2nd Annual

Walk for Hope 2013

You may park along MLK Jr. Boulevard, or in the parking lots at Amasa Stone House, 975 East Boulevard or at Michael R. White School, 1000 East 92nd Street. Transportation will be available if you need a ride back to your vehicle after the walk. In the hope that this will become a large family educational and community event, the Walk for Hope gives us the opportunity to fulfill our mission of celebrating Cleveland's historic antislavery past. The proceeds from this year’s Walk for Hope will continue to go toward raising funds for the Underground Railroad Educational Center to behoused in the Cozad-Bates House.

Restore Cleveland Hope’s First

 Annual

WALK FOR HOPE 2012

Our first annual Walk for Hope took place on Saturday, May 19th. The three-mile walkathon began at the African-American Cultural Garden on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard., and ended at the Cozad-Bates House at 11508 Mayfield Road. There were approximately fifty attendees on that gorgeous spring day joining Joan Southgate for the walk. Upon registration, walkers received facts about Cleveland and Ohio’s anti-slavery past as well as the Underground Railroad. The walk took participants past many of Cleveland’s historic and artistic treasures and institutions such as the Cultural Gardens, the new VA Hospital grounds, the Western Reserve Historical Society Museum, the Crawford Auto Museum, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland Botanical Gardens, the Hessler Street Fair, the fanciful Peter B. Lewis Building designed by Frank Gehry, and the new Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) building. When the walkers arrived at the Cozad-Bates House, they were welcomed and entertained at the Journey’s End Celebration by the Rainey Institute Drum Core led by Regina Foster.

Our emcee, Sondra Vodanoff, dressed in period costume, gave some recommendations for reading about the Underground Railroad and introduced the acts. The Distinguished Gentlemen of Spoken Word gave a rousing presentation of positive and inspirational poetry. As founder Honey Bell-Bey explained in 2008, “The Distinguished Gentlemen of Spoken Word, a character-based performance arts troupe gives at-risk boys a poetic voice to explore, lead, excel and survive! The Hough community of Cleveland (the poorest major city in the U.S) is adversely affected by poverty, gangs and drugs. The high-school in the community (East High) has the lowest graduate rate in the state of Ohio. African-American males considered at-risk in the community are defying the odds, by being positive examples. They dedicate countless hours to studying poetry and understanding the transforming power of "edutainment" (education through entertainment). These boys tell the real life stories of absent fathers, violence and academic struggles through poetry. They are examples, because they have ceased to use violence as a tool to express anger, but embrace the power of the pen to inspire, impact and transform. They volunteer their time performing at churches, after-school programs for younger children, nursing homes, community festivals and libraries. The gentlemen enter "poetry boot camp" where they are challenged to cease allegiance with any gang or drug involvement. They are challenged to memorize pages of classic poetry and reach a GPA of 3.0.”

Joan Southgate then spoke to the crowd, about her dream that the Walk for Hope will become a large family educational and community event. Councilman Jeff Johnson joined her and spoke of his support for Joan and RCH’s mission to celebrate Cleveland’s historic anti-slavery past.

Participants who collected and submitted donations beyond their entry fee the day of the Walk for Hope were entered into a drawing to enjoy a catered lunch with Joan Southgate later this year. The winners were Kurt Koenigsberger and Janice Cogger.

Restore Cleveland Hope thanks all of you who have contributed in some way to this event, whether you actually participated in the Walk for Hope or donated online or by mail. The proceeds from this year’s Walk for Hope will go toward raising funds for the Underground Railroad Educational Center to be housed in the Cozad-Bates House.

We would also like to thank our sponsors for their support:
North Star ($1,000 and up):
Medical Mutual of Ohio
Freedom Seeker ($500 to $999):
Euclid Avenue Congregational Church
Paran Management Company
Storykeeper ($100 to $499): Andrew Venable, Jr., Hope Lutheran Church, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, and the Ohio City Bicycle Co-op.
RCH also received $50.00 worth of supplies from BJ’s.

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