Story times, Sustainability in Cleveland, and Health Events!

February News and Events from the Near West Family Network!

View this email in your browser

February 2015

We are in the full-swing of winter, but we don't hibernate on the Near West Side!

We have been busy making connections with people and organizations around us so we can all work together to make our Near West neighborhoods even better and more family friendly than they are today! We are also getting ready to send out our annual donation recognition letters. If you made a donation to the Network in 2014, please watch for your letter (by email) in the month of February - and THANK YOU!

We'd like to make special shout-out to a new group we just learned about, The Little Tremonsters! An energetic group of families came together to keep parents and neighbors informed about kid-trending topics in the Tremont area. The current topic trending among the Little Tremonsters is early education. There is interest in bringing in new/additional options for the 0-6 year-old age group to continue to encourage families to stay in the area once they have children. This is a topic important to all Cleveland families - everyone is encouraged to be be a part of the conversation. Little Tremonsters is a closed group on Facebook, but follow this link and request to join!

Read the Upcoming Events section below to learn what we and our partners have planned this month. We are also now including links to other sources for fun events around town. If you know of a link we should include - please send it to information@nearwestfamilynetwork,org.

And finally - a quick reminder to all that Sunday, February 15th is the last day for the Healthcare Marketplace Enrollment. If you have questions, contact our Health Partner, Neighborhood Family Practice for more information and/or assistance (216) 281-0872. You can also listen to live coverage of a community enrollment event with NFP on Monday, February 2nd from 4-6pm on La Mega radio (87.7 FM).

Have a great month!

Near West Family Network Board of Directors
information@nearwestfamilynetwork.org

A continued thanks to Steve Kachmyers for his always popular Gym Days at Franklin Circle Church every other Tuesday this winter. Amy Kulisheck and Molly Martin organized our last two branch stops of the Library Crawl - come join us for the final stop at the Main Branch at the end of this month! And thank you, Ann Garland, for organizing our first Kids Give Back event at St. Patrick's Community meal! The event was such a success we will definitely be seeing more in the future!

If you are interested in helping us make more happen in your neighborhood or if you have an idea for something specific, please let us know!

Education Is Always a Focus on the Near West Side

Ohio City is Home to the Centers for Families and Children's Newest Early Learning Center!
The Centers for Families and Children operates nine early learning centers around the city and their newest one is located in Ohio City's Kentucky School (3805 Terrett Ave., same building as the Near West Intergenerational School). It is an all-day, full-year preschool for 3-5 year olds. Spots are available immediately! Visit the Centers website for more information about all their early learning centers or call 216-961-9970 to get more information or schedule a visit to the Ohio City location.
Story time encourages a lifelong love of reading....
The Carnegie branch of the Cleveland Public Library will hold a Growing Readers story time on Tuesday, February 24th at 3:00 p.m. Children ages 3 - 5 are invited for stories, songs and rhymes that will help them become better readers later in life. The Carnegie Branch is located at 1900 Fulton Rd, Cleveland
The Cleveland School of the Arts will hold an information session at the Carnegie branch of Cleveland Public Library for families who are interested in the admissions process for the 2015-2016 school year. The walk-in session, held on Monday, February 9th from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., will also have information on arts majors and the new building scheduled to open in the fall. The Carnegie Branch is located at 1900 Fulton Rd, Cleveland

YOU can participate in Sustainable Cleveland's Year Of Clean Water (YOCW)

YOCW is holding a year-long clean water tour and sweepstakes.
Every event that a person attends lands them a chance to win the grand prize. The next event is a family-friendly production at Cleveland Public Theater called "Fire on the Water" a "360-degree theatrical event" all having to do with the Cuyahoga River fire. Learn more about the tour and sweepstakes at the Cleveland Water Alliance website. Anyone interested in getting more involved should consider joining the working group - another project right now is involved with planting trees in urban areas. Learn more at the Sustainable Cleveland website.

Saturday, February 7

EITC Super Saturday Tax Event 9:00 am - 12:00 pm at St. Ignatius High School
Call 211 for more info and to schedule appts.; Free tax prep; health screenings; Medicaid and Marketplace
St. Ignatius is located at 1911 W. 30th St., Cleveland

Tuesday, February 10

Gym Days! 9:30 - 11:00 am at Franklin Circle Church Gym
Parents and caregivers are encouraged to bring their little ones to the gym to burn off some winter energy while you get some time to socialize. $1/ per child. Recommended for children 6 and under. We will have a simple snack and coffee available.
Franklin Circle Church is located at 1688 Fulton Rd. (corner of Fulton and Franklin) in Ohio City with parking and the Gym entrance off Fulton Rd.

Wednesday, February 11

FREE Ice Skating with NFP & the Lake Erie Monsters! 4:00 - 6:00 pm at Halloran Ice Rink
This free event includes admission and skates as well as Guest appearances by Sully, the Lake Erie – Monsters’ mascot, and members of the Monsters’ hockey and dance teams – Prize wheel and giveaway items – Healthy snacks! For more information, please call Jill at 216.281.0872 ext. 242.
Halloran Ice Rink is located at 3550 West 117th St., Cleveland

Wednesday, February 11

FREE Ice Skating with NFP & the Lake Erie Monsters! 4:00 - 6:00 pm at Halloran Ice Rink
The This free event includes admission and skates as well as Guest appearances by Sully, the Lake Erie – Monsters’ mascot, and members of the Monsters’ hockey and dance teams – Prize wheel and giveaway items – Healthy snacks! For more information, please call Jill at 216.281.0872 ext. 242.
Halloran Ice Rink is located at 3550 West 117th St., Cleveland

Saturday, February 21

FREE Medical, Dental, and Women's Health Clinic 9:00 - 2:00 pm at NFP Ridge Road Location
Medworks will be offering general medical exams, dental screenings, mammograms, pap smears, confidential testing, bloodwork, flu shots and more! Mammograms and dental screenings will be by appointment only. Please call 216-201-9325 to schedule an appointment. This free medical clinic is open to all—walk ins welcome! Click here for the flyer in English or Spanish - spread the word!
Neighborhood Family Practice's Ridge Road location is at 3569 Ridge Rd., Cleveland

Saturday, February 28

Story time at CPL Main Branch! 1:30-2:30 pm at Cleveland Public Library's Main Branch
Have you ever visited the Children's Room at Cleveland Public Library's Main Branch downtown? This will be the perfect day for you to check it out ( 6th floor of the historic building- take the elevator or get your steps in for the day!) We'll have a story time and activity for kids and parents can learn about the awesome resources and programming available to Cleveland families!

GREAT LINKS!
There are always so many wonderful things going on around town that we don't have space to list them here. We have compiled a list of organizations and resources that list ongoing and special events. If you have a website you'd like us to add to our list, please email it to akulisheck@nearwestfamilynetwork.org

In various stages of planning and confirmation, we are working on a number of events beyond the next month.... Don't hesitate to contact us if you'd like to help organize or be a part of the day-of activities. If no contact person is listed, email information@nearwestfamilynetwork.org to get more involved!

A "Lucky Friday the 13th" Spin Class and Happy Hour

March 13th
Head off the Ides of March with Harness Cycle on March 13th. Harness Cycle is offering a $5 Happy Hour Spin Class to NWFN Members at 6:30PM on Friday, March 13th. Replenish those calories at Jukebox with Happy Hour prices for NWFN members until 9PM. A special NWFN cocktail will surely quench your thirst. Registration and more details to come...

Annual Easter Egg Hunt at Fairview Park
March 28th
Come sunshine, rain, or SNOW we love to host this fun family event with hundreds of eggs filled with treats for kids, the Easter Bunny will make an appearance again this year, too! There are many ways you can be involved to help make this community event a great success, if you can be a part of it, please email Ann at amgarland@nearwestfamilynetwork.org

Kids Fishing with Metroparks
No date set yet
Details are being worked out with Metroparks to hold a Kids Intro to Fishing event. Timing and details are yet-to-be set, but if you like to fish and want to be a part of the planning, email Sarah at sryzner@nearwestfamilynetwork.org

Neighborhood Family Practice offer Medicaid, Marketplace and Insurance Assistance

Here at NFP, we have Certified Application Counselors that are available to answer questions and help individuals and families choose an affordable health insurance plan that’s right for them, including: Medicaid, Marketplace and our Sliding Scale Deductible program. We can even assist in enrolling individuals and families in many of these services and programs. All of these services are free and confidential.

The attached document is a comprehensive list of programs and services available at the Detroit Shoreway and Puritas locations as well as our appointment information and walk-in schedule. Contact the Patient Benefits team at (216) 281-0872 ext. 2020 for questions or more information or to schedule an appointment.

As always, please forward this newsletter to anyone who is interested. We encourage everyone who shares our commitment to making the near west neighborhoods more family-friendly to become a member. Membership is open to everyone - download a membership form and mail it in, or you can also join online today!