Sharing HUGS from the Wenk Foundation

Wenk Foundation

Enriching the lives of children and animals compromised by circumstance or conditions.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOAN!

Please join us in wishing the matriarch of our family, Joan Wenk, a very happy and healthy 80th Birthday!

Beyond celebrating her special day, we are excited to inform you of the Joan P. Wenk Trauma Informed Care Fund at University Hospitals Rainbow Center for Women and Children in Cleveland, Ohio.

This special Fund was established with a gift made in honor of the exceptional work done by Dr. Alissa Huth Bocks in developing innovative and comprehensive models of trama informed care based on the developmental science about childhood trauma exposure.

Joan has devoted her entire life and career to the care and education of children. She founded Creative Playrooms Montessori and Child Care in 1968 which she grew and led for 50 years.

The Joan P. Wenk Trauma Informed Care Fund is in place to continue to support work done at UH in early childhood mental health disorders and social-emotional difficulties such as post-traumatic stress reactions, anxiety, depression, and regulatory and behavioral problems in children age 0-5 years.

To learn more or make a donation to the Fund, contact the Wenk Foundation at information@wenkfoundation.org.

Happy Birthday, Joan! Thank you for all you've done for children over the years!

Joan P. Wenk Trauma Informed Care Fund

Women Empowering Women

Wenk Foundation sponsors Women's Leadership Series

While our primary focus is enriching the lives of children and animals compromised by circumstance, we proudly sponsor The Women’s Leadership Series – Women Empowering Women at Cleveland State University.

Women Empowering Women officially launched in October 2018 under the Center for Public & Nonprofit Management and Senator Grace L. Drake's Ohio Center for the Advancement of Women in Public Service. The series was created to engage and empower public & nonprofit sector leaders throughout Northeast Ohio, while promoting the concept of gender representation at all levels of leadership.

The theme – “Women Empowering Women” – hones in on the notion that women should support, empower, and mentor one another. The series’ programming is strategically designed to capitalize on this theme of empowerment within sectors where political pressures are at play, resources remain tight, and the competition to rise to executive leadership endures.

To learn more, click on the button, below.

Learn More

What if...

...senior animals no longer had to be 'last picked' in shelters and could live a comfortable, enriched life in a fur-ever home?

...a mobile pantry could bring food, school supplies, books, clothing and loving support right to the front doors of under-served children?

...children could improve their reading skills and, at the same time, bring comfort to sheltered animals needing human interaction?

...animals living in impoverished areas could still get necessary veterinary care that their pet families might not be able to afford, outright?

These need not simply be dreams. Contact the Wenk Foundation to learn how you can help make them a reality!

ORGANIZATIONS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Organizations throughout Northeast Ohio are doing miraculous things for children and animals who desperately need their help and expertise. Learn more about a few we've come to know, here.

(Click on the photos to learn more!).

The Literacy Cooperative

of Greater Cleveland

Founded in 2006, The Literacy Cooperative of Greater Cleveland works on behalf of the community to improve literacy levels among children, youth and adults in Greater Cleveland.

To bridge current gaps in the education continuum and support availability and access to quality literacy services in Cuyahoga County, the Literacy Cooperative’s work focuses on supporting a system of high quality, interconnected and outcomes oriented service delivery, improving early literacy outcomes and defining and strengthening pathways to post-secondary education and careers. By adopting this triple-edged approach the Literacy Cooperative’s goal is to concurrently address the literacy needs of under-educated, low-skilled parents, intervene with the child to make sure they are prepared and ready to learn and ensure service institutions are available and equipped to provide the highest quality of services possible.

Sanctuary for Senior Dogs

Founded in 2000 Sanctuary for Senior Dogs works with local shelters to place older dogs into loving homes. Their programs go beyond foster and adoption and include education of the public on how to keep them in homes, successfully. They also match senior adults with senior dogs in their Companions program so that both humans and canines can enjoy a full life in their golden years!

All of our their dogs are safe from the threat of euthanasia. They live in loving foster homes, eat a high quality diet, and get regular vet care and exercise. They serve a 100 mile area around Cleveland.

Girls for the World

Girls for the World is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping adolescent girls envision themselves as powerful agents of change in their lives and communities.

GFW’s programs guide girls through a journey of self-discovery that sparks the imagination and builds confidence. In their immersive five-day workshops—which combine discussion, role play, art, music, dance, fitness and mentorship—girls discover their unique voices and gifts. And they help them recognize their dignity, value and leadership potential. Self-awareness and self-acceptance awaken self-empowerment, and once this transformation occurs, a natural leader emerges and action in the community becomes a personal imperative. Their workshops encourage girls to see how their creativity and vision can effect change in their lives and communities—even around the world.

GFW stands as a witness to girls, especially those marginalized by gender, socioeconomic or life circumstances, in their efforts to see themselves from this new perspective.

While GFW is global in their reach, they are headquartered in Northeast Ohio and have conducted workshops, locally as well as internationally.

FEATURED ORGANIZATION

The Brightside Project

The Brightside Project was launched in 2016 by a father-daughter team, Scott Lewis and Lisa Wallace. With over 2 decades of combined experience working with low-income and under-served families they decided to launch a non-profit that would reach out directly to children. Children in Columbiana County and surrounding communities in Northeast Ohio are hurting. They are struggling to see a bright future as they battle against hunger, poverty, drug abuse, neglect and complex emotional and mental health issues. The Brightside Project was launched to meet the needs of these children. "We know that they have basic needs that need met with food and personal care items," says Scott Lewis. "We know they have social emotional needs that can be met through mentorship, friendship and love. We know that these children experience dark moments in life but even in the darkest times we can show them there is a brightside."

The goal of The Brightside Project is to meet the basic needs of children in Columbiana County through food, clothing and personal care items so that we can begin to meet their social emotional needs through mentorship, friendship and love. They believe that the programs and services they offer will equip and empower children to reach their full potential by build resiliency giving them hope.

The Brightside Project

Co-Founders Scott Lewis & Lisa Wallace

Closing thought...

""It's impossible, said Pride. It's risky, said Experience. it's pointless,

said Reason. Give it a try, whispered the Heart."

- Anonymous