No Summer Vacation for Hunger

Time away from school during summer months brings an end to school-funded meal programs. These programs provide children with healthy, filling meals that they have come to rely.  Children experience hunger over summer months because their families lack the ability and resources to make up the deficit from missing these school-provided breakfasts and lunches. The Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland is working to fill this void and we need your help to feed these hungry children.

Nelly lives at home with her grandma and attends school in Cleveland. During the school year, she is provided breakfast and lunch, but in the summer her grandma must somehow supply these extra meals for her. Nelly’s grandmother has been coming to the Hunger Network on-and-off since 2006, ever since a heart-attack left her disabled and unable to work. The Network food pantry gives her nutritious emergency food to help keep them from being hungry.

Throughout the summer, Nelly volunteers at the Redeemer Crisis Center which is part of the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland. Nelly chooses to spend her time at Redeemer to stay safe and off of the streets; she doesn't want to be negatively influenced by her peers.  Her grandmother is so thankful that Nelly volunteers at the center because she thinks it helps her stay focused and teaches her how to work with different kinds of people. Nelly has big goals for her future; she dreams of one day being a forensic scientist.

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Hunger Network- 4 out of 4 Star Honor!

It's time to celebrate here at the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland! It is with great pride I announce our receipt of the coveted 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America's leading independent charity evaluator. Charity Navigator works to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health, accountability and transparency of 6,000 of America's largest charities.

As you can probably tell, this is a pretty big deal and our entire team could not be more excited for this privilege. Earning this desirable 4-star rating by Charity Navigator means the Hunger Network has notable fiscal management and commitment to accountability and transparency. Receiving 4 out of 4 stars is commendable, especially when it has been accomplished for a second consecutive year by our organization. This puts us in a category with only 17% of America’s charities, a rare feat achieved by the few adhering to good governance and other best practices....pretty awesome, huh?!

“This ‘exceptional’ designation from Charity Navigator differentiates the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland from its peers and demonstrates to the public it is worthy of their trust,” said Ken Berger, President and Chief Executive Officer of Charity Navigator.

As more and more non-profits appear in the Cleveland community, donors are demanding more accountability from the non-profits to which they fund. Our supporters want certainty that their hard-earned dollars are donated to successful charities that reliably execute its mission in a financially responsible way.

The Hunger Network can provide that confidence as they are able to give 94 cents of every dollar donated towards their programs, leaving only 6% towards administrative costs. As many of you know, we are the largest hunger relief program in Cuyahoga County, dispensing
75% of all emergency food in our community.

This 4-star rating from Charity Navigator of the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland allows our supporters to give with confidence! You can rest assure that every $1 donated will provide 4 meals at a hunger center, allowing our creditable organization to feed over 60,000 Clevelanders every month.

Thank you to Charity Navigator for this honor, and thank you to our donors for their continued support!

ROTR Kick-Off Happy Hour Party!

Plans for the 7th Annual Rolling on the River are well-underway! The Friends Committee of the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland is very excited for the casino-themed party to be held on Friday, September 20th at Windows on the River. Please mark your calendar for this event!

In fact, the Friends are so excited for ROTR '13, they have decided to host a Kick-Off Happy Hour Party this Thursday! These young professionals are so energetic, sometimes it's hard for me to keep up! Meet & mingle with the Friends and learn more about Rolling on the River, as well as the Hunger Network! The Kick-Off Happy Hour Party will be hosted at Reddstone in Battery Park at 1261 West 76th Street in Cleveland.

While networking, enjoy complimentary appetizers from Reddstone, drink specials, raffles PLUS Reddstone’s amazing patio and cornhole! Our fingers are crossed for good weather.

Glenn Anderson & Allan Fee of Q104's Fee's Kompany are ROTR '13's Celebrity Hosts and will also be in attendance on Thursday! Swing by to meet them and roll the dice for your chance to 2 tickets to a concert at Blossom on July 17th featuring Train/The Script/Gavin DeGraw [donated from Q104].
In addition, the Friends Committee will also be selling tickets to Rolling on the River with a $5 per ticket discount! If you purchase at that Kick-Off Happy Hour Party, you can snag your tickets for only $54 vs. $59! That includes everything for the party - dinner, drinks, gaming, entertainment and more!

Can you believe it, all this fun wrapped up into 1 night?!

You won't want to miss either event! Mark your calendar for this Thursday, June 27th - all of our Friends hope to see you there!!

And, don't worry Cavs fans! The NBA Draft doesn't start until 8pm that night...plenty of time for fun with our Friends before that 'tips off!' Go Cavs!!

Planting Day at the Mange Garden!

Saturday, May 11th was a special day at Crocker Park's North Union Farmer's Market - it was Planting Day in the Mange Garden.
I went along with a group of kids from the Garden Valley Hunger Center who volunteered their time and energy, to plant vegetables that will soon be donated to our hunger centers on the west side of Cleveland. The Crocker Park Team welcomed us to the Mange Garden that morning and we quickly got started planting all sorts of fruits and veggies like: cantaloupe, lettuce and onions, oh my! There was a separate area for oodles of tomato plants and an area for cucumbers - yum!

We learned about the importance of nutrition and how beneficial fresh veggies and fruits are to our daily diets. After planting all morning, we had worked up quite an appetite. Crocker Park treated us to lunch outside of Liquid Planet, and we enjoyed it under the sunshine!

This new partnership with Crocker Park's Mange Garden is in support of the Hunger Network's Garden for Giving. The Garden for Giving program was created approximately 3 years ago and continues to grow. Fresh fruits and vegetables are one of the most difficult food items to get into the hands of our clients, but most important to a nutritious diet. The program's goal was to establish gardens at hunger centers that had enough land, a water source and the volunteers to run the garden. For the centers that are not able to host their own gardn, we are working hard to establish connections with local community gardens, such as the Mange Garden.

The Mange Garden hopes to donate over 1,000 pounds of fresh produce to the Hunger Network this year. We are so grateful for their support!

You can visit the Mange Garden during Crocker Park's North Union Farmer's Market - every Saturday from 9:00am-1:00pm. More information on the Farmer's Market can be found at http://www.crockerpark.com/events/family-activities/information/north-union-farmers-market

Celebrating 25 Years!

It's hard to believe the 25th Annual Majestic Steel Walk for Hunger was 10 days ago - but, what a wonderful day it was! Last Saturday, although a tad chilly, we gathered to celebrate this anniversary and continue the tradition of walking to raise funds and awareness for the hungry in our community. 

It was a jam-packed morning full of fun as we welcomed all walkers with breakfast provided by Earthfare and Marc’s and entertainment from the St. Ignatius Circus Company and Cleveland Gladiators Goddesses. Our annual Kick-Off Ceremony was lead by 19 Action News Ed Gallek and Jason Handman.  They had a lil’ help from the Cleveland Cavaliers Moondog and Sir CC. Sir CC has already posted pictures from the event at http://www.flickr.com/photos/cavs_sircc/sets/72157633495494374/. [More photos to come in the next week!]

During the Kick-Off Ceremony we were honored with a proclamation from Mayor Frank Jackson’s Office announcing May 11, 2013 “WALK FOR HUNGER DAY” throughout the City of Cleveland. It was such a privilege to have Karen Butler, Director of Public Health, there to present the proclamation to our Executive Director/CEO, Dana Irribarren.

Dana then presented the Legends Awards to 25 very special honorees from the 24-year history of the Walk for Hunger. The Legends were chosen because of their hard work and strong commitment and dedication over the years... helping feed our communities most vulnerable citizens.

*We have 3 wonderfully supported companies who were among the first sponsors and continue to support the event today: Dominion East Ohio, The Plain Dealer and Baker Hostetler.

*We honored past and present Team Captains, as it is such an important role in the success of the Walk for Hunger each year: Fred Schulze of the Thrivent Team, Hank Doll of the Fairmount Presbyterian Church Team, Mary Levtzow of the Lutheran Team, Ogie White of the Presbytery Team and the late Ingrid Matz of the Mayfield United Methodist Team.

*We also awarded walkers and volunteers that have helped build the event to what it is today: Jerry Hoegner, Bob Long, Jeannette Throne, Dee Whitzler, Nancy Wheaten, Diane Zellmer, Mr. Hero, Marc's, Orlando Baking Company, Burt Saltzman, Dave's  Supermarkets, and the late, Grace Blum.

             *And finally, we wouldn’t be able to draw the vibrant crowd that we do without our amazing Media Sponsors: Emily Davis, WUAB-43 & WOIO-19, WMJI Majic 105.7, Ed Gallek & Jeff Tanchak

After warming up with the ladies of Jazzercise we were off on a venture throughout Downtown Cleveland! It was a 3 mile walk and walkers were able to see all of the exciting additions to our city. We ended at Voinovich Park on the East 9th Street Pier for a 25th Birthday Celebration. As walkers crossed the Finish Line, we were greeted by the CSU Cheerleaders and Rudi, the official mascot for the Cleveland Gladiators.

We enjoyed lunch from Mr. Hero and celebrated with an awesome popcorn Birthday Cake from Campbell’s Sweets Factory. We danced to music from Majic 105.7 and they even brought their prize wheel for folks to win cool stuff! There was a tent for crafting donated by PatCatan’s and the Red Bull Wings Team was passing out free samples. It was such a fun afternoon and all came to an end way too quickly. 

By the end of the month we will have the opportunity to announce the total money raised – donations are still coming in to the office and we welcome them! At this time, we will also announce all of the winners! Teams have the opportunity to win $200 gift cards to Petitti Garden Center and individual walkers that raised of a minimum of $250 for the Hunger Network qualify for a raffle with some pretty stellar prizes from Legacy Village, Liquid Planet, Mitchell’s Ice Cream and more!

We are so grateful for all of our walkers and volunteers! We cannot thank our Walk Committee enough for all of their hard work preparing for this day over the past year – especially the Committee Chair, Chris Szuch and our Honorary Chair, Jonathan Leebow of Majestic Steel USA.

The event would not have been possible without our sponsors:
Title Sponsor: Majestic Steel USA
Platinum Sponsors: Baker Hostetler, Conway Family Foundation, Dominion, Marc’s
Diamond Sponsor: University Hospitals       
Gold Sponsors: Dave’s Supermarket, Third Federal Bank, Wells Fargo
Bronze Sponsors: Lutheran Urban Community Ministry, AK Steel Foundation, Jay Auto Group
Media Sponsors: CBS 19 and MY 43, WMJI Majic 105.7, Cleveland Magazine, the Plain Dealer
Prize Sponsors: Petitti Garden Centers, Panera, Liquid Planet, Legacy Village
Meal Sponsors: Mr. Hero, Earthfare, Marc’s, Nestle Waters, New World Ideas and Inventions, TLC Spring Water, Campbell’s Sweets Factory

 






We cannot wait for the 26th Annual Walk for Hunger- mark your calendars now for
 Saturday May 10th, 2014!  

25 Day Countdown!

Tomorrow marks the 25-day countdown until the 25th Annual Majestic Steel Walk for Hunger... whoa, that was a mouthful! But, such an exciting day!!

I can’t wait for the Majestic Steel Walk for Hunger on Saturday, May 11th – it's going to be such a great day for this community to unite together and raise awareness for such an important cause to stop hunger in its tracks. And, it's so comforting to know that we are supported by our neighbors here in Cleveland.

In fact, the Mayor’s Office has proclaimed Saturday, May 11, 2013 "Walk for Hunger" Day here in Cleveland – pretty cool, huh?! The Mayor’s Office will be presenting the proclamation at the Kick-Off Ceremony the morning of the Walk for Hunger, you won’t want to miss that! The Kick-Off Ceremony starts at 9:30am.

AND - Terminal Tower is one of our partners this year! Tomorrow evening, Tuesday, April 16th - at dusk, Terminal Tower will glow red in support of 25-day countdown until the 25th

Annual Majestic Steel Walk for Hunger!! Make sure to check it out if you’re Downtown – or on twitter by following @TowerLightsCLE .

It’s going to be a special night and beautiful scene for the Hunger Network and their supporters!

HNGC's Newest Blogger- Meet Andy!

Hello Everyone! My name is Andy the Apple, and I couldn't be more stoked to be the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland's newest blogger. It comes with high expectations and lots of responsibility, but I'm up for the challenge and thrilled to share all of our exciting news with you, our dedicated supporters.

Hard to believe that it's already April...but, the first quarter of 2013 has flown by and was loaded with fun!

Here at the Hunger Network, we've been B-U-S-Y!

January's focus was wrapping up our Annual Appeal - and guess what, we met our goal of raising over $600,000! We are so thankful for all who contributed to this campaign - your support is invaluable.

February brought 2 firsts for me!

1.) I got to go to my first Cleveland Cavaliers Game! They hosted our first annual Hunger Network Night with the Cavs. They made a donation to our organization and I got to hang out at the game....All for One, and One for All - Go Cavs!

2.) I attend my very first Friends Committee Meeting - this was an awesome experience as I was able to meet a very special group of dedicated individuals supporting the Hunger Network. The Friends Committee consists of 22 young professionals in Cleveland, almost like a junior board for our organization. They host an annual fundraiser each Fall called Rolling on the River; the casino-themed party draws a crowd of over 350 people and it is not done growing. This year's event will be the 7th annual Rolling on the River and Robyn, the Friends Committee Chair, is anticipating a sold-out crowd!

This is me and Robyn in the photo above. You all better mark your calendar for this party, you won't want to miss it on Friday, September 20th!

March came and went so quickly as everyone in the Development Department as been busy bees preparing for the 25th Annual Walk for Hunger...that's right, I said 25th Annual!! The Walk for Hunger is one of Cleveland's longest-running local walks. We are honored to be preparing for such an important event. We hope to see all of you there on Saturday, May 11th Downtown Cleveland.

We held our annual Community Kick-Off for the Walk for Hunger at the Hard Rock Cafe Cleveland - it was an awesome night! We had our biggest crowd ever of eager and enthusiastic Team Captains and Walkers....so pumped for May 11th, you won't want to miss it!!

More to come on our Walk for Hunger!

And, be sure to follow this blog to stay up-to-date with the latest Hunger Network information!