FutureHeights awards mini-grants to four Cleveland Heights projects

Oxford Community Garden received a FutureHeights mini-grant for raised beds. Photo courtesy Tom Gibson.

FutureHeights completed the fall 2018 round of its Neighborhood Mini-Grants Program, approving $1,425 in grants to support four neighborhood projects in Cleveland Heights. The grants are intended to spur small, grassroots projects to improve quality of life and build community.

The Old Vaudevillian was awarded $355 for its costume exchange pop-up project, located in the former Heights Music Shop space, and its plans to build community, provide low-cost Halloween costumes to children, and decorate and re-use a vacant storefront.

GardenWalk of Cleveland Heights received $250 for its garden walk project. GardenWalk is a free, self-guided tour of private and community gardens and home orchards in each neighborhood in the city. GardenWalk aims to nurture community, beautify neighborhoods and encourage civic pride.

Oxford Community Garden was granted $500 for its planning, planting and producing project. The project aims to make the garden and gardening more accessible to seniors through the installation of raised beds. As it implements this project, the organization will host two meetings aimed at educating community members on the benefits of gardening.

Litter Busters of Noble Neighborhood received a grant of $320 for its Plawk Noble project. The project aims to foster a litter-free neighborhood while encouraging residents to move around. Through this project, Litter Busters hopes that residents will become more conscious of litter and dispose of it.

Are you interested in learning more about these and past mini-grant projects? Join FutureHeights at The BottleHouse on Tuesday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m., for its annual mini-grants community celebration. For more information and to RSVP, visit https://minigrantscelebration.eventbrite.com.

If you have an idea to improve your neighborhood, FutureHeights invites you to apply for a grant. The next application deadline is March 15 at 5 p.m.

The FutureHeights Neighborhood Mini-Grants Program awards grants of up to $1,000 to fund citizen-led neighborhood projects, events and activities that benefit Cleveland Heights. The program is guided by a grant-making committee comprising seven Cleveland Heights residents with a history of community involvement.

Learn more at www.futureheights.org/programs/community-building-programs, or contact FutureHeights at sbasu@futureheights.org or 216-320-1423.