These three words are both philosophy and mission of the Cleveland Coalition, a civic organization of Clevelanders working to create a more connected, vibrant community.
The Cleveland Coalition takes one issue (the new casino, for example) and examines it in depth (educate), talks to other organizations about it (collaborate) and makes a plan to affect change (act).
CoolCleveland’s Sarah Valek caught up with two of the Coalition’s founding members, Fran DiDonato and Gauri Torgalkar, at that peerless 1890 Cleveland venue, The Arcade, during the Great Lakes Urban Exchange (GLUE) Conference where they spoke on citizen-led visioning. Here they talk about what they do and what gives them hope in an often cynical environment.
Get more information here: http://www.ClevelandCoalition.org.
Cool Cleveland events editor Sarah Valek graduated from Ithaca College with a double-major in arts and writing. After graduation, she came back to her beloved city and served as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. She currently spends her days chasing after her toddler-age son, drinking soy lattes and digging up the coolest events around town.