Uplifting Cleveland Kids

Boys & Girls Clubs

By Erica Rascón on Aug 3, 2016 in Giving, People

Ron Soeder did not know that he would fall in love with the nonprofit sector. He spent decades in for-profit businesses, beginning as a staff accountant before ending that leg of his journey as an Executive Vice President. Yet after a detour with his startup, he found himself on a new path.

“My path to the Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland was divine intervention,” says Soeder. “A friend of mine who works in nonprofits said, ‘They’re great companies that need good leaders,’ so I started networking. My path ended up at a few board members’ doors on a Tuesday morning. I interviewed with them and they called me back the next day and said, ‘Can you start tomorrow?’”

What began as a tentative 12-week agreement has morphed into a presidency lasting for more than ten years. “At first, I wasn’t sure if it would be a good fit for me or how I would be received by the community,” admits Soeder. “I found that I had so much empathy for the community. I’ve really connected with people here. I’ve seen kids come up from nothing, go through college and get good jobs. It has become a calling, a passion of mine. I can’t think of any other words other than divine intervention.”

With Soeder at the helm, the organization has experienced numerous positive changes. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland (BGCC) grew from five locations to 15 locations, from serving 3,000 kids to 8,000 kids. The community’s involvement is a direct response to effective programming.

BGCC has launched several grassroots initiatives that speak to the root of a child’s sustainable success: programs that nurture learning, maximize youths’ talents, and develop youth leadership skills beyond the scope of the project.

The Junior Achievement Entrepreneurial Educational Track teaches participants what it takes to create a business plan and build a company. Through the Farm Program, kids apply the skills that they learned in Junior Achievement to a real world environment.

“We’re blessed to work with one of the serial entrepreneurial funds located in northeast Ohio, Burton D. Morgan Foundation,” explains Soeder. “We wanted something that embraced the entrepreneurial spirit so we created an urban farm where we can teach the kids about the land and growing. They are directly involved in what to grow. They make decisions in their space. And then we teach them how to market to grocery stores, farmers markets, and companies.”

Heinen’s, a local grocery chain in Cleveland, has given Farm Program students the opportunity to hone their skills in a retail setting. Participants create their own brand, logo, and shelf topper. The chain’s new downtown store, located in a mixed-use development, is a fantastic source of exposure for the students’ growing businesses.

Kids don’t have to get dirty in the soil to participate in BGCC leadership programs. The Graphic Arts Program allows students to develop their skills in design and publishing. Their work is used in marketing materials throughout the organization.

It all started with a van. Soeder challenged the kids to come up with a design for a van recently donated by Liberty Ford. Then 13-year-old Kameron Pearson stepped up to the challenge—and won. He was able to see the production of his work from start to finish: transforming a digital file into a vinyl decal, the application, and even the press conference that presented his artwork to the public.

Soeder recalls, “It was impressive because I was there with the owner of the Cleveland Indians [Paul Dolan] and the first thing that he saw when he came [to the center] was this kid’s graphic of a baseball player. He said, ‘That is so cool.’”

Now, students regularly build their portfolios through their commercialized work with BGCC.  The club directors go directly to students when they need content for marketing fliers, announcements, event invitations, and other materials.

The students are also in charge of a bi-monthly newspaper. Youth coordinate content calenders, selling ads and creating both written and graphic content. Member journalists and ad sales students are paid for their work.

“It’s great. Now there is another little economy that we’ve built—that the kids have built—and they’re doing great,” says Soeder.

At the root of each of these initiatives is the BGCC Academic Success Program. Yardi has supported the Academic Success programs since 2012 to ensure that youth creativity and leadership continue to flourish in Cleveland.

“It takes about $5 million dollars to run the organization each year, to serve the 8,000 kids that we serve. The funding that Yardi has given us has gone into the Academic Success program. We have more than 3,500 kids each day that get involved in home help and academic support. With the support of this program, we graduate about 95 percent of our seniors. When you compare that to public school, only 81 percent graduate,” says Soeder.

He continues, “When a young person joins the club this year, we tell them. ‘You’re a part of the graduating class of 2028 and we expect you to graduate.’ We set high expectations academically—and then help them reach those goals.”

The Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland continues to uplift, empower, and mentor students through innovative programming, dedicated staff and volunteers. To show your support and learn how you can get involved, visit www.clevekids.org/ways-to-give.