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A year full of success!
Over 124 women and children have resided at THI in 2009
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26 families and 64 children participated in our family program
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79% of the women leaving THI obtained employment and a stable income
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75% attained stable housing
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98% increased their skills through training and education |
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WISH LIST
Paint (neutral colors)
Apartment sized refrigerators
and stoves
"Green" cleaning products
Bathroom and kitchen faucet fixtures
Floor tile
Toiletry items such as packages
of toilet paper, facial tissues, hand sanitizer, new bottles of hand soap and shampoo.
Diapers
New educational children's toys
and games
A child size table and four chairs
Gently used furniture and dishes
A strong volunteer available
once a week to help with pick up
of furniture donations
Copy paper and flash drives
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SAVE THE DATE!
Founders Day Luncheon
Friday, May 21, 2010
at the Marriott Downtown at Key Center.
Our guest speaker is
Patrice Gaines
Writer, Motivational Speaker, Activist!
Individual Tickets are $70 and are currently available by calling Shawna Hofstetter at
216-781-2250 x24.
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Walk to End Homelessness...One Step at a Time
More details to follow, but mark your calendar for Saturday, November 20th. We'll be at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo for a day of awareness and fun! |
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THANK YOU Lutheran Hospital Nursing Staff!
The Nursing staff at Lutheran Hospital made a very generous donation this year in honor of Mary Kennedy! Mary has been a member of the THI board for many years, but her full time job is as the VP of Operations for Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Executive. This generous gift was a great way to honor Mary for all of her years of service! Our sincere thanks to all who contributed. |
MORE HOLIDAY CHEER!
Megan and Caroline Auzenbergs have always enjoyed working with those in need. They have been active for many years spending time with homeless children in the Interfaith Hospitality Network and wanted to do more.
They truly believe Christmas is about giving, not receiving. Their hope this year was to make Christmas special for the children in the Transitional Housing program by ensuring that they all had presents to open. They established Christmas Is For Kids, a non-profit organization. Thanks to the generosity of businesses in their community, they were able to raise enough money and gifts to provide at least one present and one craft kit to each of the Transitional Housing children. It was important to them that the gifts they provided were wrapped so that the children could have the element of surprise and the joy of unwrapping a gift as opposed to choosing an unwrapped one. They also worked tirelessly with a list provided to them by Ms. Jackson, to ensure that each child received a gift that was age appropriate.
Their efforts paid off when they were able to deliver their gifts in time for the Transitional Housing Family Christmas party. Megan and Caroline were able to escort the children through "Santa's Workshop" and help them chose their gifts.
Megan and Caroline would like to thank the following businesses for their generosity in providing donations or allowing them to place collection jars in their locations:
Bonne Bell Cosmetics, Lakewood, OH
Danny Boy's Restaurant, Rocky River, OH
Mitchell's Ice Cream
Rocky River, OH
Pat Catan's
Westlake, OH
River Oaks Athletic Club
Rocky River, OH
Serpentini Chevy
Strongsville, OH | |
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 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
January is already almost gone, but we have begun the year celebrating much success...
CHANGE IS GOOD...and very exciting!
As you have probably noticed we are beginning to look a bit different. We are nearing the completion of our new look, feel and presentation to the community. We have a new logo, which shows our growth and represents the transformation of the lives of our women. We will soon launch our new website, and you will see big changes in our letterhead, our business cards, and our other marketing materials. A very generous gift from the William J. and Dorothy K. O'Neill Foundation provided us this wonderful opportunity and we want to thank them for helping us make this exciting transformation!
We are also transforming parts of our program in new ways. We are starting to expand and diversify our SOAR program, which trains our participants to think about job skills and explore new opportunities for employment. One way that we will do this is to start our new business, run by our participants, which will generate new resources for our program at THI. Keep an eye on our website as we launch "ButterFly Wishes," a gift basket company! More details will be coming soon.
We are also changing how we are communicating with our friends and donors. With this issue, you will begin to see bi-monthly e-newsletters which will keep you better informed of our program highlights, events and activities and much more. We hope you will use this as an opportunity to help us reach out to new friends and donors by passing it along.
As always, we are grateful to each and everyone who touches a life at THI. You may be a financial donor, an in-kind donor, or a volunteer who gives of your time. EACH AND EVERY one of these kind gestures makes you an integral part of our family, and for that we enter a new year with thanks and gratitude.
We look forward to making this a prosperous year!
With best wishes,
Sherri Brandon
Executive Director
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THI was home this holiday season for 62 women and 12 children who live here at our facility, and many other women and children who resided here during 2009. We LOVE the holidays, as it's always a time of excitement for both the residents and staff!
To make the holidays special, we do as any home does; we decorated, we celebrated and we exchanged gifts. Each and every woman and their children, whether they live at THI or in other foster homes, deserved a great Christmas, and we gave them just that!
Many, many people make the holidays special at THI and we will be forever grateful to all of them. Many of our ladies are away from family and friends, but at THI, you can always find "family!"
Our heartfelt thanks to these individuals and families:
Denise DiArmante', Anne Esarove, Nancy Gibson, Laverne Hayes, Jeanette Hill, Vanessa Hinton, Wanda Jackson, Kevin Madell, Linda Richter, Gracie Riggins, Mary Roesh, Jeanne Sabol, Beth Shiekh, The Beman Family, The Bonder Family, The Knight Family, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Harvey, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Gerber, The Martin Family, The Perkins Family and The Schneider Family.
Groups who participated in the holiday activities included:
Affinity Baptist Church, Apple Core, Beach Club Bistro, Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, Church of St. Leo the Great, Dick Clough's Tour of Good Cheer, DFAS, Dillards, Herold's Salads, Herbruck Alder, J. Pistones Market & Gathering Place, Lucky's Cafe, MaxPack, MOXIE The Restaurant, Old Stone Church, Rosenberg Advertising, S. Rose Company, St. Christopher's Church, St. Ignatius, St. Joseph's Academy, The Woods Restaurant and Trolley Tours of Cleveland.*
If you want to join in our celebration next year, we would love to have you! You can contribute gifts for the women or their children. You can donate food, cookies or other goodies to share for the holidays. You can help us by cooking and bringing a meal or coming in to help prepare a holiday meal with our residents. You can financially support us through specially marked gifts for the holidays, directed to either general needs or holiday wishes!
However you want to contribute, we welcome you with open hearts! Your gift will make our Christmas and holiday celebrations more memorable.
Once again, our sincere thanks to ALL who make the 2009 holidays a great and memorable time! |
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT - Health and Wellness
Engaging women in their health is a continuing focus of our Health & Wellness Program. Nursing students from Cuyahoga Community College provide on-site classes for THI residents, including a nutritious lunch!
"The Health and Wellness Program has helped me to be more concerned about my body. I have learned about a lot of health concerns that I was not aware of. It's a blessing..."
Meetri-a THI resident
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Our Annual Campaign was a success!
Contributions to this year's annual campaign were MOST appreciated and our "last call" for gifts was met with great generosity! As funding sources continued to provide challenges to us throughout the year, we counted more on individual gifts to support our program.
If you made a gift to the 2009 campaign, PLEASE ACCEPT OUR HEARTFELT THANKS!
As always, we accept donations throughout the year, so if you'd like to start your year off, making a difference in the life a woman working to become an independent and self-sufficient member of our community, please send your check, made payable to Transitional Housing, Inc., to 1545 W. 25th Street, Cleveland, OH 44113.
We are also starting our "Monthly Giving" program in 2010. You can simply provide us with a credit card number and an amount which you would like to contribute each month. At the beginning of each month, we will charge your card for that amount, and send you a receipt. It's THAT EASY to give, and your gift will make a difference each and every month!
If you have questions, would like more information about our new program, or would like to make a credit card gift by phone, please call Shawna Hofstetter, Development Director at 216-781-2250 x24. |
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Letter from outgoing President, Johnna Schroeder "When one door closes, another always opens!"
Dear Friends:
This is my last letter to you as the President of the Board of THI, and so I thought I would give you a brief story of my journey because I've enjoyed it more than you can imagine.
I began about 14 years ago as a young volunteer, looking to network (before 'networking' was THE thing to do!) and find something fun to do. I came across a new group at Transitional Housing called "w.i.T.H. friends." Our group of young professionals coordinated one event for THI each year; it was a great deal of fun, lifetime friendships were formed, and we raised a nice amount of money for an organization that really needed our help...it felt good and I was hooked.
We and all the other volunteers were making a difference. After that, I didn't want to leave...and they wouldn't let me! I volunteer for other organizations, but the gratification I get from THI is one that is truly hard to put into words!
Although I am turning the presidency over to Jeanine Arden Ornt, Esq., I will remain an active member of the board and serve as a member of the board.
Transitional Housing's work has truly transformed the lives of women, wanting to create for themselves a lifestyle that is independent. These women work hard, each and every day, to overcome some of the challenges that life has presented them, and many, as a result, are rewarded with good jobs, an education and reunification with their children and their families. What more could one ask for?
Thank you for supporting THI. Your support, through volunteer efforts and financial contributions helps the agency provide a strong program which we know works...over 1,700 women can and will attest to that since 1986!
So with that, HAPPY NEW YEAR, and I look forward to continuing to work with you, the staff, the board and the dedicated donors and volunteers to make 2010 a prosperous year.
With best regards,
Johnna Schroeder
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