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Cleveland Foundation Day of Family Fun

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Julie Smith
Stuart O. Smith, Jr.
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Cleveland
Cleveland Foundation
University Circle
MNO
Cleveland History Center
Buckeye Trail

Cleveland Foundation Day of Family Fun
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After attending six of the Cleveland Foundation's (@CleveFoundation) centennial events in 2014 (see the full list in the "Centennial Gift Blog Posts" section of this blog post), Stuart was disappointed that he would not be available on December 30th for the final event due to work commitments.

Then, unexpectedly, he was given two extra days off from work! This allowed him, on December 29th, to enjoy a day of hiking on the Buckeye Trail (@HikeTheBT) in the Cleveland Metroparks (@CleveMetroparks) and Cuyahoga Valley National Park. On December 30th, he was able to return to both parks and University Circle (@InTheCircle) for Cleveland Foundation's Family Fun Day.

What follows is information about this final centennial event, and our photos/tweets of our activities of the day. Before we share our experiences from this one day, we want to share with you, the reader, Cleveland Foundation's "Enduring Trust" video. Understanding the worldwide importance of the first community foundation is more important than our thank-you message for one day of family fun.

Cleveland Foundation @ 100

Cleveland Foundation @ 100
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2014 was a great year of celebration for the Cleveland Foundation with many great events. However, let's take a moment the recognize that the grand experiment of a community foundation, that has flourished for 100 years, got its start right here in Cleveland.

Please learn more by watching this @ideastream 30-minute documentary and viewing the related materials found on the Enduring Trust: The History & Aspirations of The Cleveland Foundation web page.

On a personal note, Stuart was pleased to see his professor of Cleveland Nonprofit History, David C. Hammack, in the video. Stuart took Dr. Hammack's class at Case Western Reserve University's (@CWRU) Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations. The class kicked off the inaugural year of the center's new Masters of Nonprofit Organizations (MNO) degree program. (Previously, starting in 1984, the Mandel Center only offered a nonprofit management certificate. At that time, Cleveland was fortunate to have one of only two centers in the country devoted to training nonprofit leaders.) The MNO degree is still offered at CWRU, but the nonprofit center has been closed.

Announcing the December Centennial Gift:
Cleveland Foundation Day of Family Fun

The following is the official Cleveland Foundation Family Fun Day announcement followed by our @sos_jr tweets and retweets about the event before it began on December 30th. We include them here, so you will know of all the planned activities beyond what we had time to attend.

Foundation’s final centennial gift to provide free, healthy activities at 38 sites
throughout Northeast Ohio


 

Cleveland Foundation Family Fun Day
Release Date: 12.3.2014 Updated: 12.15.2014


 

CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Foundation’s December – and final – centennial gift to the community involves 5 gift partners – with free activities at 38 separate sites across 6 counties in Northeast Ohio! The activities start as early as 5:30 a.m. and end as late as 11 p.m. No tickets are required at any of the sites, but each site has specific details to help visitors plan their visit on Dec. 30:
 

Cleveland Metroparks 
Free tobogganing at Cleveland Metroparks Mill Stream Run in Strongsville – Noon to 10:30 p.m.
(16200 Valley Parkway, Strongsville)

  • First 2,000 visitors to check in before 6 p.m. will be guaranteed free tobogganing and hot chocolate. No sign-ups or advance registration required.
  • Other fun activities will include ice-carving and snow-carving demonstrations, dog-sledding demonstrations and an ice-fishing display.
  • More details available at www.clevelandmetroparks.com.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Special trail hikes and giveaways at Cuyahoga Valley National Park – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

  • 1-mile Evergreen Forest Snow Shoe Hikes – Start at the Winter Sports Center in the Kendall Lake Shelter (Truxell/Kendall Park Rd. Click here for a map).
    • Hikes at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. (*If there is at least 4 inches of snow; otherwise it will be a hike).
    • Reservations are required! Call 330-657-2752 to reserve a space.
  • 1-mile Towpath Trail Beginner Hikes – Start at the Canal Exploration Center (7104 Canal Rd., Valley View. Click here for a map)
    • Hikes at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
    • Reservations are not required for these hikes.
  • Free park exploration packets are available at Trail Mix Peninsula, a park store run by the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park (1600 W. Mill St., Peninsula). Map available here.
    • There will also be family crafts and prize package drawings throughout the day.
  • More details on these activities are available here.

University Circle
Free ice-skating at The Rink at Wade Oval in University Circle – 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

  • Free ice-skating, free skate rentals and free hot chocolate – no sign-ups or advanced registration required.
  • After visitors are done skating, their rink wristbands will provide special discounts at the nearby Wade Oval museums:
    • Cleveland Botanical Garden – $2 off, includes access to GLOW exhibit
    • Cleveland Museum of Art – 10% off at Provenance Café (Admission is always free)
    • Cleveland Museum of Natural History – $2 off, includes access to Mammoths & Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age
    • Western Reserve Historical Society – $2 off, discounted admission includes 2 rides on the Euclid Beach Park Grand Carousel
  • More details (including parking info) available at www.universitycircle.org.

City of Cleveland
Free ice-skating, roller-skating and extended hours at City of Cleveland recreation centers – 11:30 a.m.
to 11 p.m.

  • Free ice-skating and free skate rentals at Halloran Park (3550 W. 117th St., Cleveland 44111)
  • Free roller-skating at Zelma George Recreation Center (3155 MLK Jr. Dr., Cleveland 44104)
    • No sign-ups or advanced registration required for the ice-skating or roller-skating.
  • Extended hours at all 20 city rec centers. Listing of all the centers available here.

YMCA of Cleveland
Free admission and special programs at all local branches of the YMCA of Greater Cleveland – 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Downtown branch closes at 9 p.m.)

  • Visitors can download a special guest pass that will work at all 12 branches on Dec. 30 and will expedite admission on Family Fun Day.
  • Highlights of the special programming include health screenings, CPR/first-aid demonstrations, and classes such as Tumble Time, Splash Junior (for ages 4-9), Family Dance and Broga (Yoga for men).
  • Full schedules for each of the participating 12 branches (in Cuyahoga, Lake (Euclid Branch), Geauga, Lorain and Erie counties) and the downloadable guess pass available at www.clevelandymca.org/day-of-family-fun.

We hope thousands of Northeast Ohioans will take advantage of this month’s gift – with the largest number of gift partners and largest geographic reach of any of our centennial gifts this year!
 

* * *
 

The Cleveland Foundation

Established in 1914, the Cleveland Foundation is the world’s first community foundation and one of the largest today, with assets of $2.1 billion and 2013 grants of $89 million. For more information on the Cleveland Foundation, visit www.ClevelandFoundation.org/Purpose and follow us at Facebook.com/ClevelandFoundation or @CleveFoundation on Twitter.

@sos_jr tweets and retweets:

 

December 30th - The Final Centennial Gift!
Thank you, Cleveland Foundation!

Please read our @sos_jr tweets/retweets and view our photos to learn about how we spent the day at these December 30th Cleveland Foundation (@CleveFoundation) centennial events, and about the follow-up information.

A big thank-you to Cleveland Metroparks (@CleveMetroparks), Cuyahoga Valley National Park and its Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park (@ConservancyCVNP), plus University Circle (@InTheCircle) for  Cleveland Foundation's Family Fun Day activities. We had a great time.

We hope you enjoy our slideshow of photos and videos from our day at three locations of family fun!

If your device does not support Flickr.com photos, please view them here.

 

@sos_jr tweets and retweets from December 30, 2014, and beyond:

 

Centennial Gift Blog Posts

For those of you who have been reading our blog posts all year, you will know that "Cleveland Foundation Day of Family Fun" is the seventh Cleveland Foundation centennial event we have attended. We want to thank the Cleveland Foundation for the year-long series of centennial gifts.

Please read our blog posts to learn more about the following Cleveland Foundation 2014 centennial gift events, and also see what we wrote about how the Cleveland Foundation fulfills its mission:

  1. Saturday, February 22nd event: FREE! Great Lakes Science Center (plus our son, Mike, went to the Sunday, February 23rd, free day at Rock Hall)

  2. Monday, March 24th event: Cleveland Foundation FREE Day at CIFF

  3. Saturday, May 24th event: May Centennial Gift: Cleveland Foundation Day on Wade Oval

  4. Sunday, July 20th event: Cleveland Foundation Day with The Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom (Only Julie attended, since the rest of the family was volunteering at Cleveland GiveCamp 2014 - 5th Year!)

  5. Saturday, August 23rd event: Cleveland Foundation FREE Cinema At The Square

  6. Saturday, September 13th event: Cleveland Foundation Centennial Gift: Weekends on the Water

  • Information about the Cleveland Foundation's Sunday, August 17, 2014, announcement about their $5 million centennial legacy grant for the Lake Link Trail can be found in our "Take a Hike" - Cleveland's Flats & Beyond! blog post.

2015 - Cleveland Foundation 101st year

2015 Cleveland Foudation Surprise

Surprise! This blog post was mostly finished on New Year's Eve, but we are glad we didn't publish it then, since on January 2, 2015, the Cleveland Foundation made a surprise announcement!


 
Cleveland Foundation centennial gift partners to honor foundation’s year of giving with more gifts to the community in 2015 
 
RELEASE DATE: 01.02.15  
CLEVELAND – As the Cleveland Foundation officially begins its 101st year today, it is pleased to announce that many of the organizations it partnered with last year for the monthly centennial gifts have chosen to continue the celebration into the new year by offering more gifts throughout 2015, in honor of the foundation’s year of giving and the start of its second century of impact in the community.

Watch for more updates on the Cleveland Foundation's news web page (ClevelandFoundation.org/News/) and from the 16 participating organizations. Here is the list, and links for more details:

  1. The 39th Cleveland International Film Festival (@CIFF) (March 18-29, 2015) will offer a free screening on Monday, March 23rd! Festival information, including its program line-up, will be available in February 2015. For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundCIFF

  2. The 100th person through the gate at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (@CleMetZoo) on April 26 will receive a free Zoo membership. For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundZooMem

  3. Receive free admission at The Cleveland Museum of Art (@ClevelandArt) to the exhibition “Senufo: Art and Identity in West Africa” on Feb. 22. This is the first day the exhibit will be open to the public. For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundArt

  4. One visitor to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (@goCMNH) will be surprised with a one-year family membership awarded on May 24, the one-year anniversary of Cleveland Foundation Day on Wade Oval. To plan your day at the museum, visit: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundNatHist

  5. Receive 20 percent off January Cleveland Orchestra (@CleveOrchestra) Classical concerts with code 21020 when ordering online or via 216-231-1111. Offer expires 1/16/15. To buy tickets, visit: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundOrchestra

  6. 100 tickets will be available at a “buy one, get one free” discount to each mainstage production at Cleveland Play House (@ClevePlayHouse) this season. Use code CLE100 when you check out. Offer only valid via: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundPlayHouse Applicable shows include “Five Guys Named Moe,” “The Pianist of Willesden Lane,” “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” and “Fairfield.” The discounted price will show after the code has been entered. Not valid with any other discount, promotion, or on prior sales.

  7. Attend a Cleveland Public Theatre (@CPTCLE) preview performance of “Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea” at 7 p.m. May 21 in the James Levin Theatre. 99 seats are available. For ticket information, visit: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundDontrell

  8. Free Cuyahoga Valley National Park (@ConservancyCVNP #CVNP) exploration packets will be available at Trail Mix Peninsula and Trail Mix Boston and special family craft activities and prize package drawings will occur on the weekend of April 25 & 26, 2015. For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundCVNP

  9. Save $3 per adult/child ticket for any narrated lake-river tour on the Goodtime III (@GOODTIMEIII) in 2015 with code TCF100. For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundGoodtime

  10. The first 100 guests to visit the Great Lakes Science Center (@GLScienceCtr) on Saturday, Jan. 24, will receive a combo ticket good for free general admission & one free OMNIMAX movie of their choice. Tickets will be distributed at the box office on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 10 a.m. The tickets are valid for general admission and an OMNIMAX movie on Saturday, Jan. 24, only. No advance reservations are accepted. Limit one ticket per person. For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundGreatScience

  11. Receive $10 off all A-Level tickets for every Great Lakes Theater (@GLTFCleveland) production in 2015. Enter/mention promo code NEO. Restrictions apply. For complete information or to purchase discounted tickets, visit: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundGLT

  12. Enter to win a special gift package worth more than $300 from the LakeMetroparks (@Lake_Metroparks) with entries accepted in late June until the drawing on Oct. 12, the one-year anniversary of Cleveland Foundation Day in Lake County. For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundLakeMetro

  13. The 100th visitor on each day for 100 days from June 1, 2015, to Sept. 8, 2015, will receive a Duet ($75) Membership to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (@Rock_Hall). For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundRockHall

  14. The Tri-C JazzFest (@TriCJazzFest) is giving away a free pass for this year’s festival being held July 9-11. For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundJazzFest

  15. Receive free admission at University Circle's (@InTheCircle) The Rink at Wade Oval on Dec. 26, 2015, from noon to 9 p.m. To plan your trip, visit: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundRink

  16. All riders on the 100th ride of the Euclid Beach Park Grand Carousel in 2015 will receive a free admission pass to the Western Reserve Historical Society (@WRHS_History). For more information, visit: http://bit.ly/CleveFoundWRHS

It looks like 2015 will see a continuation of the great activities of the centennial year of the world's first community foundation. Thank you, Cleveland Foundation!