Saint Luke's Foundation Gives Residents A Voice To Improve Their Communities

By Rachel Rood

Published August 9, 2021 at 2:46 PM EDT

On the Sound of Ideas, we discuss different ways that the Saint Luke Foundation is empowering residents to have greater impact on their own communities. [By Real Window Creative / shutterstock]

The Saint Luke's Foundation has been investing in the neighborhoods of Woodhill, Buckeye-Shaker, and Mount Pleasant, for the last two decades.

It has funded organizations including the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cleveland, CHN Housing Partners; and others which serve the needs of residents in those neighborhoods and actually, across the greater Cuyahoga County area.

But recently, foundation leadership opted to take a second look at the process of providing grants to the community.

Rather than just reviewing reports from these organizations after the grant period ended, trying to determine whether progress was made at reducing hunger, or securing safe housing; the foundation wants to involve the residents directly in the feedback process.

This hour, we're going to start by talking about two different ways that Saint Luke's is empowering residents to have greater impact on their own communities.

Those are the new Lift Every Voice engagement platform, and we'll hear of a committee made up of residents, that gives them the final say over which projects in their own communities deserve funding.

Later this hour, we'll talk about a new regional reporting project called Justice Matters, that will be diving into Ohio's criminal justice system.

Then, we'll air the final Cleveland mayoral candidate interview from Ideastream's After Jackson podcast, host Nick Castele's conversation with attorney and mayoral hopeful, Ross DiBello.

Resources

Lift Every Voice - Saint Luke's Foundation

After Jackson Podcast

-Tim Tramble, President & CEO, Saint Luke's Foundation
-RL Render III, Resident Advancement Committee Member, Saint Luke's Foundation
-Joshua Perkins McHam, Resident Advancement Committee Member, Saint Luke's Foundation

-Natalie Pillsbury, Director of Advancement and Special Projects, WKSU
-Nahla Bendefaa, Reporter, WKSU

-Nick Castele, Senior Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
-Ross DiBello, Attorney & Cleveland Mayoral Candidate