Guardians of Hope Fundraising
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Guardians of Hope - History and Mission
Guardians of Hope was created from a shared desire to support, aid, and uplift the residents of the Hough Neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio. In the mid 70’s, under the leadership of Sister Henrietta M. Gorris, a group of committed volunteers and parishioners joined together to develop programs to do just that. Through their hard work and dedication, programs such as the Famicos Foundation, the Fatima Family Center, what is now the near east side portion of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, and more were created. Inspired by these programs and their success, Terry Pfaff and Tim Vala have expanded their efforts to develop Guardians of Hope.
Initially, Guardians of Hope began as a group of young men from the Hough neighborhood conducting outreach programs such as teen father counseling, Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) basketball, and daily mentoring for the male youth of Hough. Today, their efforts have grown into a program that provides food, clothing, mentorship, and basic guidance for today’s Hough residents, young and old, male and female.
The Guardians of Hope mission is simple but not easy. We are committed to feed, clothe, educate, and improve overall quality of life of Hough residents via financial, food, educational, spiritual and season-driven donations. Please know that 100% of the Guardians of Hope GoFundMe proceeds will go directly to the Hough residents in need.
Programs and Accomplishments of Sister Henrietta and the
Fatima Family Center in the Hough Neighborhood of Cleveland since 1966
- Famicos Foundation: created to provide housing to families living at or below the poverty
- Donations Programs: neighborhood volunteers traveled to higher income individuals and families who donated refrigerators, stoves, dining room sets, bedroom sets, clothing, etc.
- Monetary Donations from all over the Greater Cleveland area
- Food Donations from the Northern Ohio Food Terminal
- Child Summer Programs: involved camps, tutoring, sports, reading, writing, etc while providing breakfast and lunch meals
- CYO Basketball Teams: This program provided teamwork development which taught male children and young men (ages 10-18) to become coachable
- Teen Father Program: provided counseling to young men who either currently had young children; or were at risk to become relatively young Teen fathers
- College Introductory Program: grade school children were transported to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN for a weekend which exposed them to college life
- Volunteer Program: University of Notre Dame students spent spring, summer, fall, and winter breaks involved in the above-aforementioned programs
As some of the above-described programs have been done away with for various reasons, we at Guardians of Hope are bringing similar programs to the Hough, Collinwood and Ohio City neighborhoods.
Guardians of Hope Programs and Accomplishments
- Easter Ham Jam: hams, canned foods, clothing, sox, shoes, boots, coats, hats, gloves, blankets, etc. distributed to residents of the Hough, Collinwood and Ohio City neighborhoods
- Back to School Prep Program: school backpacks provided to grade school children, filled with basic necessary school supplies
- Thanksgiving Turkey Jam: hams, canned foods, clothing, sox, shoes, boots, coats, hats, gloves, blankets, etc. distributed to residents of the Hough, Collinwood and Ohio City neighborhoods
- Christmas Ham Jam: hams, canned foods, clothing, sox, shoes, boots, coats, hats, gloves, blankets, etc. distributed to residents of the Hough, Collinwood and Ohio City. With the addition of Christmas toys for children
- Homeless Shelter Food Distribution: Food from Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas programs provided to City Mission on E. 55th St.
- Smoke Alarm Program: distribution of smoke alarms provided by the American Red Cross which will be installed in homes throughout the Collinwood neighborhood
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes: members of the GOH Team bring Bible study combined with athletic events to local High School students
- Collinwood Summer Program: school children ages 1st to 6th grades are provided breakfast and lunch along with tutoring
Guardians of Hope Team Members
1) Dr. Tim Vala
2) Tim Vala, Jr.
3) Bob Ripich
4) Ted Horansky
5) Conor Tilow
6) Eric Pfaff
7) Mark Pfaff
8) Sean McNally
9) Mike Sweeney
10) Fr. Bob Marva
11) Danny Perez
12) Joe Granzier
13) Vince Brookins
14) Christian Pfaff
15) Terry Pfaff
Organizer and beneficiary
Emily Shumaker-Chupp
Organizer
Cleveland, OH
Terry Pfaff
Beneficiary