The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District was awarded three grants totaling $135,000 from The Cleveland Foundation to help further programs and green opportunities in the region.
The funds will be used to enhance the Sewer District’s
Good Neighbor Ambassador Program and the Doan Brook Stream Restoration Project. The grants are for:
- Neighborhood Revitalization Projects, Good Neighbor Ambassador Program ($40,000)
- Case Study, Good Neighbor Ambassador Program ($20,000)
- Consultants, Doan Brook Stream Restoration Project ($75,000)
Good Neighbor Ambassador Program
Last May, the Sewer District launched the
Good Neighbor Ambassador Program, a progressive one-of-a-kind job development initiative designed to provide outreach to customers who are impacted by Project Clean Lake construction.
Project Clean Lake is the Sewer District’s $3 billion initiative to reduce combined sewer overflows from 4.5 billion gallons to 500 million gallons. The current construction activity is a series of projects located in the Glenville neighborhood of Cleveland.
The
Ambassador program hires underemployed or unemployed individuals for 30 hours each week with benefits. Staffed by seven ambassadors and a supervisor, the part-time ambassadors are assigned community improvement tasks, such as cutting grass, passing out project notices and talking with residents about Project Clean Lake, while receiving extensive professional development training. This training includes soft skills, safety procedures, conflict resolution, wastewater overview, and an explanation of the Sewer District’s wide-ranging construction activities. The Sewer District assists with job placement within the organization, as well.
