We are pleased to announced that eight projects were awarded Fall 2023 Neighborhood Mini-Grants for a total of award allocation of $4,892.  All in all in 2023, the Neighborhood Mini-Grant program had its biggest year ever, awarding 21 projects a total of $15,392. 

Here’s a bit more information about each awarded project:

• PROJECT: “Explore and Connect” by Lake Erie Ink; AWARD: $1,000. This 3-day program will take place during Spring Break 2024. Here, students from Noble and Oxford will learn more about their neighborhood by conducting interviews with Heights leaders.  Students will then write about their experiences and have their work on display around the neighborhood. Funds will support the program facilitation and supplies.

• PROJECT: “Noble Pride – A Thoughtful Makeover” by Noble Elementary PTA; AWARD: $1,000. PTA members will collaborate with students, school staff, and neighbors to give the exterior of the elementary school a makeover. They believe that the perception of safety is tied to a sense of cleanliness and care for a space – and how that can have a ripple effect out into the surrounding neighborhood. PTA members view this project as a reflection of neighborhood pride while encouraging respect, humility, and compassion for all stakeholders. Funds will support paying an artist to work with the group to create some public art, hosting a celebration, and purchasing materials to help with the neighborhood cleanup aspect of the project.

• PROJECT: “Heights Halloween Festival” by Dobama Theatre; AWARD: $750. This annual event is a beloved tradition that seems to be growing every year and allows for Dobama Theatre to develop connections with youth and families in the community.  Funds will support the inclusion of festival artists and performers.

• PROJECT: “Noble Pride – A Thoughtful Makeover” by Noble Elementary PTA; AWARD: $1,000. PTA members will collaborate with students, school staff, and neighbors to give the exterior of the elementary school a makeover. They believe that the perception of safety is tied to a sense of cleanliness and care for a space – and how that can have a ripple effect out into the surrounding neighborhood. PTA members view this project as a reflection of neighborhood pride while encouraging respect, humility, and compassion for all stakeholders. Grant dollars will support paying an artist to work with the group to create some public art, hosting a celebration, and purchasing materials to help with the neighborhood cleanup aspect of the project.

• PROJECT: “Lantern Festival” by Coventry PEACE Inc.; AWARD: $500. This popular event, coming up on Saturday, December 9, has seen steady growth over the last few years and is expected to draw even more this year. Their programming includes lantern making (a family-friendly activity) as well as a community-participation parade through Coventry Village.  Grant funds will support the inclusion of artists and performers at the Festival.

• PROJECT: “Coventry Village Holiday Festival” by Coventry Special Improvement District; AWARD: $500. This annual December holiday event, scheduled this year for Saturday, December 9, draws attention to the business district and supports the local economy.  For this year’s festivities, event organizers are working to engage even more with the merchants, especially restaurants that are typically closed in the evening when the festival occurs.  Funds support the purchase of materials needed to execute the event.

• PROJECT: “The Heights Community Land Trust” by Boulevard Neighbors; AWARD: $350. ​A Community Land Trust is a model for perpetually affordable home ownership in which a nonprofit owns and manages the land, individuals own the homes on the land, and the land is managed by a board of directors including the homeowners, other community members and people with expertise. The homes are bought at an affordable price, with a deed restriction requiring that they sell it at an affordable price, albeit with some equity, which allows the owner to build equity while ensuring that the property remains perpetually affordable. Boulevard Neighbors’ goal is to start a pilot project with a single property by the summer of 2024, with the potential to expand to additional properties if this pilot project is deemed successful.  Funds will support the group’s creation of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

• PROJECT: “Cain Park Beautification, 2024 Phase” by Friends of Cain Park; AWARD: $250. This popular event, coming up on Saturday, December 9, has seen steady growth over the last few years and is expected to draw even more this year. Their programming includes lantern making (a family-friendly activity) as well as a community-participation parade through Coventry Village.  Grant funds will support the inclusion of artists and performers at the Festival.

Learn more about our program  here. 

Any questions, Sarah has answers – contact her at swolf@futureheights.org.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to poor air quality warnings, tonight’s event has been moved to Coventry PEACE.  All other event details remain the same.

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RSVP for our June 29th event here.

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How Crowdsourced Conversations flows:

Step One: The Survey!

• The purpose of our survey is to reach as many Heights stakeholders as possible in order to generate meaningful action-oriented small group discussion questions for our event on the topic.
• This survey was live May 1-May 31, 2023. 

Step Two:  The Data!

• Once the survey closes, we will generate a report to share the results.  This report will be housed on the FutureHeights website and will be shared with community partners, elected officials, and more.
• We will also use the survey results to generate small group discussion questions for our Crowdsourced Conversations event on the topic.

Step Three: The Conversation!

• All Heights residents/stakeholders are encouraged to participate in our Crowdsourced Conversations forum.
• While there will be brief opening remarks by guest speakers, this forum series emphasizes the small group discussions that are action-oriented and strengths-based.
• This event will take place Thursday, June 29 from 7pm-8:30pm at Coventry PEACE (2843 Washington Blvd)
  • This event is free to attend and will be in-person only.
  • Each attendee should register separately.
  • If you are returning CC’23 participant, you will be reunited with your group members so you can continue building your connections with them.
  • We are thrilled to welcome University Heights Councilman Brian King and Deidre McPherson (Bike Cleveland, Heights Biking Coalition) as our opening speakers.
  • RSVP here.

Step Four: The Follow-up! 

• After our forum night, all event participants will have the opportunity to stay connected to the other members of their small group discussion and will receive electronic copies of the survey report and any other resources utilized during the event.
• All event participants will also be able to help us co-create a Resource Page on the forum topic that will live on the FutureHeights website.

This forum series will be an opportunity to connect with other Heights residents about topics that impact us in a variety of overlapping ways. We hope you can join us for all four conversations! Any questions, connect with Sarah – swolf@futureheights.org.

THANK YOU!

This forum series is being planned in partnership with FutureHeights Community & Civic Engagement Committee, Reaching Heights, CH-UH Libraries, Home Repair Resource Center, City of Cleveland Heights Racial Justice Task Force, Racial Inequity Repair Committee of Forest Hill Church, Cleveland Heights Green Team, representatives of Cleveland Heights City Council, and more.  Thank you for the joy, wisdom, and enthusiasm you bring to the table!

MORE FORUM DETAILS HERE.

Support your neighborhood through FutureHeights. Your donation supports community-building and development efforts for neighborhoods within Cleveland Heights and University Heights, Ohio.

• Become a FutureHeights supporter here.
• Become a sponsor for our Annual Benefit here.

Any questions, please email info@futureheights.org.

MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU

WHEN & WHERE • May 4, 2023 at Coventry PEACE Campus, 2843 Washington Blvd.

RSVP here.

Doors open at 5:30pm. At 6pm, we will unleash the full power of leadership as we introduce our new Executive Director, Kristine Pagsuyoin, and highlight the transformative impact of our FREE programs. As you mingle with like-minded rebels, you’ll be able to enjoy a variety of themed refreshments. Join a committee or become a member of our organization, and experience the power of community building. You’ll also have the chance to win exciting prizes and enjoy special drawings, all while hearing from community leaders and staying informed about the latest developments throughout the Heights galaxy. Don’t miss this opportunity to harness the force and build a brighter future at FutureHeights.

Join us for MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU, and let’s unite our powers to create positive change in our neighborhoods!

NO RSVP IS REQUIRED, but certain appreciated — click HERE for the Eventbrite link.  All are welcome.  This event is free to attend.

Any questions, please email us at info@futureheights.org.

Crowdsourced Conversations 2023’s first forum topic is Our Public Schools.

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RSVP to our April 26th event here!

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How Crowdsourced Conversations flows:

Step One: The Survey!

• Students, alumni, parents, teachers, staff, and any other Heights residents/stakeholders are encouraged to fill out our survey.
• This survey was live March 1-March 31, 2023.

Step Two:  The Data!

• Once the survey closes, we will generate a report to share the results.  This report will be housed on the FutureHeights website and will be shared with community partners, elected officials, and more.
• We will also use the survey results to generate small group discussion questions for our Crowdsourced Conversations event on the topic.

Step Three: The Conversation!

• Students, alumni, parents, teachers, staff, and any other Heights residents/stakeholders are encouraged to participate in our Crowdsourced Conversations forum.
• While there will be brief opening remarks by guest speakers, this forum series emphasizes the small group discussions that are action-oriented and strengths-based.
• This event will take place on Wednesday, April 26 from 7pm-8:30pm in the cafeteria at Heights High School.
  • This event is free to attend and will be in-person only.
  • Each attendee should register separately.
  • RSVP here.

Step Four: The Followup! 

• After our forum night, all event participants will have the opportunity to stay connected to the other members of their small group discussion and will receive electronic copies of the survey report and any other resources utilized during the event.
• All event participants will also be able to help us co-create a Resource Page on the topic of Our Public Schools that will live on the FutureHeights website.

This forum series will be an opportunity to connect with other Heights residents about topics that impact us in a variety of overlapping ways. We hope you can join us for all four conversations! Any questions, connect with Sarah – swolf@futureheights.org.

THANK YOU!

This forum series is being planned in partnership with FutureHeights Community & Civic Engagement Committee, Reaching Heights, CH-UH Libraries, Home Repair Resource Center, City of Cleveland Heights Racial Justice Task Force, Racial Inequity Repair Committee of Forest Hill Church, Cleveland Heights Green Team, representatives of Cleveland Heights City Council, and more.  Thank you for the joy, wisdom, and enthusiasm you bring to the table!

MORE FORUM DETAILS HERE.

Friday, February 3, 2023

Dear FutureHeights Community,

After an extensive search process, we are pleased to announce the FutureHeights Board has named Kristine Pagsuyoin the new Executive Director of FutureHeights. Kristine’s leadership and housing background, combined with a passion for community engagement and community building, will further advance the mission of FutureHeights. Kristine brings a breadth of experience that prepares her well for leadership of FutureHeights. Her prior experience at the Village of Newburgh Heights reflects her strength as a collaborative leader to create a strong team that was able to solve problems for their constituents and work strategically to strengthen the organization. Kristine is known for engaging residents, businesses, organizations, and public officials in advancing a shared goal of social justice and economic vibrancy for the community.

Assuming the role February 6, 2023, Kristine will manage all day-to-day operations for FutureHeights, leading staff and programming, as well as marketing and fundraising efforts.

Prior to joining FutureHeights, Kristine recently served as the Housing and Building Commissioner for the Village of Newburgh Heights. Kristine is an organizational development, public administration, community engagement, and education professional with diverse expertise in leadership roles within multi-faceted local government, civic and non-profit organizations. She is skilled at conducting community outreach, base building, training, education, and leadership development with an excellent record of working alongside civic leaders and elected officials to facilitate public initiatives. Kristine obtained her Master of Education from DePaul University in Chicago and her undergraduate degree in Communication from the University of Akron.

Kristine has lived in Lakewood for over 20 years with her husband and two children. She is passionate about public service, especially as it relates to access to affordable housing and preservation, and community development and engagement, as she believes local organizations can have the greatest impact on the day-to-day lives of people and can be utilized effectively to improve a community and quality of life. Kristine is a lover of books, flea markets, the arts, hiking, travel, and of course, her 4-year old dog, Finn.

Sincerely,

Julie Sabroff

Board Chair, FutureHeights

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Contact Kristine at kpagsuyoin@futureheights.org.

Did you know that YOU could write for the award-winning Heights Observer?

The monthly Heights Observer hyper-local community newspaper is the embodiment of our mission of civic engagement. Begun in 2008, the paper tells the community’s stories from the ground up: through the eyes of volunteer citizen reporters.

Submission Policies

The Heights Observer welcomes all who want to participate in submitting community news and information. We ask that all Members (those who submit stories and photos) abide by the following terms and conditions.

Submit Your Own Work

Please submit original stories/photos. When you do use others’ sources of information please attribute that information by including a link, the source, the author, etc.  If you need help with this contact us at info@futureheights.org or call the FutureHeights office at 216.320.1423.

Keep it Local

The Heights Observer is a hyper-local publication serving Cleveland Heights and University Heights. All contributions should have a meaningful local connection to these communities – about things happening within their boundaries, or people who live and/or work within their boundaries. As rule of thumb, articles that belong in the Heights Observer may have trouble finding a home in any other publication; and articles that find a home in publications outside these communities typically aren’t a good fit in the Heights Observer.

Limit the Length of Submissions

• 120 words for the announcement of an upcoming event or a letter  to the editor
• 300-600 words for a feature story
• 400 words for a news story
• 400 words for opinions/commentary (including election issues)

Being succinct is a courtesy to readers and is the best way to minimize the changes made during the editing process.

Disclose Your Affiliation

If you have a personal or business relationship with the subject of an article you’re writing about please let your readers know. Add a small bio to the end of your contributions so we can let your readers know who you are.

Be Civil

The use of full first and last names for all submissions will, we hope, preclude us from having to police uncivil behavior. You own your posts and words. Please treat your fellow community members with respect and civility. Refrain from posting abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening, sexually-orientated or any other material that may violate any laws or conduct constituting on-site or offline harassment of other users of the Heights Observer.  We do, however, encourage robust discussion!

Know You’ll Be Edited

All submissions to be published go to an editor who will review your story for capitalization, spelling, punctuation, style, length and clarity. Only on rare occasion will we edit for content or substance, except for where dictated by these terms and conditions. If we have concerns, we may try to contact you for further information.

To learn more about submission guidelines click here. To send in your work, visit the Heights Observer Member Center here.

Any questions?  Reach out to info@futureheights.org.

ICYMI: Watch the 2022 Neighborhood Mini-Grant Video on our YouTube page!

Returning in 2023: Crowdsourced Conversations – A Forum Series Curated by the People for the People.

Once again, FutureHeights and Friends are bringing you a conversation-based forum series that brings Heights residents together to talk about topics that matter to us all.

We received approximately 50 suggested topics for our CC’23 and after a month-long community-wide vote, we arrived at our Top 4!

2023 SERIES TOPICS & DATES:

#1: Our Public Schools

• the topic survey will run March 1-March 31
• the forum will take place on April 26 from 7pm-8:30pm in the cafeteria at Heights High School

#2: Traveling Around Town

• the topic survey will run May 1-May 31
• the forum will take place at the end of June (details TBD)

#3: Rental Properties & Absentee/Negligent Landlords

• the topic survey will run July 1-July 31
• the forum will take place at the end of August (details TBD)

#4: Planning and Development for the Heights

• the topic survey will run September 1-September 30
• the forum will take place at the end of October (details TBD)

HOW CROWDSOURCED CONVERSATIONS FLOWS:

Pre-event: Each forum will have a pre-survey that will be widely circulated through the Heights for approximately one month.  After the survey closes, we will generate a report and we will also use the survey responses to formulate action-oriented discussion topics for forum night.  Survey reports will be posted on our website in addition to being shared with community partners and event attendees.

Event day: During each forum, participants will enjoy the company of small breakout groups where, with the assistance of facilitators and notetakers, they will engage in dialogue around the evening’s topic.  Discussion questions will be geared towards ways that participants can find something actionable they can do in regards to this topic they care so much about.  After the small group discussion, we will reconvene as a group-at-large to share what ideas were generated.

Post-event: We recognize how huge the Crowdsourced Conversations topics are and would never presume we’d cover everything in one evening.  So, with that in mind, we send each group their notes and any other handouts/resources that were presented during the forum — and we also invite the groups to stay in touch as well!  We encourage participants to stay connected post-forum and hope they will return to their group for the next in the conversation series to keep the conversation flowing, build community connections, and continue to brainstorm actionable ideas.  Additionally, each forum topic will have a resource page on our website that includes group-generated ideas, survey results, small group questions, and more!  These resource pages will be co-created by all of our community partners, event participants, and others with expertise on the topic.

Program goal: We began this series in 2022 in response to feedback that so many community events are “all talk and no action or no follow through.”  With Crowdsourced Conversations, we amplify participant voices and connect residents with one another to have action-oriented discussions.  Sometimes a participant’s follow-up actions may be seemingly small (for instance, at one of our 2022 forums, a resident learned about and then downloaded the Access Cleveland Heights app — a game-changer for that individual!) or seemingly large (one volunteer-based group used both the survey findings and what came up in in the small group discussions as a means to create their programming for the rest of the year).  While it’s true that some of the issues we want to see action on might be the responsibility of a larger entity, our hope is that participants can find something actionable that they feel empowered to do.  After all,  “everyday residents” hold immense potential to generate change in their community.  

• View our resource pages here.
• Subscribe to the Heights Observer Weekly e-news so you get all updates about Crowdsourced Conversations, including when surveys are in-progress as well as updates about the forums themselves.

This forum series will be an opportunity to connect with other Heights residents about topics that impact us in a variety of overlapping ways. We hope you can join us for all four conversations! Any questions, connect with Sarah – swolf@futureheights.org.

THANK YOU!

This forum series is being planned in partnership with FutureHeights Community & Civic Engagement Committee, Reaching Heights, CH-UH Libraries, Home Repair Resource Center, City of Cleveland Heights Racial Justice Task Force, Racial Inequity Repair Committee of Forest Hill Church, Cleveland Heights Green Team, representatives of Cleveland Heights City Council, and more.  Thank you for the joy, wisdom, and enthusiasm you bring to the table!

MORE FORUM DETAILS HERE.