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Join Merrick House for our 2nd Annual Tremont Moves Day
Merrick House once again will be in Lincoln Park for our 2nd Annual Tremont Moves Day, on Saturday, June 29th from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Sponsored by MetroHealth, and in partnership with Yoga Rocks the Park and Girls with Sole, Tremont Moves is a day of outdoor exercise, nutrition information and health screenings. Check back soon for a schedule of activities.
Attend Neighborfood Dishcrawl and Proceeds Benefit Merrick House
Merrick House has become a community partner with the Cleveland-area Dishcrawl event, Neighborfood, which will be on Saturday, June 22nd in Tremont. Visit www.dishcrawl.com/cleveland to learn more and register. Dishcrawl will donate $10 to Merrick House for every ticket sold using the code "MerrickHouse".
See the flyer here.
Watch our New Video "Merrick House: Then and Now"
This past summer we filmed our "Merrick House: Then and Now" video, which highlights the work that we do. In partnership with a talented videographer from Linear Creative, the kids in our Summer Youth Employment Program took part in the creation this video.
Please watch the premiere of our video: "Merrick House: Then and Now" and enjoy!
Listen to our Recent Radio Interviews About Merrick House and our Merrick (Rocks the) House Event
Kathy Marsh, our Executive Director, Paul Santora, our Fundraising Chair, and Terry Lee Goffee have been giving interviews about Merrick House and our Merrick (Rocks the) House event on April 12th.
On Sunday, March 24th, they were on the Cleveland Connection show with host Katherine Boyd. Listen to the podcast HERE.
On Tuesday, March 26th, they were on Living the Word with host Glenn Mertz. Listen to the podcast HERE.
Terry Lee Goffee and his band were on FOX 8 Morning Show on April 8th. Watch a clip HERE.
Updated Security Measures Implemented
The recent tragedy at Sandy Hook has caused us to reevaluate our security measures at Merrick House, and we have an updated system. We are going to be extra vigilant about access to the building, and will require those without passcodes to identify themselves before being buzzed in. Although it may seem like an inconvenience, safety is a top priority at Merrick House. Please be patient with us during this transition.
As of January, Merrick House has purchased and installed new equipment in order to upgrade our security measures. These cameras and monitors will enable us to clearly see who is at the front door. This system also records all activities in the front of the building.
We have also installed keypads instead of the swipe system that we previosly had. After this system is in place for a few weeks we will evaluate its effectiveness and determine if additional security measures are needed.
We will also be putting in place an internal “lock-down” process by installing additional door locks as necessary, and allowing us to shelter-in-place if the situation ever called for it. Please be assured that the safety of our children, participants, visitors and staff is of utmost importance, and we will continue to improve and evaluate our safety policies and procedures.
Merrick House Chosen as Part of the Plain Dealer's Holiday Spirit Campaign
This holiday season, Merrick House was chosen as part of the Plain Dealer's Holiday Spirit campaign, which is quite an honor. Each year, they choose 20 social services agencies to highlight throughout December in the paper, and collect donations on our behalf. Read more about this campaign and the great need involved: Thanksgiving Day article.
New Partnerships for 2012-2013: MyCom Out-of-School Time Grant and Near West Intergenerational School Partnership
Good news times two came recently when Merrick House was approved for two grants that will lead to new and continuing partnerships in our service area.
Merrick House received the MyCom Out-of-School Time grant from Starting Point, along with community partners Tremont West Development Corporation, Tremont Montessori School and the Cleveland Music School Settlement. This grant has four goals: (1) to more fully engage Tremont youth in decision-making and neighborhood planning, (2) to increase the variety of out-of-school time programming offered to youth in the Tremont community, (3) to increase available structured summer out-of-school time opportunities for youth in Tremont, and (4) to provide out-of-school time activities to youth at Tremont Montessori School. As part of this grant Merrick House will establish a Youth Leadership Council, and expand programming to include a mixed martial arts class and music therapy classes for youth, as well as reestablish the summer youth basketball league.
Merrick House was also recetly approved to be a provider of the Universal Pre-Kindergarten program. One requirement for the UPK program is to partner with a local school to conduct kindergarten transition activities. This would be a year-round partnership that would include our children establishing a relationship with current kindergarten children through a pen-pal program, a kindergarten teacher from the school coming to speak to our parents about kindergarten, and the children taking a feild trip to a kindergarten classroom. Because of this, we have entered into a partnership with Near West Intergenerational School.
Merrick House is very excited to be a part of these partnerships and we look forward to all the good work to come!
Merrick House Joins Forces with MetroHealth Hospital to Expand Opportunities for Neighbors
Merrick House is committed to partnering with other community organizations in order to maximize available resources to community members. We recently joined forces with our neighbor--MetroHealth Hospital--to expand services to the surrounding neighborhoods.
“Since Merrick House has been working to expand our recreation and healthy living initiatives, partnering with MetroHealth is a natural fit,” said Rocky Melendez, Youth and Recreation Coordinator at Merrick House.
Starting in October, a MetroHealth registered dietician will be leading classes twice a month with youth ages 10 to 14, in order to teach them healthy eating habits and educating them about good nutrition. Liz Ferro, founder of Girls with Sole, will also be at Merrick House twice a month leading her program, which empowers young girls through exercise.
The child care program will also be benefitting from this partnership. Made possible because of a grant from Tremont Trek, this October we started our new Healthy Family program. Every first and third Monday starting October 1, we will be having a certified fitness specialist come work with the toddlers through preschoolers during their gross motor time. The specialist will work alongside the teachers to offer them new ideas and training on how to get the children moving and engaged.
Also with this funding we are so happy to be able to provide workshops for both the staff and the parents. These workshops will focus on a specific age group and what parents and/or staff can do to provide healthy food choices and activities to the children in their care. These workshops will be facilitated by one of MetroHealth’s registered dieticians
“Because we serve the same population, our organizations have had an unofficial partnership since our inception almost 100 years ago,” said Kathy Marsh, Executive Director of Merrick House. “We’re excited to officially join together to increase the impact we both have on the health and well-being of community members.”
Check Out Our 2011 Annual Report
Please take a moment to read our 2011 annual report. Inside we have 2011 highlights and accomplishments, as well as a look ahead to what we're working on in 2012. We appreciate all our donors great and small who support Merrick House as we strive to assist, educate and empower individuals, families and neighborhoods.
Read our 2011 annual report.
Congratulations to the Merrick House Child Care Program -- Step Up to Quality and Universal Pre-K
This week has been a good one for the Merrick House chid care program. We were once again renewed to keep our Step Up to Quality Two Star Center status. This is Ohio's voluntary quality rating system for ODJFS licensed child care programs. Step Up To Quality recognizes early care and education programs that exceed quality benchmarks over and above Ohio's licensing standards. We are excited that we will continue this stellar reputation.
The Merrick House child care program also was accepted to be a provider of Universal Pre-Kindergarten. The purpose of the UPK Program is to assure that all 3 to 5 year olds enrolled in a participating center receive high quality care that promotes their development and readiness for kindergarten. This program also provides scholarships to families in the form of fee reductions to families at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. This means providing affordable child care to more families!
Merrick House Alumni: We Want Your Stories
Merrick House has been a central part of Tremont and the surrounding neighborhoods for more than 90 years. Thousands of children and adults have walked our halls or been affected by us in some way throughout our history.
Did you attend child care with us in the 50's? Did we help you pass your GED test? Were you an active member of our youth programs growing up? Or did you play a role in helping to create the Tremont West Development Corporation participating in our community organizing?
As we look forward to our 93rd anniversary in 2012, and the many other milestones soon after, we are looking for Merrick House alumni to share their stories.
Please contact
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at 216.771.5077 or
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to share your story.
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