Intentional giving from Community Partners welcomes the New Year

Happy New Year from all of us at Cleveland Angels!

We are bursting with smiles here. Not only are 6 matches in the works, but thanks to some excited & generous community partners, 80 families throughout greater Cleveland were provided holiday baskets to share and enjoy at the end of 2023! Really wonderful. But as the new year rang in, and the sparkle of the holidays was fading, we came back ready for all that's next; because after all, there are more children & youth coming into foster care each day.

And so, we are starting fresh once again, and thanking our first partner of the new year, TRG Multimedia for supplying us with comfort & hygiene items!! It's truly a beautiful thing to see how much this Cleveland community cares about making sure that these youth feel seen & valued.

So how does supporting Cleveland Angels in this way work?

First, TRG reached out to see how they could help. Carefully following the lists that we gave them, they collected hygiene items, snacks, journals, pens and other small gifts. These supplies will be used week in, week out by our Case Managers -- as they visit and check in on the families and youth that we support. Journals and fidget spinners appear to be this years favorites, as well as coloring books and small snacks like gum and chips. For youth, being offered a gift that was chosen specifically for you can be so meaningful. It's one way that we can show youth that we care about their needs and wants, and that we are only coming into their lives with love & good intention. Whether the need is a squish-mallow for a child who wants something to snuggle, books & snacks for a youth to keep in their room in a group home, or more practical essentials for a family who has grown overnight from taking in the children of relatives (as just a few examples), these items can be both a comfort and a conduit to connection.

Having supplies like these in place for our staff to choose from for each individual they are visiting makes the Case Managers' day run much more smoothly, and allows them to focus on the most important thing that we do -- building relationships!! We are very grateful to TRG Multimedia for supporting our Programs team and enabling us to consistently deliver on our mission of intentional giving!

We have a number of other initiatives throughout the year where we welcome donations such as these. Contact [email protected] for more information, and Happy 2024!

Author

Ruth Atkinson is the Program Assistant at Cleveland Angels.