Eastside Welcome Club
Welcoming Newcomers to Cleveland's East Side

Our Mission

2010-2011 Charities

Cleveland Foodbank

We are delighted to announce that our charity for this year is the Cleveland Foodbank. The Foodbank’s mission is to alleviate hunger by providing food and support to community organizations that feed the hungry. The Cleveland Foodbank was incorporated in 1979 to serve as a resource for both members of the food industry with excess food and local charities in need of food for their clients. The Foodbank solicits donations of both fresh and nonperishable foods, sorts and repackages these foods or prepares them as complete meals, and then distributes them to more than 500 hot meal programs, food pantries, shelters, children’s programs, and other nonprofit organizations in six Northeast Ohio counties. In 2009 the Cleveland Foodbank distributed 27.3 million pounds of food and through their partner hunger centers, served 223,700 men, women, and children in Northeast Ohio.

Many of you who regularly attend our luncheons are aware that the annual Chinese raffle and the monthly door prize raffle help us raise money for the selected EWC charity. This year, instead of a monthly door prize raffle at the luncheon, we are going to hold a 50/50 drawing. What’s that? Well, for every raffle ticket sold, 50% of the proceeds will go to the Cleveland Food Bank and the other 50% will be given to the winner of the raffle. That’s right, you stand the opportunity to walk away with cash if you buy raffle tickets at the luncheons!

We are also going to give our members who do not regularly attend luncheons the opportunity to get involved and to help. Each time you attend an activity, you are invited to bring a non-perishable food item and/or donate the loose change floating around in your purse. You know, the stuff that is at the very bottom and makes your purse feel like it weighs 10 pounds. Neither of these is mandatory for you to participate in the activity, but we just thought that ALL of our EWC members would like to participate. So get ready to get rid of your loose change and help us make a difference for the Cleveland Food Bank!

2009-2010 Charities

Flying Horse Farms

This year the Board has chosen to continue our fund-raising efforts on behalf of a new and exciting camp for children with serious illnesses, Flying Horse Farms. Situated 90 minutes from Cleveland on nearly 200 acres in Mt. Gilead, Ohio, this magical camp is designed to inspire children to reach beyond their diseases through safe adventure at no charge to the campers’ families. Flying Horse Farms will deliver year-round experiences at its custom designed facility in 2010, while providing off-site camp opportunities until then.

Flying Horse Farms will serve up to 2500 children and families of all ages each year with arthritis, severe asthma, cancer, gastrointestinal diseases, heart disease, hemophilia and related blood disorders and sickle cell disease. Its on-site, first-class medical facility will be staffed by nurses and doctors from area hospitals. It will be commonplace for a child to receive treatments, daily infusions or medications at the camp, allowing thousands of children to attend camp who otherwise would be unable.

Flying Horse Farms was founded by Jenni and David Belford, and is a provisional member of the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, the world-wide network founded by Shaker Heights native Paul Newman. Flying Horse Farms’ name is inspired by the storybook The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown, in which a “golden flying horse” was the weather vane on a farm where children and animals played freely.

Until the camp is built and fully functional in 2010, off-site camp programs will be run such as Flying Horse Away, an initiative that has sent 150 campers to other Hole in the Wall camps since 2006. Additionally, an innovative hospital outreach program designed to introduce Flying Horse Farms to potential campers, families and health care providers will bring the spirit of camp to children in the hospital in 2008. You can learn more about the camp by visiting its website: www.flyinghorsefarms.org.

The Domestic Violence Center

The Domestic Violence Center offers a safe place for women and children who have been the victims of domestic violence. The Center is in great need of personal items. Many women leave home with nothing but the clothes on their back. If you would like to bring an item to the luncheons for distribution at the center, we will take these items to the center just before Christmas and again in May. If, at any other time during the year, you would like to contribute, please drop off any donations to Susan Ross. Items needed by the Domestic Violence Center include (New items only please): Coffee, toiletries, baby items (diapers, bottles, wipes), travel size soap and toothpaste, Tylenol, cold medicine, Tums, cough syrup, cleaning supplies, sweat pants, tee shirts, tampons, socks and underwear, towels and washcloths.