Leading Ladies make a difference one hour at a time

Cleveland Heights High School's Leading Ladies gained media attention last month for a service project with Angel Hands Northeast Ohio International. While gathering supplies for gift baskets that would be presented to pregnant teens, the students sorted and organized clothing for distribution to the needy.

Leading Ladies will return to Angel Hands in May to clean and sort eyeglasses that will be delivered to Ghana this summer as a part of the Angel Hands Eyeglasses to Africa initiative. The ladies also raised funds to pay for the cost of shipping the glasses to Africa. 

Leading Ladies emphasizes self-esteem, civility and service, and has completed several service projects this year. The ladies collaborated with the CH-UH Parent Teachers Association to bring to the community a Mind, Body & Soul Wellness Challenge that featured more than 30 health professionals from the Greater Cleveland Area.  They volunteered with the Cleveland Heights High School Parent Connection Council at the New Parent Welcome and Soul Food Dinner, and have ongoing service projects with the Cleveland Food Bank and Oxford Elementary After-School program. 

“Respect…Accept Nothing Less” was the theme of the group’s final community outreach program for the school year. A Blue Ribbon Violence Prevention Campaign aimed at combating violence in dating relationships was held from April 1–21. Leading Ladies created an informational brochure that was distributed, along with blue ribbons, to students and staff at Cleveland Heights High School. They also held a cell phone drive to benefit the Domestic Violence Center. 

The campaign culminated with an interactive Violence Prevention Summit in which guest speaker Melissa McClain, of Akron Children’s Hospital’s RESPECT PERIOD, clearly conveyed the message to Northeast Ohio teens that violence in relationships is never acceptable. 

This school year, Leading Ladies has volunteered more than 600 hours of service in the community. The ladies exemplify, Gandhi's maxim that, “change begins with one individual,” and have as their goal to make a difference, one hour at a time.

Leading Ladies Inc. is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization. The Cleveland Heights High School empowerment group is facilitated by founder Sabrina L. Humphries, Melissa Walls, Myra Cook and Kim Kravitz-Lash.