FutureHeights awards mini-grants to three CH projects

Heights Performing Arts Camp participants  performed at the Alma Theatre in Cain Park in 2017.

FutureHeights completed the spring 2019 round of its Neighborhood Mini-Grants Program, approving $2,415 in grants to support three neighborhood projects in Cleveland Heights. The grants are intended to spur small, grassroots projects to improve quality of life and build community.

FutureHeights awarded the Cleveland Heights Aging Well at Home Initiative $720. Residents of the Forest Hill neighborhood developed a guide of resources for Cleveland Heights residents who have chosen to age at home or who are living at home with disabilities. The group developed the guide to assist their neighbors in navigating service providers. To learn more and access the guide, visit www.futureheights.org/our-community/neighborhood-organizations/.

FutureHeights awarded Maple, Crest, Wood, & Parkhill Neighbors $945 for the Millikin Playground Enhancements project. Residents of Maple, Crest, Wood, and Parkhill roads began working together to strengthen their sense of community by identifying issues within their neighborhood that would benefit from coordinated efforts, activities and problem solving. As a result, the group has chosen to focus on improving the public space and playground at the former Millikin Elementary School building. The project will add enhancements to the space through public art and gardening. The group hopes to create a space that will build community by facilitating people meeting others from this diverse neighborhood with whom they might not otherwise interact.

FutureHeights awarded Heights Performing Arts Camp $750 for its 2019 camp. Three years ago, a group of Cleveland Heights parents envisioned creating a performing arts camp to bring together kids from each elementary school in the CH-UH school district to help prepare them for middle school. The parents reached out to Ensemble Theatre, which has a commitment to non-traditional casting, culturally diverse programming, and educational/outreach activities impacting youth and underserved populations. As a result, Heights Performing Arts Camp (HPAC) was born. What distinguishes HPAC from most other theater camps is that it is made available at no cost, thus removing possible barriers to participation. The camp emphasizes developing the creative abilities of learners while also strengthening literacy, teamwork, and problem solving. To learn more visit www.ensembletheatrecle.org/heightsperformingartscamp/.

To learn more about these and past mini-grant projects, visit www.futureheights.org/community-building-programs.

The FutureHeights Neighborhood Mini-Grants Program awards grants of up to $1,000 to fund citizen-led neighborhood projects, events and activities that benefit Cleveland Heights. The program is guided by a grant-making committee comprising seven Cleveland Heights residents with a history of community involvement.

If you have an idea to improve your neighborhood, FutureHeights invites you to apply for a grant. The next application deadline is Sept. 15 at 5 p.m. For more information, e-mail sbasu@futureheights.org or call 216-320-1423.

Sruti Basu

Sruti Basu is the director of community-building programs at FutureHeights.

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Volume 12, Issue 5, Posted 10:30 AM, 05.02.2019