Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland awards $383,000 in third quarter grants

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Tags: Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland , Foundations

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The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland Board of Directors recently approved the third installment of quarterly grants in 2022, totaling nearly $384,000. The grants focus on three key areas: supporting the ministries of Catholic sisters, strengthening health outcomes and ending homelessness.

Below are details and more information about the grant awards.

Focus Area: Supporting the Ministries of Catholic Sisters
In its long-time commitment to and shared history with Catholic sisters, the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland (SOCF) Cleveland invested $100,000 this quarter to grow the Women Religious Archives Collaborative. The collaborative will include a physical space that will serve as a permanent repository for the archives of women religious in Northeast Ohio and surrounding regions, as well as a dynamic space open to the public for research and programming. The funds will support the staffing and consulting needs that will move the organization from its initial development phase to the point at which a center will be constructed to house the archives of collaborating congregations.

Catholic Sisters: Saint Ann Legacy Grant Program
The Saint Ann Legacy Grant Program supports the ministries of Catholic sisters as they work to meet the needs of God’s people. Grants of up to $10,000 are awarded to ministries of Catholic sisters in Northeast Ohio, as defined as the Dioceses of Cleveland and Youngstown. Ministries of Catholic sisters include those that are founded/sponsored or programs at other organizations where Catholic sisters are significantly involved as staff. The purpose of these grants is to support the Catholic sisters at work in the region today.

The St. Ann Legacy grant docket is unique in that it is only open to organizations with a strong connection to a Catholic sister or congregation of sisters. These organizations include large sponsored ministries, small sister-founded ministries, schools with a strong presence of sisters, and community-based organizations that have engaged a sister(s) in a significant way.

This quarter, SOCF Cleveland invested $105,000 across several organizations as part of the Saint Ann Legacy Grant Program. Third quarter grantees include Antonine Village, Collaborative to End Human Trafficking, Doors of Hope Geauga, Esperanza Threads, Geauga Faith Rescue Mission, Interfaith Wellness, St. John School, Ursuline Piazza and Zelie’s Home.

Focus Area: Strengthening Health Outcomes – Central Neighborhood & Greater Community

The St. Vincent Charity Health Campus (Health Campus), a ministry of SCHS, will be a place of connection, healing and spirituality to holistically serve and empower all people along their life journey, and purposefully engage diverse community partners to provide services that meet the spiritual, physical, social and emotional needs of the community today. Along with the legacy of healing, the reimagined Health Campus will offer community-based crisis and recovery services, healthy food access, safe and affordable housing, education, and workforce training, and support the community to live a peace-filled life. SOCF Cleveland invested $75,000 in Health Campus this quarter to support the development of a Crisis and Recovery Center. SOCF support to implement the Health Campus Crisis & Recovery Center will lead to better cost, care and health.

SOCF Cleveland granted $40,000 to Village of Healing, a Black-founded and Black-led community development organization with a mission to end racial disparities by providing an environment of healing through equitable health care in primary care, pediatrics, women's health, dentistry and mental health services. To address maternal mental health complications in pregnant and parenting Black mothers and improve mental and maternal health outcomes among Black women, Village of Healing is adding a Black mental health counselor. Maternal mental health conditions are the number one complication of childbirth and symptoms can occur during pregnancy through up to one year postpartum. Having an in-house Black mental health therapist will help minimize barriers and build out a culturally competent continuum of care.

In Cleveland’s Central neighborhood, health is influenced by social, economic and cultural factors. In third quarter 2022, SOCF Cleveland granted $30,000 to Building Healthy Communities (BHC), a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System. The ministry is a healthy eating, active-living program based in Central neighborhood that uses a hands-on, person-centered approach to maximize participation and foster engagement, primarily through programming focused on community gardens. BHC serves more than 250 Central neighborhood residents, mainly youth, each year through direct programming, and by providing access to affordable, healthy produce at farmer's markets.

As a follow-up to SOCF Cleveland’s $80,000 investment in ConnectedNEO in late 2021, the foundation invested an additional $8,734.29 in the organization to complete fiber installation and advance digital connectivity in the Central neighborhood.

Focus Area: Ending Homelessness
SOCF Cleveland invested $25,000 in A Way Home America (AWHA) to continue to build the national movement to prevent and end homelessness for Black, Indigenous, youth of color and LGBTQ+ youth, on a path to ending homelessness for all. We have learned from partners across the country and have had opportunities to share our own local efforts through partnership with AWHA. AWHA is generating powerful lessons about effective policy and practice solutions to youth homelessness, grounded in racial and LGBTQ+ equity and youth leadership.

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland is a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System.