September 3, 2023: Willow’s Edge Creations
Willow’s Edge Creations is a new theatre company started by long time friends and new creative partners Mary Miller and Denise Astorino. Willow’s Edge strives to produce theatre with an edge.
August 27, 2023: Adoption Network Cleveland
Adoption Network Cleveland: The Ohio Family Connection is an innovative non-profit organization that fulfills otherwise unmet needs for information, advocacy, education, and support for members of the adoption triad (adoptees, birthparents, and adoptive/kinship/foster parents), youth in foster care, siblings, and related professionals.
https://www.adoptionnetwork.org/
August 20, 2023: Neighborhood Pets
Recognizing the many benefits of the human animal bond, Neighborhood Pets supports people with financial needs by helping them keep their pets in their homes. We do this by providing access to affordable pet care, resources, information and other supportive services. Our welcoming environment is designed to foster trust and create long lasting relationships as we build community.
https://www.neighborhoodpetscle.org/
August 13, 2023: Refugee Response
To make Cleveland home the Refugee Response empowers resettled families to grow roots, supporting them in becoming engaged, self-sufficient and contributing members of their new communities.
https://www.refugeeresponse.org/
August 6, 2023: Cleveland Peace Action
Cleveland Peace Action is a convergence of people committed to ending violence and promoting justice, through education, advocacy and action.
https://www.peaceactioncleveland.org/
July 30, 2023: Project Linus
Project Linus provides handmade blankets to children 0-18 in the United States who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need. With chapters in every state, our blankets are distributed locally.
https://www.projectlinus.org/
July 23, 2023: Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation (OSPF) 988
Suicide has no boundaries. It knows no age. It discriminates against no one. No race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation is exempt. OSPF supports suicide prevention and mental health advocacy efforts. Our work involves connecting all Ohioans with community-based resources that can make a life-saving difference.
https://www.ohiospf.org/donate/
July 16, 2023: Rid-All
We have turned an empty and forgotten piece of land in Cleveland’s Kinsman Neighborhood into an urban farm where we grow produce to bring healthy, local food to area institutions…
https://ridall.org/
July 9, 2023: Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH)
NEOCH exists to eliminate the root causes of homelessness while loving our diverse community through organizing, advocacy, education, and street outreach.
https://www.neoch.org/
July 2, 2023: The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee advances human rights through grassroots collaborations. UUSC advances human rights and social justice around the world, partnering with those who confront unjust power structures and mobilizing to challenge oppressive policies. Our work is grounded in the belief that all people have inherent power and dignity.
https://www.uusc.org/
June 25, 2023: No service at UUCC
Service was held in Pittsburgh at General Assembly
June 18, 2023: DRUUMM (Diverse & Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries)
DRUUMM is a Unitarian Universalist People of Color Ministry and anti-racist collective bringing lay and religious professionals together to overcome racism through resistance and transform Unitarian Universalism through our multicultural experiences. We developed from several older ministries, namely the African American UU Ministries and Jubilee World anti-racism change trainings.
https://www.druumm.org/
June 11, 2023: Cleveland Rape Crisis Center
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center’s mission is to support survivors of rape and sexual abuse, promote healing and prevention, and advocate for social change. Our vision is the elimination of sexual violence.
https://clevelandrapecrisis.org
June 4, 2023: Sierra Club Ohio
Since 1892, the Sierra Club has been working to protect communities, wild places, and the planet itself. We are the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. The Ohio Chapter was established in 1968 and represents more than 125,000 members and supporters.
https://www.sierraclub.org/ohio
May 28, 2023: Franklin D Roosevelt Academy (FDR)
Franklin D. Roosevelt PK – 8 Academy is committed to partnering with families and the community to empower all students to reach their full potential in a safe, supportive, and rigorous environment that emphasizes academic achievement through inquiry-based learning, social responsibility, and emotional resilience. We focus on developing P.R.I.D.E. in our staff and students – Personal Responsibility in Delivering Excellence!
https://www.clevelandmetroschools.org/FDR
May 21, 2023: RFK Camp #271
Royal Family KIDS Camp (For the Children) is an opportunity to foster resiliency, self-esteem, hope, and positive memories with children who have experienced abuse, neglect, or abandonment. We serve children from Lake, Cuyahoga, and Geauga counties. Our camp is sponsored and staffed by people from local churches.
https://www.rfkwilloughbyhills.org/
May 14, 2023: Impact
The IMPACT Youth Enrichment Program is an afterschool prevention program for Shaker Heights Middle School 7th and 8th graders in collaboration with UUCC and the Shaker Heights Youth Center. The program promotes leadership, service, wellness and academics.
https://uucleveland.org/impact-youth-enrichment-program/
May 7, 2023: Planned Parenthood Greater Ohio
Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio provides essential reproductive health care services to generations of Ohioans in our communities. Our caring and knowledgeable staff provide a wide range of services; including testings, treatment, counseling, and referrals.
We believe everyone deserves access to empowered sexual and reproductive health care and education, free from the interference of politicians. The constant political attacks on abortion and what they mean for accessing care can be confusing, but abortion is still legal in Ohio. Our doors are open. We are providing medication and in-clinic abortion care for patients.
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-greater-ohio
April 30, 2023: Plants for UUCC Perennial Garden
New plants are need to fill in the bare spots in the permaculture garden which you see when you enter the church and the apple orchard behind the community garden. Volunteers keep these areas looking beautiful.
https://uucleveland.org/the-permaculture-garden/
https://uucleveland.org/apple-orchard/
April 23, 2023: FaCT (Faith Communities Together for a sustainable Future)
Empowered communities protecting our air, water, and soil, and the health and safety of Ohio families as well as working to mitigate climate change. Educate, Inspire, Advocate, and Organize for a just transition to renewable energy sources and sustainable practices and policies that address the problem of climate change. We are individuals from Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, and other faith communities in Ohio, West Virginia, and some locations in Pennsylvania. We are working together to protect the natural evolved systems of this earth which sustain us all. We draw on the ethical principles of our various moral traditions to preserve and protect the earth’s interconnected web of life. Faith communities represent strong and caring individuals with the power to effect change.
https://www.factohio.org/
April 16, 2023: Faith Choice Ohio
We elevate the moral power of faith communities to expand abortion access and to advance reproductive health, rights, and justice. Through education, advocacy, and counseling, we are committed to empowering advocates for abortion justice & reproductive Freedom.
https://www.faithchoiceohio.org/
April 9, 2023: My Recovery Day
Our mission is to develop and provide follow up support resources to individuals recovering from addictions giving them the help and hope they need for sustainable recovery. Our vision for every individual in addiction recovery is to stay in recovery allowing God to work through their lives providing them with purpose and passion.
https://myrecoveryday.com/
April 2, 2023: Rainey Institute
We’re a non-profit community arts center dedicated to engaging Cleveland’s youth through dance, drama, music, and visual arts. From our board members to our teaching assistants, everyone at Rainey Institute has one goal: to provide a safe and encouraging environment where students gain the life skills necessary to pursue their dreams and achieve success wherever life takes them.
https://www.raineyinstitute.org/who-we-are-2/
March 26, 2023: Upcycle Parts Shop
Upcycle Parts Shop demonstrates environmental sustainability through creative reuse of secondhand materials. Our mission is to Provoke Creativity and Promote Community Through Reuse, Resourcefulness, and Relationships.
https://www.upcyclepartsshop.org/
March 19, 2023: LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland
To enrich the lives of the diverse LGBTQ+ community through advocacy, support, education, and celebration.
https://lgbtcleveland.org/
March 12, 2023: UUCC Racial Justice Leadership Team
The Racial Justice Leadership Team (RJLT) aims to lead the congregation in developing and living out an intentionally anti-racist identity in all aspects of church life, in line with the aspirations of the UUCC Strategic Plan and the adoption of the 8th Principle:
https://uucleveland.org/racial-justice-leadership-team/
March 2, 2023: Greater Cleveland Congregations.
Greater Cleveland Congregations unites people across lines of race, class, religion, and geography to take actions that strengthen and improve the quality of life of our neighborhoods. As a non-partisan organization of faith communities and partner. We are members of over 30 dues-paying congregations and organizations from across Cuyahoga County. We are Christian, Jewish, Muslim and secular. We connect individuals and organizations to multiply our power and mobilize our members by the thousands to make our voices heard to build a better community for all of our residents.
https://www.greaterclevelandcongregations.org/
February 23, 2023: Meals on Wheels.
Meals on Wheels Shaker (MOW) is an independent community service agency whose dedicated volunteers deliver affordable, nutritious meals of superior quality to residents of Shaker Heights, Beachwood and University Heights. This service assists our subscribers in maintaining their health and well-being. We are the key to independent living.
https://www.mealsonwheelsshaker.org/
February 19, 2023: Western Reserve Land Conservancy
Our mission is to provide the people of our region with essential natural assets through land conservation and restoration. We envision thriving, prosperous communities nourished by vibrant natural lands, working farms and healthy cities.
https://www.wrlandconservancy.org/
February 12, 2023: Turkey/Syria Earthquake Relief 2 groups
White Helmet: Help them provide urgent support to Syria’s earthquake survivors. 3000 White Helmets volunteers are on the ground recovering the bodies of the dead so their families can bury them with dignity. Teams are surveying the safety of homes and public buildings, securing sites, removing rubble and reopening roads. UU Service Committee Global Fund for Human Right
February 5, 2023: NE Ohio Black Health Coalition
The Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition is a social justice organization created to address the impact of racism on African American disparities including policy inequities, historical trauma, food insecurity, research, behavioral health and addiction, health promotion by working to empower, educate and advocate for health equity in under-served communities.
https://www.neoblackhealthcoalition.org/
January 29, 2023: Rid-All Green Partnership
Rid-All Green Partnership – Urban agriculture and youth education Growing Food, Creating Jobs, and Building Healthy, Green Neighborhoods
https://ridall.org/
January 22, 2023: Hunger Network
Hunger Network has been working to end hunger and build a
healthier community for over 25 years. As one of Cuyahoga County’s largest
emergency food provider, Hunger Network continues to lead the way through innovation and with nontraditional approaches to serving our neighbors in need.
https://hungernetwork.org/
January 12, 2023: Northeast Ohio Voting Advocates (NOVA)
NOVA is a grassroots organization that believes in expanding voter participation so that all voices are heard in our democracy. Our 501(c)3, non-partisan status allows us access to social service agencies, schools, food pantries and correctional facilities to register voters, conduct voter research, and advocate for voting equity.
https://nova-ohio.org/about-us/
January 8, 2023: Hitchcock Center For Women
mission is to support women and families with substance use issues. Compared to placing a child in the foster care system, we provide our treatment at a fraction of the cost to the community. HCFW provides a stable and supportive environment for mothers and their children to live on our historic campus. We also provide treatment while children are living with a relative, so that a mother receives the support she needs.
https://www.hcfw.org/
January 1, 2023: Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio (UUJO)
Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio (UUJO) is a 501(c)3 organization that serves the 38 UU congregations and fellowships across Ohio. Our mission is to offer education, advocacy and action consistent with Unitarian Universalist liberal religious principles and to witness with and on behalf of marginalized groups and individuals.“ There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives. ” — Audre Lorde
https://uujo.org/
December 24, 2022: Minister’s Discretionary Fund.
Funds to be used by the minister for special needs
https://uucleveland.org/rev-randy-partain/:
December 18, 2022: CityMusic Cleveland’s Children’s Outreach Program
CityMusic teaching artists provide free, high-quality music education experiences to K-4 students in underserved Cleveland schools and communities. These interactive programs tell diverse cultural stories through music, theater, and dance, broadening the lenses through which students experience music and the arts. Each program features professional musicians, dynamic storytelling, and comprehensive curriculum materials for classroom teachers.
CityMusic Cleveland’s Children’s Outreach Program
December 11, 2022: 9 to 5
Women Working for Equal Pay, Power and Participation!
https://9to5.org/
December 4, 2022: Greater Cleveland Food Bank
We work to ensure that everyone in our communities has the nutritious food they need every day.
https://www.greaterclevelandfoodbank.org/
November 27, 2022 UUCC Forum Committee
During Forums That Matter, leading experts and leaders present current, thought-provoking forums on a wide variety of issues that affect us as individuals, the communities in which we live and the world beyond. We have been offering 16 to 20 Forums per year. We do not pay speakers, our funds are used to for needed equipment and advertising.
https://uucleveland.org/community-forums/
November 20, 2022: Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) is a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization advancing human rights together with an international community of grassroots partners and advocates.
https://www.uusc.org/about-uusc/
November 13, 2022: TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors)
TAPS is the national nonprofit organization providing compassionate care and comprehensive resources for all those grieving the death of a military or veteran loved one.
https://www.taps.org/mission
November 6, 2022: Harry’s Kitchen Crew
The members of Harry’s Kitchen Crew like to have fun in the Kitchen while bringing the congregational community together to share their delicious monthly Breakfast-Lunch meal. This donation will help subsidize these community meals.
October 30, 2022: Journey Center for Safety and Healing
Journey Center for Safety and Healing (formerly Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy Center) provides information and services for domestic violence, child abuse and more.
https://www.journeyneo.org/
October 23, 2022: LBGT Community Center of Greater Cleveland
To enrich the lives of the diverse LGBTQ+ community through advocacy, support, education, and celebration. The LGBTQ+ community is embraced and celebrated as an integral part of the thriving Northeast Ohio region.
https://lgbtcleveland.org/
October 16, 2022: Urban Hope
Urban Hope is an Ohio City storefront soup kitchen that area Unitarian churches support. It provides a place for needy neighbors to gather inside for a few hours to eat a meal, talk, play cards and take a shower.
https://uucleveland.org/urban-hope/
October 9, 2022: Unity in Community
The “Unity in Community” Campaign is an initiative of Shaker Heights interfaith congregations, neighborhood groups, and local residents of the city to respond to emergency hunger and food insecurity caused by the COVID-19 crisis. October 2022 will be our 31st month of operations. In consultation with our partners, our leadership team has determined that the Unity in Community Pantry has fulfilled its mission of providing emergency provisions to the hungry during the Covid-19 pandemic. Most importantly our data shows that while food insecurity still exists, it is not at emergency levels seen during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, October 2022 will be our final month of food distributions. They are in the process of changing their focus. These funds will help in their transition.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/unityfoodpantry
October 2, 2022: Kids’ Book Bank
The mission of the Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank is to foster literacy and a love of reading by distributing free books to children in need through collaboration with community partners.
The Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank is working to ensure all kids in Greater Cleveland have books to build their own home libraries. A book in the hands of a child is a magical thing! Reading fuels imaginations, teaches empathy, supports academic achievement, and helps parents build bonds with their kids.
https://www.kidsbookbank.org/
September 25, 2022: Southern Poverty Law Center
The SPLC is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people: Fighting Hate, Learning for Justice, Seeking Justice, and Civil Rights Memorial Center
https://www.splcenter.org/
September 18, 2022: Oxford Community Garden
Oxford Community Garden is located behind Oxford Grade School in Cleveland Heights. First a School Garden in the 1930’s, it is now a Community Garden with diverse membership. For years they have been getting their water from the school. Now, that water connection needs to be updated. For many years UUCC has helped with this garden as members, monetary donation and as volunteers to help with various projects including the sun shelter and permaculture beds. They do not have a website but below is a lovely description of the garden and the Garden Manager.
http://heightsobserver.org/read/2015/06/29/longtime-resident-leads-community-garden-with-wisdom-and-love
September 11, 2022: Drink Local Drink Tap
Drink Local. Drink Tap. Inc. is an international non-profit organization focused on solving water equity and quality issues. We do this through education, advocacy and creating affordable, safe clean water sources and sanitation facilities.
https://drinklocaldrinktap.org/