Dominion 2022

Community

IMPACT AWARDS

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION

LEADERS of CHANGE Dominion Energy celebrates local nonprofits by awarding tens of thousands of dollars in grant funding to support their work in helping customers throughout Ohio.

T

hrough its charitable foundation, Dominion Energy set out 27 years ago to lend a helping hand to local nonprofits making a difference in their communities.

To date, the Community Impact Awards, co-sponsored by Cleveland Magazine, has awarded more than $1.9 million to a variety of organizations. This year, Dominion Energy is proud to present $110,000 to 11 projects making major contributions to economic or social revitalization in communities throughout the state.

“It’s a privilege for us to hear from nonprofit organizations about the meaningful work they’ve done to help, support, uplift and transform their communities,” says Heather Clayton Terry, philanthropy consultant for the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation. “We applaud the efforts of these nonprofits, which have continued to provide important and critical services to residents in need. We must also acknowledge

nonprofit employees who are navigating their own personal hardships during this ongoing global pandemic and time of social unrest. These employees still manage to come to their jobs and provide support and essential services to people from all walks of life.”

For the 2021 awards, projects must have been completed between July 2021 and November 2021, be located within a Dominion Energy service area, have made a major contribution to a community’s economic or social revitalization and support diversity, equity and inclusion. Project submissions were required to describe how COVID-19 changed the organization’s ability to equitably make an impact. This year, more than 50 organizations submitted applications.

“Not only were our judges identifying project or program submissions that made an impact, they were also being mindful of the importance of highlighting organizations that have done

nimble work to quickly shift, modify and address instantaneous changes that impact their community recipients,” Terry says. “In many of the awards we’re presenting recipients with this year, there’s a common theme about taking risks.

They’ve gone beyond the basic means to address equity and access.”

The Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion Energy’s parent company, funds the Community Impact grants.

The foundation is dedicated to the economic, physical and social health of the counties the company serves, ranging from Ashtabula, Mahoning and Cuyahoga to Portage, Stark, Trumbull, Van Wert and more.

“The Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation holds true to its mission and vision,” Terry says. “Our goal is to provide support, opportunities and access to our 1.2 million customers here in the state of Ohio.”

TIME to CELEBRATE

DATE: July 14, 10 a.m.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: dominionenergy.com/our-company/ customers-and-community/charitable-foundation/community-impact-awards

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ISTOCK

THIS YEAR’S CEREMONY, hosted in partnership with the City Club of Cleveland, will take place as a virtual event on July 14, beginning at 10 a.m. Recipients from each of the 11 organizations being honored will have the opportunity to discuss the impact they've made in their community. Each organization will receive a colorful, glass-fused award crafted by Streets of Manhattan Studios, located in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood.

“The City Club of Cleveland has been doing meaningful work in creating a platform and space for people across all walks of life to share their experiences,” Terry says. “We’re fortunate to be working with the City Club’s manager of digital production and content, Maria Gerstenberger, to help bring our recipients’ stories to life.”

Safe Haven

Organization: Providence House Inc. Project: Giving Hope for the PHuture: Providence House East Campus Expansion SINCE 1981, PROVIDENCE HOUSE has been dedicated to providing a free emergency shelter for Greater Cleveland infants and children up to 12 years old who’ve been living in conditions that impact their safety or place them at risk for abuse or neglect.

Recognized as a national leader in child abuse prevention, family preservation and an alternative to foster care, the Providence House crisis nursery, located in Ohio City, reunited all of the 30 children served last year with their families.

Throughout the last five years, Providence House has seen a demand for its services increase by 237%. Last year, more than 400 children — nearly 70% from Cleveland’s East Side — were waitlisted or unserved.

In response to this need, Providence House launched the Giving Hope for the PHuture Campaign, a $15 million community redevelopment project in the Buckeye-Shaker neighborhood that will create a new, 20-bed crisis nursery and focus on community development that encompasses health, safety and stability for children and their families. The new campus will provide emergency shelter for more than 240 additional at-risk children, serve more than 120 additional families in crisis and contribute to the long-term growth and revitalization of Buckeye-Shaker and surrounding communities.

Staying Connected

COURTESY INDIVIDUAL ORG ANIZ ATIONS

Organization: Buckeye Hills Foundation Project: Connecting Appalachia ACCESS TO BROADBAND is a fact of life most Ohioans take for granted.

But many residents living in Southeast Ohio can’t count on that crucial form of communication. The digital divide separating Appalachian Ohio from the rest of the state is deep. To date, at least 150,000 households lack access to broadband.

In August 2020,with the goal of working toward increased and equitable broadband access for residents across the 32 counties of Appalachian Ohio, the Buckeye Hills Foundation, through the Connecting Appalachia project, developed a regional scorecard for broadband access that includes a plan to make the general public, potential funders, legislators and agencies more aware of the need for it, as well as proposes steps that should be put in place to make it accessible.

Connectingappalachia.org and companion social media accounts were launched to help solve the problem, and

Breaking Barriers Organization: United Way of Greater Stark County Project: Unity Challenge to Dismantle Racism

LIKE OTHER CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY, Canton experienced periods of unrest following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers. In response, United Way of Greater Stark County and YWCA Canton initiated the formation of the Dismantling Racism Coalition of Stark County, an alliance of 2,200 community members and residents and 215 organizations dedicated to raising awareness of systemic racism by sponsoring Stark County’s first 15-Day Unity Challenge.

Participants explored racial equity and social injustice and how it impacts a community through activities ranging from listening to podcasts and discussing reading material to sharing personal experiences. Following the challenge, the coalition continued to engage in discussions about education, privilege, behavioral health and allyship.

The coalition is in the process of creating an oral history project that honors the area’s history of diversity and, along with United Way of Greater Stark County, intends to partner with PBS to air a series of videos. Each video will focus on education, health and wellness, safety, sports, housing and civil rights and relay the stories of trailblazers, allies and courageous individuals who have united — and continue to unite — the community.

Common Sense Solutions were devised, too. They include investing in robust broadband infrastructure; encouraging competition to spur innovation and protect consumers; and requiring accountability and transparency. The solutions have been shared with members of the DeWine administration, legislators and local governments to serve as a guide for state and federal broadband investment.

The directive has already led to provisions being added to the Ohio Broadband Expansion Grant Program, which includes more accountability for awardees and use of crowdsourced maps for deployment.

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Get Recognized

Discover how to be considered for the 2022 Community Impact Awards.

TIMELINE: SEPTEMBER:

Begin accepting applications.

Applications must be submitted online.

DECEMBER:

Entry deadline.

FEBRUARY/MARCH: Judging.

MARCH/APRIL:

All applicants to be notified about the status of their entry by email or mail.

JULY:

Awards program.

JUDGING CRITERIA: TO BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE A DOMINION ENERGY COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD, ORGANIZATIONS MUST PROVIDE: Name of your organization, a contact name and title, telephone number, email address and complete mailing address.

A brief description/history of your community or organization.

Description of the project and qualitative and quantitative results demonstrating how it promoted economic and/or social revitalization, including objectives, benefits, impact and community interest/involvement.

Details regarding the extent to which the project generated positive change and growth within its targeted area.

The number of people impacted/ served by this project.

Details of how this project encourages and promotes future development and revitalization.

How this initiative has supported diversity, inclusion and equity in your community.

For more information or to submit an application, visit dominionenergy. com/company/community/dominionenergy-charitable-foundation.

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Organization: Soldiers of Honor Project: Soldiers of Honor Boxing Bootcamp AN AT-RISK OUTREACH PROGRAM, Lima’s Soldiers of Honor introduces adolescents to the mental perspective and physical discipline inherent in all aspects of life by sponsoring Boxing Bootcamps.

Launched in 2000 to honor the legacy of boxing coach Larry Akers, known in Lima as the “father of boxing,” the sessions have provided services to more than 2,500 children from all walks of life, ethnicities and backgrounds.

Through physical fitness and teachable moments, Boxing Bootcamp

Safe at Home

Organization: Community Legal Aid Services Inc. Project: Preventing Pandemic Evictions in Central Northeast Ohio

AS THE PANDEMIC WREAKED HAVOC, the number of evictions in Akron skyrocketed, leading the city to experience the highest eviction rate in the state and the 27th highest in the nation.

Many people who faced eviction found a friend in Community Legal Aid Services Inc. (CLA). A nonprofit law firm serving the legal needs of low-income individuals and families in central Northeast Ohio, CLA provided eviction-related legal assistance to 423 households from July 1, 2020, through Nov. 1, 2021, alone. Approximately 60% were households of color.

CLA’s work was accomplished with assistance from Summit County Cares, a community collaborative that disseminated federal rental assistance funds and connected residents who

participants sharpen their listening and learning skills, test their strengths and develop a positive outlook on life while forming connections that encourage teamwork and camaraderie. The organization also connects with kids through schools and churches to spread the message that the camp is a safe space to relationally socialize in ways they may not find anywhere else. The activities, which are not fully centered on boxing, also provide opportunities to improve self-image, drive and coping abilities needed for study skills and to overcome life’s biggest challenges.

The experience has led many to become employable adults in fields that include coaching and law enforcement.

struggled to pay their rent with the comprehensive community support that ultimately helped 1,028 residents.

The nonprofit law firm also helped tenants form unions in low-income, predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods, which allowed them to speak in unity as a community and be better positioned to negotiate with large, often out-of-state property owners.

CLA has established two tenant unions in East Akron and is assisting residents as they advocate for outdoor lighting, timely maintenance and pest mitigation issues that persist in the complexes — all steps designed to lead to solutions surrounding inequity in housing, as well as educate renters about their rights.

COURTESY INDIVIDUAL ORG ANIZ ATIONS

Information about the project’s impact on the community, i.e., the effect the project had in terms of jobs, spending, taxes, etc.

Ring of Champions

A Call to Action

Organization: Better Health Partnership Project: Northeast Ohio FQHC COVID Collaborative

COURTESY INDIVIDUAL ORG ANIZ ATIONS

COVID-19 BROUGHT NEW HEALTH CHALLENGES to Black and Brown racial and ethnic groups and low income populations in Cleveland, especially those who were socially isolated and had limited access to vaccines and testing.

Leaders from six Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) providers formed the Northeast Ohio (NEO) FQHC COVID Collaborative and engaged Better Health Partnership (BHP) — a nonprofit regional health improvement collaborative — to implement a comprehensive plan to help allay illness and hospitalizations.

With BHP’s assistance, the collaborative partnered with Greater Cleveland congregations to host pop-up vaccination clinics in churches located in low-income communities. Of those vaccinated on the East Side of town, 92% were African American. Of those who received vaccines on the West Side, 87% were Hispanic.

The pandemic elevated the important role safety-net institutions play in reaching people of color and low-income individuals in a public health crisis. As recovery continues, the FQHC is building on the connections it formed with community groups during the pandemic to develop strategies to address other health issues that disproportionately affect other undeserved members of the population, including infant mortality, diabetes, lead poisoning and mental and behavioral health. Those vital relationships include dialogue with Mayor Justin Bibb and Cleveland City Council members, and hold the promise of creating new solutions to improve health equity.

A Full Plate

Organization: StarkFresh Project: A Grocery Store Oasis Takes Root Inside a Former Food Desert FOOD SCARCITY IS SOMETHING EVERYONE FEARS. Stark County’s StarkFresh is dedicated to eradicating the causes of hunger by providing realistic pathways out of poverty. In 2004, the organization launched a Mobile Grocery

Market, a grocery store on wheels that has brought more than 135,000 pounds of groceries to 12,000 seniors and low-income residents in the county.

Throughout the years, other initiatives followed, including opening a grocery store 2.5 miles from Stark County’s main bus terminal in downtown Canton. Since its debut in 2020, the store has served 12,000 people and incentivized $18,800 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) purchases totaling 206,257 pounds of food in an area where it was not readily available. Shelves stocked with fresh and frozen meats, dairy products, baking goods and cooking products give shoppers access to affordable, nutritious foods.

In addition to being in an area that’s been a food apartheid for 50 years, the market serves a stretch of Stark County with the highest concentration of public housing, highest poverty rates, highest Black population, largest health disparities, lowest vehicle ownership and highest infant mortality rates. The store’s success has reinvigorated the neighborhood, where plans are in the works to transform vacant buildings into mixed-use apartments, repair surrounding sidewalks and roads and spur further economic development.

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All Are One

Organization: The Children’s Museum of Cleveland Project: Let’s Talk: Racial Equity Toolkit for Families AT THE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF CLEVELAND, staff understand it’s never too early to teach kids that despite racial and ethnic differences, the world is one.

In fact, studies indicate that children as young as infancy can recognize race-based differences, and children as young as age 2 can internalize racial bias.

With that in mind, the museum — in partnership with the Diversity Institute at Cleveland State University — has initiated Let’s Talk, a program designed to help families understand racial equity and engage in meaningful conversations with their children that will lead to a lifetime of learning.

Let’s Talk families receive a free toolkit filled with developmental narratives, age-appropriate conversation guides, children’s books and interactive activities. To date, the museum has distributed more than 550 toolkits and is reaching out to parent workshops and conversation groups in the MidTown neighborhood where it’s located.

The events have sparked engaging conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion.

The museum is also piloting a program with a local Montessori school and has initiated talks with educators about the possibility of bringing a similar format into the classroom to promote dialogue in continuously evolving ways.

Tools for Success

Organization: Akron Zoological Park Project: Educational Equity Through Backpack Adventure

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COURTESY INDIVIDUAL ORG ANIZ ATIONS

THE RISING COST OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES presents a hardship for many families.Akron is no exception, given the fact that 100% of the student population is considered economically disadvantaged by the Ohio Department of Education. To ensure students in kindergarten through fifth grade get off to a good start, Akron Zoo has partnered with Akron Public Schools to launch Backpack Adventure.

Students and their families have the opportunity to enjoy a visit to the zoological park as they collect backpacks filled with necessary school supplies, including crayons, glue sticks, erasers, folders, rulers, pencils, pencil pouches, lanyards, Chromebook covers and other organizational tools, as well as personal care products such as hand sanitizer, lip balm, toothpaste and toothbrushes.

The initiative was truly a community endeavor. During the event, staff from Akron Children’s Hospital were on-site, performing wellness, vision and hearing checks, as well as administering school-required vaccines or COVID-19 vaccines to eligible guests. Beyond Expectations Barber College gave haircuts. In addition to providing tangible supplies required for academic success, Backpack Adventure also helps students hone the necessary soft skills of organization, self-responsibility and taking direction they’ll ultimately take with them when they enter the workforce.

Wall-to-Wall Art Organization: Midtown Cleveland Inc. Project: Cleveland Walls Mural Program CLEVELAND’S MIDTOWN AND ITS ADJACENT NEIGHBORHOODS have become a beacon for artists from around the country.To reinforce MidTown’s commitment to create vibrant public spaces, the neighborhood partnered with LAND Studio and Worldwide Walls last year to hold the Cleveland Walls! Mural Festival, which paired 11 local and 12 national artists to paint 19 frescoes throughout the neighborhoods. The diverse group of artists, 17 of whom are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color), exuded a creative energy that led more than 1,000 visitors to attend the 10-day fete, which also featured free, family-friendly activities, performances and artist talks.

To involve area youth and neighborhood residents, MidTown formed partnerships with local nonprofits, including Rainey Institute, Distinguished Gentlemen of the Spoken Word and Children’s Museum of Cleveland to provide opportunities for people of all ages to express themselves through art by “tagging” a wall with paint. The event also featured a film festival celebrating the history of graffiti art and Black music, along with a community concert showcasing local talent.

The impact of Cleveland Walls will be felt in MidTown for years to come. The murals will be seen by the more than 500,000 annual visitors to the area’s museums, theaters and cultural attractions, as well as become a catalyst for economic and residential development.

Making A Joyful Noise Organization: Cleveland Institute of Music Project: Music Pathway Fellowship: Advancing Diversity of Music

COURTESY INDIVIDUAL ORG ANIZ ATIONS

MUSIC IS KNOWN AS THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE. Yet among the members of the nation’s classical orchestras, only 1.8% are Black and 2.5% are Latinx.

The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is working to change this disparity by offering

Musical Pathway Fellowships for Cleveland’s Black and Latinx middle and high school students.

Fellows receive scholarships that provide free instruction, including private lessons in the instrument of their choice and classes

in piano, ensemble training, music theory and eurythmics. Support services — ranging from bus passes to and from CIM to cash for vending machines if students come to their lessons hungry — are provided. Pupils may continue with the fellowship until they graduate from high school and are invited to participate in enrichment programs at national, renowned summer camps and attend master classes taught by professionals. Cultural support is provided by the Black Student Union, as well as CIM alumni, faculty and musicians.

Since it began five years ago, the program has grown in reputation and impact.

The 2020–2021 academic year marked the graduation of the first class of high school seniors in the Musical Pathway Fellowship Program. CIM fellows’ disciplines include violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, clarinet, trumpet, percussion, classical guitar and voice.

All were accepted into noteworthy collegiate music programs, including those at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

The program continues to level the playing field so that young musicians of color have fair opportunities to flourish in music and the arts.

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Going the distance for our communities.

At Dominion Energy Ohio, going the distance for our customers means more than just delivering safe, affordable natural gas. It means being a positive force in the communities we serve. Our EnergyShare® program has raised $8 million and helped more than 89,500 people in Ohio alone. These resources, combined with more than 3,000 volunteer hours from our employees, have benefited organizations as diverse as the American Red Cross, the Greater Cleveland Urban League, the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition and The Salvation Army.