CLEVELAND — Three decades ago, Open Doors Academy started out of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Cleveland. It's now a K-12 out-of-school enrichment program, but the way that it began speaks to its culture today.
"The story is that there were children who were walking home from a neighboring school and they would find their way into the church," CEO Dr. Dorothy Moulthrop explained. "They would do things like dribble the basketball down the sanctuary. They would rack up the phone bill, so the people in the church started locking the doors after school.
"And one day, the associate rector found that the doors were locked, so he opened the doors, and they explained to him what was happening. And he said, 'That doesn't seem like the response that we want to have. Maybe these kids need something,' and out of that response to a need, Open Doors Academy was born."
And this response has grown over the Academy's 31-year existence. It now stands as a series of programs that seek to be all-encompassing.
"We actually cover the whole child throughout our three hours with the scholar," Anita Whitlow, Program Manager for Cleveland Metropolitan School District, told us. "They will have been enriched with homework. We also offer academic learning time, which includes social emotional learning and supports."
Marketing and Advancement Manager Daa'iyah Rahman explains their reach continues to expand at a steady pace.
"We are able to serve currently 20 different schools throughout the state. We primarily serve the Greater Cleveland area, but we have been fortunate to reach out to Lima, Ohio; Mansfield, Sandusky, and also Firelands."
The ODA programming also emphasizes the unity that it seeks to bridge between families and faculties.
"There isn't necessarily always a straight path between families and the school buildings as much as it should be, so I spent a lot of time in the schools having conversations with them, seeing where the gaps are, making them feel like I'm an advocate for them, and that I can help them get their voice heard," CMSD Family Advocate Britiny Lee explained.
And for the third year in a row, they're planning a clam bake fundraiser to continue their multifaceted mission.
It is the one time when we come and bring our whole community together and ask for support so that we can continue to operate these programs and to provide afterschool and summer programs.
"Speaking of the clam bake, it allows us to bring our community together in celebration of our families. Each year we unveil an apron that reflects our previous year. And this year's theme was we are all neighbors," Rahman told 3News. "And it takes a community of neighbors to continue this valuable work."
"In Ohio for every one kid in an afterschool program, five kids are waiting to get in," said Moulthrop, "And we need to do better as a community, and we need everybody's help and support to be able to meet that need and to give kids what they need."
