Introducing the 2024 Northeast Ohio Signature Cohort Participants!
Secure your seat!
You’re invited on June 17 to network with these social entrepreneurs and listen to them pitch LIVE!
Every year, 30-40+ people apply for each of our free Signature Cohorts. A team is assembled to review the applications and determine who will most benefit from the program.
This year in Northeast Ohio, 12 ventures were selected! Below is a short bio on each (in alphabetical order).
Americas Best Farm
Bloom @PPRC
Destination Dream Foundation
Fit After Pink
Hands-On Health
Just Like Me Presents
MOTIVATE
pigybak
Real People, Reel Legacies!
Rentparations
Restauratour
OH Sew Powerful
Please join us in congratulating these social entrepreneurs as they move forward further, faster!
Americas Best Farm
America's Best Farm is a 501(c)4 social welfare and community development organization. Our goal is to #MakeFoodFREEagain! We take abandoned land and turn it into edible green spaces called #UrbanFarmParks. Using food to combat disease and strengthen the bonds between neighbors.
Founder: Nicholas Iuliani
Americasbestfarm.com
Bloom @PPRC
"Bloom," is a groundbreaking initiative that is dedicated to addressing critical issues affecting black pregnant and postpartum women: Black maternal mental health. We aim to deliver specialized mental health services that address the distinct needs of postpartum Black women. Our approach involves breaking the silence, exploring innovative strategies to break generational cycles, and fostering coping skills. The ultimate goal is to construct a pathway to emotional well-being and success.
Founders: Veranda Rodgers & Toya Owens Hodge
pregnantwithpossibilities.com
Destination Dream Foundation
By creating unique programming that addresses both neighborhood disinvestment and community trauma simultaneously, Destination Dream is a one-stop route to success for the youth of the City of Cleveland. In addition, Destination Dream’s combined private and public funding model will create multiple revenue streams, branding and fundraising opportunities that will connect competing entities and leverage existing services for residents of Cleveland and the Buckeye neighborhood.
Founder: Jada Hobson
destinationdream.org
Fit After Pink
Established in 2023, Fit After Pink is a fitness company geared towards breast cancer survivors. Increasingly, we are seeing the benefits that physical activity has for cancer survivors- before, during and after treatment; however, the fitness industry is not equipped to work with the unique needs that survivors have. Fit After Pink seeks to fill this void by employing fitness instructors who have their Cancer Exercise Trainer Certifications, and by partnering with a physical therapist/certified lymphedema specialist to provide high-quality, appropriate fitness classes. The true secret to success though, is the empowering breast cancer survivor community that we will create.
Founder: Davida Pantuso
fitafterpink.com
Hands-On Health
Hands-On Health is a heart health organization that provides interactive, hands-on educational programs that aim to combat social determinants of health and decrease generational health disparities. Considering every 33 seconds, someone dies of a heart related event in the U.S., the goal of Hands-On Health's programs is to provide students and families tools to live longer and healthier lives together through fun, practical, easy, and tangible lifestyle modifications.
Founders: Jennifer Macklin B.S., PharmD & Jessica Macklin B.S., PharmD
handsonhealth.org
Just Like Me Presents
JLM Presents is a multimedia production and development company that stresses the importance of literacy, culturally relevant teaching materials, and active learning experiences. Meanwhile in Africa is a supplemental, culturally responsive Social Studies curriculum for students in grades K-5. We strive to teach each child that African American history does not begin with slavery, that many of our present-day discoveries and inventions originated in Africa, and participation in our communities has the power to change the world. Follow us at @justlikemepresents.
Founder: Michelle Person
justlikemepresents.com
MOTIVATE
MOTIVATE (Mentoring Others Through Inspiration, Validation, Action, Teaching & Empowerment) is a Cleveland-based Organization that aims to motivate and empower others. At the center of our bullseye, we focus on providing resources, opportunities, and programming that are integral to the growth and development of others as well as our communities. One of MOTIVATE's signature programs will be the Mental Health Matters: Youth Summit, a space intentionally designed to empower and educate our youth about their mental health.
Founder: Ariana Smith
motivate2inspire.org
pigybak
At Pigybak, our mission is to revolutionize home maintenance by seamlessly connecting homeowners with reliable contractors across neighborhoods. Through our innovative platform, we bundle and monitor household projects, saving homeowners valuable time and money while concurrently establishing a sustainable and efficient source of job opportunities for contractors. We are dedicated to transforming the way people experience home services, fostering collaboration, and delivering unparalleled convenience.
Founder: Shanna Greathouse
pigybak.com
Real People, Reel Legacies!
Real People, Reel Legacies is a docu-series designed to gather unique stories from communities that are unheard and often overlooked. Our mission is to not only create lasting content for individual families but to use their stories as archivable data that can benefit communities in the greater Cleveland area.
Founders: Heavenly Aguilar & Johnathon Jamison
realpeoplereellegacies.com | @realpeoplereellegacies
Rentparations
Rentparations is a for-profit restorative economics program that decenters landlords and facilitates renter equity through tech enabled support services. First, we matchmake savings-poor renters with landlords of underperforming residential assets. Then, we provide monthly opportunities for tenants to earn a small grant by participating in a social-impact assignment. Over 36 months, tenants can bank up to $5000 cash or $10,000 towards a personal development goal.
Founder: Josiah Britt
rentparations.com
Restauratour
RESTAURATOUR is a free digital hospitality guide that will be published twice a year, composed from the suggestions of a diverse panel of chef-owners. Each spring and fall, RESTAURATOUR will showcase a dozen dining destinations encompassing splurge-worthy, mid-range and affordable favorites vetted by some of Cleveland’s most skilled, accomplished and candid culinarians.
Founder: Tricia Chaves
restauratour.com
OH Sew Powerful, Inc.
OH SEW POWERFUL, INC.(OSPI) is a 501(c)(3) based in the Lee-Harvard neighborhood of southeast Cleveland, Ohio. OSPI was formed during the pandemic to offer free virtual programs. We put together craft kits, mailed them to participants, and completed them together on Zoom. We socialized to combat COVID isolation to create objects of art. In 2022 we began servicing the community with free in-person machine sewing programs. Our multigenerational participants wanted longer term projects that would showcase their creations for the entire community to see. Each make-it-and-take-it creativity program culminates with a community quilt - created by residents - to be displayed as public art. Ultimately, we will monetize a portion of our programs to generate revenues to free us from being 100% dependent on grants and crowd funding monies.
Founder: Paula Coggins
ohsewpowerful.org | @oh_sew_powerful_inc
You’re invited to the finale!!!
June 17, 2024 • 5pm - 8pm at MAGNET
Network with these social entrepreneurs and listen to them pitch LIVE!
Please join us to celebrate the 2024 SEA Change Northeast Ohio Signature Cohort of local Social Enterprise businesses as they showcase their businesses that both DO GOOD for the community and also DO WELL financially!
The finale of the program will be held on Monday, June 17th from 5pm - 8pm at MAGNET: The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network.
Experience a night filled with inspiration, innovation, and networking as we celebrate and champion the movers and shakers in the Northeast Ohio community! Learn how they're making a difference in the areas of healthcare, education, food access, and more. Vote and cheer them on as they launch into our community!