Slavic Village Development Receives $50K Gift; Donor Is Anonymous

Press release from SVD:

March 21, 2021

Slavic Village Development (SVD) is pleased to announce that it is the recipient of a generous $50,000 gift from an anonymous donor. Per the donor’s instructions, the funds will be divided between housing stability assistance, a business assistance fund, support of Community Stewards and SVD’s operating reserve fund.

This donation was made in response to a January 2021 article “Eviction aid: Slavic Village Development helps residents struggling with rent” published by The Land, Ideastream, and FreshWater Cleveland and paid for and commissioned by the Northeast Ohio Solutions Journalism Cooperative . The story discussed the challenges many renters are facing during the pandemic and how issues are exacerbated by paperwork requirements and housing inspections. It focused on how SVD has been able to cut through some of those restrictions and provide relief to some renters facing eviction.

“We were completely floored by the generosity of our donor. In speaking with them, they emphasized how touched they were by the care shown by our staff towards our residents,” said Christopher Alvarado, Slavic Village Development Executive Director. “While community development corporations usually work almost exclusively on ‘bricks and mortar’ projects that build new homes or create spaces for businesses, we have taken direction from our residents who have asked us to help folks stay in place.”

Lynn Rodemann, SVD’s Housing Outreach Specialist who was profiled in the article added, “This donation will go to help over 500 families in Slavic Village who are in need of a safety net in these trying times. These funds are helping to make sure we all make it to the other side of the pandemic together, and safely.”

SVD’s Healthy Home Initiative led by Lynn Rodemann works directly with residents who are in danger of eviction due to missing rent, or who may lose access to power, water, or heat when utility bills are missed. While SVD’s staff first work with existing partners such as CHN Housing Partners or EDEN, Inc. to extend a lifeline to households, not every applicant in need meets the
requirements for assistance.

Over the past year, SVD has successfully won grants from the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund, the Sister of Charity Foundation of Cleveland, the Sisters of Humility of Mary, and the McGregor Foundation to replenish a pool of resources that applicants to SVD have used to meet emergency needs. Private donors have also contributed to SVD’s Healthy Homes Fund, and over 97% of all grants and donations have been used for direct support.

“While we are still meeting the needs of neighbors harmed by the pandemic, we know that these needs won’t go away once the virus is no longer a part of our daily lives. The issues that our families and residents faced prior to 2020 were only exacerbated by the pandemic and will still exist afterwards. Our challenge is to continue to build housing stability for all of our neighbors regardless of our society’s broader issues,” said Alvarado.

For additional information about this gift and the work of Slavic Village Development, please contact Christopher Alvarado at chrisa@slavicvillage.org.

This press release was produced by SVD. The views expressed here are the author's own.