Dreams turned into reality on Thursday, Feb. 1, with the grand opening of TUFF Kids’ Cleveland Youth Center at 1609 Ross Ave., Cleveland. TUFF Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to offering meaningful afterschool and summer activities for local youths, launched its innovative new youth center in the heart of the Cleveland community.
This once dilapidated property now thrives as a sanctuary of education and personal development for the community’s children. The once-blighted building, previously home to a defunct Masonic Lodge chapter, is a true testament to the resilience and determination of a community with a unified vision.
TUFF Kids was born out of the imaginations and dreams of founders Eisha Jones and Ivan Williams. Envisioning a space where the children of their community could be “Trained, Unwavering, Focused and Fit,” Jones and Williams wanted to provide a safe environment where children could thrive academically, socially, and physically through afterschool programs, summer camps, tutoring services, and various other outreach activities.
Initially, TUFF Kids began hosting summer camps from Samuel Wiley Park, located in the predominantly black community in Cleveland referred to as Pct. 20.
Reflecting on the road leading to the grand opening of the youth center, and standing before dozens of guests, Jones reminisced, “When we were kids, we talked about this all the time. But literally, in junior high, my idea was a YMCA here. Back then, I thought I was gonna become very wealthy and I was gonna write a check and put it in there. But the Lord seemed to have other plans.”
Williams, likewise, had similar dreams, which he hoped he would be able to bankroll through a pro-sports careers. While neither of those dreams panned out, something more spectacular occurred as local businesses and organizations began to provide grants and host fundraisers that pushed the project to the finish line. It was a dream years in the making.
Jones recalled when she first reached out to the now-elderly members of the old Masonic lodge and asked for the property to be donated to TUFF Kids.
She began writing letters to the owners of the property. When she learned that local barber Burnest “Slick” Mitchell was one of the former members of the Masonic Lodge, she visited him at his home.
“I said, Mr. Mitchell, I promise you, if you all would give us this building, we will get it restored and we will open it up for the community, but these kids will have somewhere to go. They can have a safe place where they can learn, have fun, and get resources for them and their families,” Jones said.
Only a bit of coaxing was needed for the Masons to donate the building to TUFF Kids, but the next challenge was funding the renovations, which were massive as the building had sat empty for decades.
Addressing the grand opening event crowd, Jones said. “This is not for us. It’s not for TUFF Kids. It is for the community, and the reason why we wanted you all to come out today is because you have invested your time, your money, your prayers. Literally it has been, I feel like it has almost been an act of God, to get this place completed, but we are here and I am so grateful.”
Jones was brought to tears when Tasha Childress with Austin Bank of Cleveland stepped forward to present a $4,000 check to TUFF Kids. The check was part of Austin Bank’s continuing commitment to the youth center.
“Part of Austin values is giving back to the communities that we serve. We have loved Eisha from the beginning and TUFF Kids. So when she came to us with this dream, we knew it was something that we wanted to partner with, and we have been doing that for the last couple of years and we want it to continue. And Mrs. Debbie here (Debbie Braune, Austin Bank CRA officer). She is over our community reinvesting, so she finds all of the funds for this stuff. We just encourage all of you to do what you can – a monetary donation, serving, volunteering, praying.”
Jones joyfully laughed as she accepted the check and remarked, “We need volunteers! We need finances because the light bill is coming, the water bill is coming. We need hands. People are saying, ‘What are you going to do?’ We can only do with the number of hands we have. The more hands, the lighter the work, right? Everybody here is a part of the community in some form or fashion. You’re leaders in different organizations, so you know what it’s like to be one of a couple people pulling the load.”
Jones added that she hopes to find retired teachers in the community who can tutor students in reading, math and other subjects. She hopes that over the next five years TUFF Kids can become more self-sufficient so that new organizations will have more access to future grant funding.
“We have a plan for that and we know the Lord will see us through on that,” she said.
If you are interesting in donating your time as a volunteer for TUFF Kids or want to learn more about programs, go online to https://www.tuffkids.org/ or call 405-474-1977.
