Help Open Doors Academy go Viral!!

Open Doors Academy March Newsletter

Issue: # 17

March, 2010

Greetings ODA Fans,

It has been a busy few months! Be sure to check out the Open Doors Academy Documentary, produced by Virginia Marti College, and help us share our story and spread our mission!

The Open Doors Kids had their Annual Talent Show Fundraiser on Saturday evening. Bigger than ever, the kids did a phenomenal job on stage, performing together and showing that even rival schools can work together!

Summer is fast upon us and we are gearing up for our summer programs, which will include our Annual Rite of Passage trip for our Alumni to Harlan, Kentucky. We need your help in raising individual sponsorships for those kids whose families can't afford the cost! Please consider helping a child help others this summer!

Sincerest Regards,

Annemarie M. Grassi, M.S.Ed.
Executive Director

Help Open Doors Go Viral!

Thanks to Virginia Marti College for
your time and energy in helping tell the Open Doors Academy Story!

Check out the Open Doors Story
Click here to see us on You Tube

Did You Know...

100% of our parents contribute at minimum 16 hours of service (through parent education classes, parent support groups, family events, volunteering,etc.) each year (Average parent contributes 21 hours of service a year).

SERVICE LEARNING SPONSORSHIPS NEEDED!

The annual Harlan, Kentucky Service Trip is a rite of passage for many of our alumni. It is the reason many of our youth remain in the program for all three years. The opportunity to travel to the Appalachian Mountains to help build homes for families in need has become an annual tradition and a very important part of our curriculum over the last five years. It has become so popular that we have expanded the trip to two weeks during the summer, taking approximately 16 kids each week.

Make no mistake, it is hard work! Youth are awoken at 6:45am each day and work a full seven hours, Monday through Friday. In addition, youth are placed into teams and expected to carry their weight around the cabins. Each team has chores to be completed and take turns preparing meals, cleaning the cabin, and taking care of one another throughout the week. Throughout the week we engage in cultural awareness exercises and experiences, community building, and group processes.

The Harlan Service Learning Trip is not built into the general operating budget for Open Doors and is paid through individual student contribution and corporate scholarships. In order to participate each student must come up with $400 for the full week. This cost covers COAP (Christian Outreach for Appalachian People) administrative fees, food, lodging, and transportation. Open Doors offers full and partial scholarships to youth, based on need and availability of corporate support. As our program has expanded, so have the needs of the families we are serving.

Based on the three new communities we are serving, we are in need of scholarship support to ensure that our youth get the opportunity to participate in this experience. Our goal is to obtain 21 full scholarships, so that each youth gets the opportunity to experience giving back to others.

Please consider providing a scholarship to a student (partial or full) your support would be greatly appreciated. A Full Scholarship is $400 and covers food, transportation, lodging, and administrative fees for COAP.

To scholarship a youth (partial or full), please send a check payable to Open Doors Academy to:

Open Doors Academy
2460 Fairmount Boulevard, Suite 202
Cleveland, Ohio 44106

To set up a scholarship via credit card, please contact our office at (216) 229-1900. If you have any questions, please contact Annemarie Grassi at agrassi@opendoorsacademy.org.

Students in the News

Open Doors Academy
8th Annual Talent Show

On Saturday, March 20th, 2010, Open Doors Academy held its' 8th Annual Talent Show Fundraiser. Despite the several strange looks we received when we told people that we were going to put all four sites together on stage, the event was a true success! The show opened with all four sites performing together, followed by the debut of the Open Doors Documentary. The event continued with individual and group performances and the long anticipated staff performance and ended with the Open Doors Anthem (check it out below) which included all four sites on stage, plus staff. Open Doors received over $4,000 in donated goods, which were raffled out throughout the night, and Dewey's Pizza provided food for our guests. One of our parents, Rachel Truitt, designed all of the props, and one of our students, Cammie Truitt, designed all of the student t-shirts and program. Due to the increase in the number of families we serve, Open Doors moved the event to Cleveland Heights High School Auditorium, which allowed us to welcome approximately 400 guests! The event was a huge success and with the support of our families, community members, and stakeholders, we raised $8,000 to support student programming!

To check out the student commercials, visit our facebook page or Click Here.

Open Doors Academy Wish List

As Open Doors has quickly grown and expanded this year, we are in need of a few office materials for our newly expanded staff. If you have new or gently used furniture that you would be interested in donating, please contact us at (216) 229-1900:

Large Conference Table that seats 16-20 (or large tables that can be made into a conference table)
Chairs for conference table
Two Small Desks
Lateral or Vertical Filing Drawers with Locks
Vacuum Cleaner
Refrigerator

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

Open Doors Academy Anthem
(Sung to the beat of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air)

Now here is a story all about why
I joined Open Doors to change my life
so I'd like to take a minute, just sit right down
and I'll tell you all how we runs this town...

In Northeast Ohio, I was born and raised
as a teen I found myself kinda bored most days
Chillin' out, maxin', and tryin' to be cool
never really doing much after school
when I heard of a place where teens had lots of fun!
Went on field trips and got their homework done!

I told my parents I needed to find out more
They said let's go meet the people at Open Doors.

I met the whole staff and it became clear
that I could learn a whole lot if I came here!
If anything I could say I tried something new
and my family told me this will be good for you!

I enrolled in the program and I couldn't wait
met some cool new friends and now life is great!
My grades are improving, I can finally say
that I'm doing my thing at Open Doors today!