Your Clubs: Fall 2020

Your Clubs Stories about the kids and families you have helped.

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You are helping kids learn remotely Your generosity is now providing in-person help and technology upgrades to hundreds of Northeast Ohio kids in virtual education environments.

Because of your support, we were able to open 14 ClubSmart Learning Centers across the region – places where kids in virtual classroom settings have access to computers, high-speed Internet and caring adult mentors. ClubSmart sites are now open in Cleveland, Akron, Lorain County and Sandusky.

You made it possible for us to change our longstanding operating model – providing positive afterschool programming for kids ages 6-18 – to accommodate the needs of students who are adversely affected by the digital divide. With the help of some amazing corporate partnerships, we were able to get equipment, upgrade electrical systems and align staff in a 45-day period.

Thank you.

Your commitment to our kids has also had a positive impact on working parents, especially those who are unable to work from home yet desperately want someone to be there to help their children with schoolwork.

“Honestly, this has been a life-saver,” Stacey McClanahan said. “As a single parent with no family in Ohio, I was really struggling to find help for my kids during my work week.

I am so grateful the Boys & Girls Club saw a need in the community and filled it.”

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A remarkable career is coming to an end Ron Soeder’s impact on the kids of OF NORTHEAST OHIO OF NORTHEAST OHIO Northeast Ohio cannot be overstated.

For the past 14 years, Soeder has led been the driving force behind the Boys & Girls Clubs Movement in Northeast Ohio, first as the hands-on, transformational CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs OF NORTHEAST OHIO of Cleveland and then as a key facilitator of the largest-ever Boys & Girls Clubs merger in the United States. The July 2019 merger created Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio, and Soeder served as its interim president and CEO until the appointment of Jeff Scott in March 2020.

Through it all, Ron’s passion for the mission – and our kids – never waned.

Ron, who has served as BGCNEO’s Cuyahoga County Regional Director for the past seven months, is retiring at the end of November. His legacy won’t be defined by the titles in front of his name or the merger he oversaw. It will be about the joy and hope he brought to thousands of kids – and the tears he shed for those members of the Club family who were lost to violence.

There is Richard Starr, the at-risk teen who, with Soeder’s constant encouragement, became a college graduate and the director of the very Club he credits with saving his life. Richard grew up in a family in which virtually all his male role models, including his father, went to prison.

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A remarkable career is coming to an end cont’d “Ron Soeder is my father and has helped raised me as if I am his very own child,” Starr said. “Ron is the ultimate role model. He is the reason why I have been able to break generational curses in my family.”

Then there is Lexus, who asked Soeder to give her away at her wedding, which was held in a Club gymnasium. There is Zaylianny, to whom Soeder is a father figure; he even escorted her to the prom. There is the time Soeder attended the college commencement ceremonies for four Club alums – in the same day, at different universities. And there was Rayshawn Armstrong, a 25-year-old Club staff member who Ron described as “a light in our community, a beacon” before he was shot to death. For years, he would fight back tears while talking about Rayshawn.

Ron Soeder helped transform the organization into a powerful, life-enhancing force for young people in this community through his dynamic leadership and passion. When he joined BGCC, 35 employees serving 450 kids a day at five sites. At the time of the 2019 merger, the Cleveland Clubs had about 100 employees and were serving about 1,000 kids a day at 13 sites.

Ron forged strong partnerships with a wide range of organizations, including the Cleveland Municipal School District, neighborhood groups, local governments, companies, professional sports teams and the arts community.

Throughout his tenure with Boys & Girls Clubs, he has masterfully juggled all the tasks needed to fulfill the organization’s mission. Even today, it is not uncommon to see him picking up trash outside the Club at 8 a.m., calling a high-profile CEO a short while later and then touching base with a recent Club alumnus who is away from home for the first time at college.

Ron Soeder always makes time for the kids. It is why he is special. Thanks, Ron. A special fund benefitting our kids has been set up in honor of Ron Soeder. To find out more or to make a contribution, visit www.bgcneo.org.

You are helping kids learn remotely cont’d At ClubSmart Learning Centers, BGCNEO staff members help kids with their virtual learning, which follows each school district’s curriculum. Club staff children complete their schoolwork and provide additional stress-relieving programs such as art, writing and athletics.

Space at ClubSmart Learning Centers is limited by building capacity thresholds and social distancing protocols. Once a ClubSmart site capacity, registrants will be placed on a waiting list.

“While opening more ClubSmart Learning Centers will obviously put a strain on our resources, we know it is the right thing to do for our kids,” BGCNEO President and CEO Jeff Scott said.

Former teacher Amy Skolnik, who had been serving as BGCNEO’s Erie County regional director, is heading the ClubSmart program and other learning center initiatives.

Stepping up to help kids Companies, foundations and individuals that came forward to help create ClubSmart Learning Centers across the region include: Kristy and Doug Amy, Viia Beechler, Walter and Diane Chapman, Cleveland Cliffs, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Indians, CMHA, David Coury, Bernard & Nancy Karr, Katz Amsterdam Foundation, Kaulig Giving, Kichler Lighting, Mother Raphael, MyCom, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Papa John’s, Parker Hannifin, PCs for People, PNC Bank Foundation, Reuter Foundation, Sandusky Churches Adopt-ASchool Partnership, Howard Rabb, Bradley and Heather Schlang, John and Ann Scanniello, Sportstime Ohio, United Way of Greater Cleveland, University Hospitals, UroGPO, LLC, Neil Waxman, WKYC and dozens of individual donors!

Clothing program helps Lorain County children Nearly 3,200 Lorain County children received new backto-school clothing thanks to a partnership between our Clubs, Lorain County Commissioners and the county’s Department of Job & Family Services. Federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds were used to buy and distribute the clothing.

BGCNEO staff members packed the bags according to the selections made by families. Parents then picked up the bags at two Club locations. Each bag contained about $350 in clothing.

“With all of the uncertainty associated with employment and reopening schools this fall, we are pleased that we are able to do a little bit to relieve parents’ anxiety,” said Mike Conibear, BGCNEO’s Lorain County regional director. “Although this is our fifth year doing the clothing program, this year it seems more crucial than ever.”

Your notes made a difference!

Thanks to all of you who took the time to write notes of encouragement to our Club kids as they returned to classes. We received more than 200 handwritten notes, which were distributed to kids in Cuyahoga, Lorain, Summit and Erie counties. Those who received notes were uplifted, and those who sent them showed support, creativity, kindness and love.

Renovated teen center reopens in Sandusky

After nearly four months of renovation work, the Sandusky Teen Center in September reopened its doors to youth with a slew of upgrades, including a commercial-grade kitchen, walk-in freezer, computer lab, offices and a revamped programming space equipped with a Smart Board.

The project was primarily funded by a Capital Resiliency Grant from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addictive Services. Seven area foundations provided the rest of the funding. The computer lab and offices were outfitted with additional funding from the Mylander Foundation.

The entire building was gutted down to the cement block walls before the reconstruction began in the spring.

Along with the on-site Kinzel Court basketball court, the newly renovated center is a premier facility to provide out of school time opportunities for the teens in Erie County. We thank all those who supported this project.

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NON PROFIT U.S. Postage PAID Cleveland OH Permit No. 3046

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6114 Broadway Avenue OF NORTHEAST OHIO Cleveland, Ohio 44127

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About the Clubs Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio was created by the 2019 merger of Clubs in Cleveland, Akron, Lorain County and Sandusky. Your support provides fun, safe places for kids ages 6-18 after school, with an emphasis on academic success, healthy lifestyles and character development. Thank you.

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Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio 6114 Broadway Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44127 216.883.2163 www.bgcneo.org

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