From Yoga INSTRUCTOR TO COMMUNITY LEADER
Co-founder of Crown Connections Katie Ross sits down with Sarah Wolf, Community-Building Programs Manager at FutureHeights, to learn a little bit more about the organization, and just exactly what she’s been up to ever since they parted ways from the Mandel School at Case Western Reserve. Sarah’s work with FutureHeights stems from her moral philosophy of “creating welcoming spaces and establishing a sense of belonging in those spaces.” After working in a family-owned yoga studio for two years, experiencing the flux of people’s lives and providing instruction and guidance for her students, Sarah was inspired to attend Case Western Reserve for Social Administration and become a licensed social worker.
Sarah’s desire to pursue a career in social work and the non-profit industry comes from her love of storytelling. She has her bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from Emerson College, and has done numerous live storytelling and stand-ups. Social work and writing go hand in hand when it comes to “how to tell your story in a meaningful and impactful way that can also be healing. We use our words to heal the past, we use our words to move ourselves forward, to really understand how we think and why.”
In her first year at Case Western, Sarah joined FutureHeights as an intern. FutureHeights’ mission is “to facilitate an equitable, prosperous and vibrant future for Cleveland Heights and University Heights and to engage in and promote economic and social development through meaningful engagement of residents and collaboration with local organizations, businesses and governments.” After staying with them for two consecutive years, Sarah reports how valued she felt in the company, that her opinion mattered and she was always considered an equal at the table. When the company offered to create a new position specifically tailored for Sarah as the Community-Building Programs Manager in 2021, she accepted and has been working with FutureHeights ever since.
FutureHeights envisions Cleveland Heights and University Heights as national examples of communities that are equitable, sustainable, and inclusive; culturally rich and diverse, with thriving local businesses, attractive neighborhoods, and a deeply engaged citizenry. They run multiple projects to assist the local environment, especially through neighborhood mini-grants: a program that offers up to $1000 in funding for community building initiatives. The purpose of these mini-grants: to empower residents to be able to do things on their own. There’s always something you can do within your neighborhood, whether it’s small or large, that can change your world and impact the people around you. FutureHeights exists to incite these transformations in communities, to elevate environments, to support families.
To hear more about FutureHeights and their work in the Cleveland area, click the button below to visit their website.
Read Sarah’s article about the “ABCs of Jared” on our website, click here.