United Way of Greater Cleveland

Happy Pride, Cleveland! 🌈

Today, we celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and honor the advocates, leaders, and neighbors who continue working toward a more inclusive and equitable future for all.

At United Way of Greater Cleveland, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to thrive, be treated with dignity and respect, and feel a sense of belonging in our community.

We are proud to stand with our LGBTQ+ neighbors today and throughout the year as we work together to build a stronger Greater Cleveland for everyone.

The benefits cliff prevents so many working families from moving forward.

We appreciate local business leader Jack Schron for bringing this issue to the national stage through his recent testimony before Congress. As reported by cleveland.com, workers can face difficult choices when a raise, promotion, or additional hours lead to the loss of critical benefits that support their families.

At United Way of Greater Cleveland, we partner with employers, policymakers, and others, including Jack, to advance solutions that help families move toward financial stability without being penalized for earning more.

When hard work leads to opportunity, our systems should support that progress, not stand in its way.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2026/06/why-some-ohio-workers-are-secretly-turning-down-raises-and-what-one-cleveland-business-wants-congress-to-do-about-it.html

A Cleveland CEO went to Washington to explain why his workers are afraid of getting a raise — and the answer says a lot about how broken the system is A Cleveland manufacturer told a Senate committee that the federal benefit cliff is quietly undermining efforts to reward workers who learn new skills.

Thank you to the legislators, state leaders, community partners, and 211 teams from across Ohio who came together at the Ohio Statehouse yesterday to celebrate the statewide expansion of Ohio 211 to all 88 counties.

This partnership with the Ohio Department of Children and Youth shows what's possible when organizations and public leaders work together to help families to find support close to home.

The conversations throughout the day highlighted the central role 211 plays in connecting residents to food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, employment resources, and other essential services. Just as importantly, they reinforced how valuable strong relationships between 211 providers and policymakers are in helping communities respond to changing needs.

We are grateful to DCY Director Kara Wente, State Representative Bride Rose Sweeney, Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson, Senator Louis W. Blessing III, State Representative Marilyn John, State Senator Sandra O'Brien and the many local and statewide partners who helped make this event possible and continue advancing support for Ohio families.

Together, we are building a more connected resource network for communities across Ohio.

Last month, we appreciated the opportunity to meet with gubernatorial candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Dr. Amy Acton to share perspectives on the challenges and opportunities facing Greater Clevelanders.

As a nonpartisan organization, our allegiance is to the people of Greater Cleveland. In these conversations, we discussed how our work is focuses on advancing economic mobility for individuals and families who are working hard and still struggling to get by

Those discussions were informed by what we hear every day through our 211 helpline and what we know from our ALICE data about the growing number of households facing financial hardship.

No matter who holds office, our commitment remains the same: bringing community voices and data to the table to help build a stronger future for Greater Cleveland.

Ohio applications are now open for Summer EBT (Sun Bucks), which provides grocery benefits to eligible families while school is out. Many Ohio students already qualify, including those receiving SNAP, Ohio Works First, Medicaid (if household income qualifies for free or reduced-price school meals), or reduced-price school meals. Learn more an apply by August 14 at sebt.ohio.gov.

Please join us in welcoming Chiara Cameron-Wood to United Way of Greater Cleveland as Senior Director of 211! 🎉

Chiara brings more than 10 years of experience leading and strengthening 211 services across the country, most recently as Executive Director of 211 Northeast Michigan. She’s passionate about connecting people to the help they need and making services easier to access for communities.

At United Way, Chiara directs 211, the free, confidential service that helps people find support for things like housing, food, healthcare, childcare, utility assistance, and more.

We’re excited to have Chiara’s experience, leadership, and heart for service helping us support more Greater Clevelanders every day. Welcome, Chiara! 💙

We are excited to welcome Renner Otto back as a workplace campaign partner! Last week we joined them to kick off their month-long campaign at House of Blues.

Special thanks to Managing Partner Luis Carrion and United Way board member Susan Krantz for sharing why investing in our community matters. We’re grateful for the opportunity to partner together again in support of Greater Cleveland.

United Way of Greater Cleveland staff Liz Hill and Erin Turner were proud to attend, and a big thank you to Employee Campaign Manager Adele Hyde for helping lead this year’s campaign efforts.

What does 250 acts of kindness look like in our community?

• Supporting a family when it matters most
• Connecting someone to resources they need
• Showing up, listening, and lending a hand

These moments build stronger neighborhoods over time.

Did you know there’s a Blessing Box at every Cleveland Public Library Branch? Blessing Boxes are a free, self-serve resource filled with food, hygiene items, baby supplies and more. They’re available to anyone who needs them! YOU can help make sure the boxes are stocked year-round! Purchase some of the most-needed items from our Amazon Wish List:

Check out my list on Amazon

Cavs spirit is strong at United Way of Greater Cleveland! 🏀💙

Today our team showed up in Cleveland Cavaliers colors and Cleveland pride as we gear up for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. We’re proud to cheer on our hometown team and celebrate the energy, teamwork, and community spirit that bring Cleveland together.

GO CAVS!