Since its start 42 years ago, the Cleveland Turkey Trot, a Thanksgiving morning tradition for the whole family, has benefited a number of charities in our community. Local charities of all sizes and interests are invited to get involved in the race to help raise funds for their respective causes and your organization has the opportunity to be involved in this milestone race!
This year's beneficiaries include:
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center
Vision
Our vision is the elimination of sexual violence.
Mission
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center supports survivors of rape and sexual abuse, promotes healing and prevention and advocates for social change.
History
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center was founded in 1974 in response to Cleveland’s long-standing need for services to assist survivors of sexual assault.
Before the 1970s, most people who had suffered sexual abuse suffered in silence. Feelings of guilt, shame or fear kept these women, children and men from speaking out about, much less reporting, their assaults. Only in recent years has their silence been broken, in part by their outrage and refusal to accept misplaced blame, and in part by their knowledge that others will be there to support them.
Over the years, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center has grown from a grassroots, volunteer-run hotline service to assist survivors of rape and sexual abuse to an 80-employee nonprofit organization providing leading counseling services, victim assistance in the justice system, and 24-hour services to survivors of rape and sexual abuse in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake and Ashtabula Counties.
Love Doesn't Shove
The message of Love Doesn’t Shove is one that applies to all audiences. Abuse can happen to anybody just as it can be perpetrated by anybody, regardless of gender, race, sexuality or socioeconomic status. Love Doesn’t Shove intends to empower individuals by including all voices in the educational conversation surrounding dating violence, as well as offering a platform for those voices.
Cleveland Food Bank
In our service territory, one in seven people is food insecure – meaning they may not know where their next meal will come from. The Greater Cleveland Food Bank seeks to bridge the meal gap, connecting individuals with the nutritious meals they need to succeed.
The Greater Cleveland Food Bank is the largest hunger relief organization in Northeast Ohio having served nearly 350,000 people in Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Ashland and Richland counties in FY2022.
We do this through both food distribution and SNAP outreach efforts. The Food Bank operates a community food distribution center, providing food and other critical grocery products annually to more than 1,000 local food pantries, hot meal programs, shelters, mobile pantries, programs for the elderly and other nonprofit agencies.
The Food Bank provided almost 50 million pounds of food in 2022!
We also prepare nutritious meals in our Food Bank Kitchen and take hundreds of calls a day in our help center, where we refer low-income callers to local agencies and sign-up eligible Northeast Ohioans for the SNAP program and other benefits.
Last year, through our outreach efforts, we helped almost 40,000 eligible people apply for public benefits. We continue to connect our clients to other non-profits to address the main drivers of food insecurity: housing, healthcare, and employment
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
THE LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY (LLS) IS A GLOBAL LEADER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST BLOOD CANCER.
LLS is the largest nonprofit dedicated to creating a world without blood cancers. Since 1949, LLS has invested more than $1.6 billion in groundbreaking research, pioneering many of today's most innovative approaches.
The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.
For more information and support, visit https://www.lls.org/
