyahoga County, and Lorain County.

Organizations receiving grants include:

Cuyahoga County

• Carolyn L. Farrell Foundation for Brain Health – Offers arts enrichment to help with isolation and improve the quality of life for individuals with Alzheimer’s and Dementia

• Community of Hope – Creates communities and a sense of belonging for homeless youth and young adults who age out of foster care without a family; links youth to mental health services, job programs, school tutoring, GED courses, and parenting support

• Frontline Service – Backbone of behavioral health services in Cuyahoga County for those with the highest barriers to services including individuals who are homeless, severely mentally disabled, in psychiatric crisis, and those who have been traumatized by violence, including children

• Journey Center for Safety and Healing – Serves those affected by child abuse and domestic violence through a 24-hour helpline, emergency domestic violence shelter, trauma services, and the Justice System Advocacy Program

• Lakewood Community Services Center – Provides bi-monthly home delivery of food to low-income clients in Lakewood, Rocky River, and Westlake

• May Dugan Center – Addresses inequities in access to health care, food, and living wages through behavioral health and basic needs services, refugee resettlement, Seniors on the Move program, trauma recovery, and education resource center

• Merrick House – Provides Moms First and Fatherhood Initiative programs to reduce racial disparities in poor birth outcomes and infant mortality in the City of Cleveland

• Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center – Provides people living with HIV/AIDS with wraparound services including housing assistance, legal aid, addiction recovery, and food programs to address the root causes and impacts of systemic poverty

• Scranton Road Ministries – Works to break the cycle of poverty through a legal clinic, academic enrichment center, and youth jobs partnership

• Seeds of Literacy – Improves lives through literacy by providing one-to-one adult education and GED tutoring in physical classrooms and online

• Transformations by Cleveland Angels – Provides volunteer community support to fostering families to ensure healthy, affirming, and lasting relationships

• West Side Catholic Center – Provides food, clothing, shelter, job training, rent subsidies, and case management through their Resource Center, Workforce Development Program, Moriah House shelter, the Family Engagement Program, Zacchaeus Housing Solutions, Culinary Academy, and Family Success Network

Lorain County

• Avon/Avon Lake Community Resource Services – Provides short-term assistance and connections to financial literacy, health and wellness, education, and job training programs

• North Ridgeville Community Care – Provides utility and housing assistance, senior outreach, and household essentials to North Ridgeville residents

• Oberlin Community Services – Serves the community through food access, emergency assistance, and resiliency programs; conducts food rescue, food distribution, and food delivery

For more information, go to communitywestfoundation.org.

BAY VILLAGE

Coffee chat: Bay Village City Schools Superintendent Scot Prebles will kick off the New Year with a Coffee Chat for residents from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Jan. 17 at Trust Coffee, 27225 Wolf Road.

Military appreciation: The Bay Village City Schools’ fourth annual Military Appreciation Night is Jan. 24 at the Bay High School Gymnasium during the boys basketball game. Follow the district’s Facebook page for more details.

ROCKY RIVER

New venture: The ownership team that has operated Bearden’s, 19985 Lake Road, for over 15 years, has recently purchased the former Buca di Beppo location, 23575 Detroit Road, Westlake.

The owners are currently keeping the plans for the property a secret for now, but did share a way for the community to help raise funds to purchase a new train for Bearden’s.

To help, they are inviting the public to the old Buca di Beppo location from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 1 to buy items off the walls. There are over 1,000 pictures and other unique items available for purchase. Payment methods include cash and credit cards.

Flying high: Magnificat High School, in conjunction with Critical Ops, recently hosted its first Aerial Drone competition. Students Avery Arrowsmith and Sarah Stoessel placed second in the Teamwork Competition and advanced to the Finals. Students Sabrina Syed and Julia Arra won the Judges Award.

Shout-out: The Rocky River Senior Center and Rocky River High School students once again brought the community together by organizing an annual Leaf Raking Program for residents aged 70 and older. The initiative provided assistance to 90 households across the community.

Student-athletes from the softball, baseball, and boys and girls lacrosse teams, as well as members of the Key Club and National Honor Society, volunteered their time to make the project a success.

WESTLAKE

Food needed: The Westlake Community Services Food Pantry is in need of peanut butter. Donations can be dropped off at 28975 Hilliard Blvd

Theater production: Tickets are currently available for “Opus” by Michael Hollinger, at the Clague Playhouse, 1371 Clague Road. The show runs Jan. 24 – Feb. 16. For more information, go to clagueplayhouse.org.

Short holiday: It’s the most wonderful time of the year. I hope you are enjoying the holiday season with your family and friends. I wish all of you the very best for the New Year. This will be the final Short Takes for 2024 as I am taking some time off to spend the holidays with my family and friends. Short Takes will not post online next week or be published in the Jan. 2 edition of the West Shore Sun. Happy New Year!

If you have news/information or a story idea you’d like to share or a ‘shout-out’, please send an email to jshortavon@aol.com. Read Short Takes online at https://www.cleveland.com/topic/westlake. Follow me on X (Twitter) @jshortavon.

Read more from the West Shore Sun.