FutureHeights hosted a virtual celebration of our 2021 Neighborhood Mini-Grant award recipients on Wednesday, December 8. The mini-grant program started in 2015 and has supported 61 projects with almost $41,000 invested in Cleveland Heights and University Heights resident-lead projects. This celebration featured our 2021 recipients sharing about their projects and provided information about how you can get involved in this inspiring and uplifting program, currently available to all Cleveland Heights and University Heights residents.

HUGE THANKS to our outstanding panelists, the FutureHeights Mini-Grant Committee, the Cedars Legacy Fund, and the McGinty Family Foundation 1989 — and to all of the community members who joined us virtually to celebrate our 2021 grant recipients!

For more information about the program, reach out to Sarah (swolf@futureheights.org) or visit https://www.futureheights.org/programs/community-building-programs/

View the celebration on YouTube:

FutureHeights is seeking dedicated Heights residents to serve on one of our committees or board of directors.

FutureHeights committees include the Heights Observer Advisory, Civic Engagement, Planning & Development, FutureHomes, Heights Music Hop, and Fundraising/Marketing/Membership.

Each committee typically meets once per month at the discretion of the chair. Board terms are for three years beginning Jan. 1. The board meets on the third Wednesday every other month, and board members serve on at least one committee.

We are particularly looking for residents who have talents in law, financial services and fundraising, and who reflect the diversity of our community with respect to race, age, gender identification, income, disabilities and neighborhood location.

To learn more, send an e-mail to info@futureheights.org.

WE DID IT!  WE REACHED OUR GOAL!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the ioby campaign for the Noble-ity Bench Project.  We are so thrilled to see this project move forward and your donations help make that possible.  This campaign remains open until November 12th if you’d like to show additional support.

FutureHeights is excited to announce that Sarah Wolf has joined our team in the capacity of Community-Building Programs Manager where she will manage several community-building programs, including the Neighborhood Mini-Grants, Neighborhood Leadership Workshop Series and Heights Music Hop, as well as provide communication and grant-writing support for FutureHeights programs and one-on-one assistance to neighborhood leaders. A Cleveland Heights resident, Sarah is a recent graduate of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences graduate program at Case Western Reserve University. She completed her field placement with FutureHeights in 2019-20, was our Americorps Summer VISTA, managed our Neighborhood Mini-Grant program in early 2021, and has continued to volunteer on our Civic Engagement Committee.  We are delighted welcome her back!

The Mayoral Candidates’ Forum hosted by the League of Women Voters and FutureHeights is available to on YouTube at https://youtu.be/yecXN8e9quc or on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/102981531903226/videos/516602742977900. Here all three candidates for Cleveland Heights mayor answer questions from the public.

Many thanks for joining us at the FutureHeights annual meeting on June 9. It was great to see so many people and reconnect. We were pleased to share what’s been happening at FutureHeights. We were also pleased to welcome Professor J. Mark Southern to speak about the history of civic engagement in the Heights. See a video of the meeting here.

Congratulations to Jason and Danielle Tilk of Wizbang Circus Theatre for winning an additional $250 for their FutureHeights Neighborhood Mini-Grants project, a summer camp for youth!

Heights Music Hop is back! The event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 18, on outdoor stages in the Cedar Lee Business District.

We are looking for musicians to perform original music at the event. Submit an application before July 1 at www.heightsmusichop.com.

Want to volunteer at the event? Let us know at  http://www.heightsmusichop.com/volunteer-2/.

We, the Board of FutureHeights, along with our community and nation, held our breath and prayed for accountability on April 20 as we awaited the verdict regarding the murder of George Floyd. A momentary sigh of relief followed, as we witnessed the justice system beginning to take responsibility for George Floyd and his family in what felt like the first time in this country’s history.

The sigh of relief was in fact momentary, as we learned about still more deaths of African Americans at the hands of police, including Adam Toledo and Ma’Khia Bryant.

Although we acknowledge a step forward, we realize that this will not bring back George Floyd or the countless other African American lives lost as a result of racism.

While we pray and hope to see accountability and change in our society, we continue to work toward social justice and equity as core values of our organization. We will listen and learn, and work to incorporate these values in all aspects of the work of FutureHeights.

FutureHeights wants to hear from you about how you view your neighborhood. On April 29, at 7 p.m., FutureHeights will host “Shared Space: What Makes a Neighborhood?” via Zoom.

The forum will explore the various neighborhoods in Cleveland Heights and University Heights, what makes them unique, and how residents and neighbors can best help them thrive.

Elizabeth Kirby, superintendent of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, will provide opening remarks. Then, participants will split into small breakout groups to discuss a series of questions about their neighborhoods: How do you define your neighborhood? What unique assets does it have? What do you want the broader community to know about your neighborhood? Participants will then come back together to share information with the entire group.

Register in advance here. Questions? Contact us 216-320-1423 or info@futureheights.org.

FutureHeights is grateful to its members and donors who have made navigating the challenges of 2020 possible. Learn more by reading this year’s Annual Report.