Festival of Trees: Kickoff to Christmas in Cleveland

Customers bustle to-and-fro in a room filled with beautiful trees carefully crafted by donors. Jubilant music fills the room. Caterers prepare to serve the crowd. The atmosphere is teeming with Christmas spirit. This event marks the beginning of the Christmas season in Cleveland. The Festival of Trees is a fundraising gala supporting the operation of Foundation House Ministries. The ministry walks with mothers trapped in a crisis lifestyle as they journey toward faith, wholeness and lasting stability.

The Festival of Trees is a landmark event for Foundation House Ministries. It will take place Thursday, November 14. Foundation House board member Andy Dailey proposed the festival, which began in 2021. It continues to flourish and evolve every year. Ashley Neer, executive assistant of client services at Foundation House Ministries, recognizes Festival of Trees is for the benefit of Cleveland and the ministry itself. 

“It's about engaging with people in the community and sharing our nonprofit's mission – thereby growing its network; we then can grow the ministry to serve more mothers and their children who are in need of our program and services,” Neer says. 

Foundation House accomplishes this by presenting a Christmas Gala with a large variety of elaborately decorated Christmas trees, a silent auction, live music and a catered dinner. Foundation House Ministries works all year round to prepare for this spectacular event. 

Although the team of staff and volunteers at Foundation House Ministries know how to host a gorgeous gala, they specialize in “rescuing mothers, rebuilding lives, and restoring futures.” Suzanne Burns started Foundation House Ministries to meet the needs of those beginning this process. Neer is a testament to the mission of Foundation House; she graduated from the ministry’s rehabilitation program in 2019 and became a staff member in 2020. 

“Having been a client who once needed the support, guidance, love and discipline from FHM, I believe that nothing happens by coincidence,” Neer says. “The act of saving a life brings fulfillment; knowing that one has made a difference in someone else's existence fosters a sense of purpose, and I know this firsthand.”.

This year the Festival of Trees will highlight another life that has been restored through the ministry: Brooke StClair will graduate from Foundation House’s rehabilitation and job-training program. The support of the Foundation House staff aided StClair in the restorative process of recovery and rebuilding her life. 

“If the Foundation House never showed up, I probably wouldn't be here,” StClair says. “The program saved my life when I was on the verge of dying.” Neer’s and StClair’s success stories are just a few accounts of the ministry’s mission at work. 

The Festival of Trees offers a chance to the Cleveland community to bolster Foundation House Ministries’ mission. Ryan May, owner of the Weaver’s Room at the Old Woolen Mill, donates space to host the event every year. Community members have the “opportunity to take something simple, like the purchase of a tree, and turn it into a gift for the most desperate in our community,” May says. The trees sold at the gala are symbols of hope for members of the ministry. A symbol that sparks conversations, spreads the word about Foundation House and brings Christmas cheer. 

“Festival of Trees is a straightforward way for people to collectively meet a need and open our arms to a population that's in distress; It’s important for the community to have those opportunities to help,” May adds. While generosity is at a peak around Christmastime, Foundation House Ministries requires funding all year.

Beyond supplying monetarily for the ministry, there is always a need that can be met, whether that be helping in the Good Foundations Thrift Store, running a weekly bible study or landscaping around the property. “Volunteering your time not only helps the nonprofit, but it can also be a rewarding experience for you,” Neer says. “Let’s get you involved! The reward is unmatched, opportunities are limitless and your impact directly supports mothers and children on their journey.”

Donations can be given to the ministry online, by purchasing from the thrift store, or fulfilling a need within the ministry. Foundation House Ministries gives the community a chance to change the future of Cleveland.

“Something as simple as a tree can affect the long term health of our community, and I don't think you're ever going to get a better return on your investment than that,” May says. 

The Festival of Trees will be held 6 to 8:30 p.m. on November 14 at the Old Woolen Mill Weavers Room. Tickets to the Festival of Trees  are $45 and can be purchased online or in person at Good Foundations Thrift Store. Volunteers can contact Foundation House through their website or by calling (423) 464 5351.