The Care-A-Van Book Reading Event

Grandparent Merit Badges recently attended an amazing East Cleveland community event put on by Food Strong called Care-A-Van.  The Care-A-Van event takes place on the 2nd Saturday of the month from May through October at Coit Road Farmers Market in East Cleveland.

Since 1932, Coit’s Road Farmers’ Market has been an anchor on Cleveland’s east side and they have a mission to provide access to affordable, locally grown farm fresh products to the residents of Greater Cleveland.

Food Strong Founder Sara Continenza and her incredible team do outstanding community outreach that benefits so many and through their many different programs.  The Care-A-Event event was an amazing way to foster healthy eating and excitement over fresh, local foods all while at the same time providing important resources at a celebratory community get-together!

Heather McCormick, Food Strong’s Community Outreach and Marketing Manager, is a mover and shaker behind Care-A-Van events. Heather contributes an unbelievable amount of coordination and people skills into the efforts for Food Strong! We were thankful to be a part of this fabulous event.

Guest Speaker to the event, Dave Grunenwald generously donated the GMB book collection including Grandparent Merit Badges™ and Lucas and Emily’s Adventure series books via the Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank. As Guest Author, Dave gave an exciting reading to visitors from his Lucas and Emily Adventure Series. The visitors were so grateful to meet the author and even more grateful to receive a free book. Thank you Dave!

The Care-A-Van featured several wonderful vendors ranging from free arts and crafts, festive live music, food demonstrations, and health screenings and reps from local non-profits.

GMB Manager Terry Stephens set out a table of Grandparent Merit Badges books and coloring pages for the children and talked to vendors and visitors.  She had a wonderful time meeting and speaking with the reps at nearby tables. The GMB crew and table gave away many books to the various people that came by and were enjoying the event.

A beautiful element of the Care-A-Van project is The Food Strong Learning Garden in cooperation with Coit Road Urban Farm.  Filled with delicious and beautiful produce, this interactive space is used for teaching, learning, planting, and growing to benefit the greater community.

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Food Strong provided fresh and hot mini breakfast sliders freshly prepared on the grill. They used fresh food from the Food Strong and Coit Road Farmers’ Market gardens and the sandwiches were YUMMY!!!

The scents of freshly grilled onions and peppers floated tantalizingly through the air teasing your nose and appetite, while the syncopation and improvisation of CollectivExpress’s live music catered to the ears and soul.

CollectivExpress Executive Director and DJ Josiah Britt asks, “What would happen if we used culture to bring information and opportunity into underserved neighborhoods in Cleveland?”

DJ Josiah has delivered!

The live band performance by CollectivExpress was absolutely incredible. Led by DJ Josiah Britt, the music was out of this world and the extremely talented musicians made us feel like we were at a big-time concert. It was hard to stand still with the smooth and soulful music playing…you just had to dance a little!

There was a woman nearby who was enjoying the music so much, she was given ribbon wands to fully engage with the rhythm. Her musical appreciation and joyful dancing was infectious and she added more sparkle to the performance! The way the colors and ribbons spun through the air while she danced was mesmerizing!

In between performances, the CollectivExpress DJ also gave lots of shout-outs and put great emphasis on grass roots efforts throughout the course of Care-A-Van like shopping locally, registering to vote, celebrating grandparents and family and those that care for us. He gave great shout outs to Dave for being the local author there to do a book reading!

Terry Stephens of Grandparent Merit Badges observed, “I sincerely would have loved to be able to just hang out all day long listening to that moving music, fueling myself with those delicious fresh grilled sliders, and celebrating a truly vibrant community with all the good folks who attended!”

There was a great non-profit table called PADS.  Founder Delesia Robinson, RN and Malinda Green are also proud grandmothers!  PADS stands for Pride Among Daughters and Sisters. PADS is a non-profit organization that provides/delivers free feminine products to underprivileged young girls and women in need to promote pride, dignity, and confidence. They were on hand and also spoke lovingly of their grandchildren and how much they cherish the time they spend together with them.

Another nearby non-profit vendor was Seeds of Literacy.  Their rep was another amazing woman with incredible drive, ambition and empathy that we greatly enjoyed meeting and speaking with. Seeds of Literacy’s mission is to provide free, personalized education to empower adults to thrive in their community and break the cycle of poverty by strengthening through the transformed lives of their students. They are always looking for volunteer tutors!

There was also a group of Case Western Medical School students providing free health screenings at Care-A-Van.

The Case Western Medical School students were kind and engaging with the community members. They provided important health screenings and information, and most importantly they gathered around attentively for Author Dave’s Grandparent Merit Badges ‘Story Time’. They made the whole experience that much more enjoyable for all.

Case Western School of Medicine is one of the top-25 medical schools in the country and is both the #1 medical school and largest biomedical research institution in Ohio. Their mission guides them to provide excellence in medical education through their unique curriculum, advance discoveries from their laboratories to patients and improve the health of their community.

There was so much positive energy and warmth at Care-A-Van. It was inspiring and uplifting to see the diverse crowd of folks in the community who came out to work and visit the Care-A-Van. There was a great feeling of appreciation and support of health, family, and community support and engagement.

Thank you Food Strong for including Grandparent Merit Badges in this excellent Care-A-Van event!

Families in NorthEast Ohio have one more chance to check out this wonderful community event.This would be a great chance to Disconnect From The Digital and reconnect with those who matter most to you!  Please stop by the last Care-A-Van event of the Fall season at Coit Road Farmers’ Market on Saturday, 10/12/24. You can also visit Food Strong online and on Instagram at @FoodStrongCle.