GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — Nichelle Daniels has dedicated her life to service. She is the mother of eight children ranging from ages four to 15.

 


What You Need To Know

  • Nichelle Daniels is the mother of eight children ranging from ages four to 15, five of which she adopted after fostering

  • Her nonprofit Abundant Love Community Outreach kicked off a Lunch and Literacy program in July

  • Multiple local businesses and organizations work together to provide the door-to-door deliveries of food, books, and family art projects

  • Daniels raised more than $6,000 on the nonprofit crowdfunding platform ioby in less than two weeks with the help of a match fund

  • The final Lunch and Literacy of 2020 is on Dec. 19, and Daniels plans to launch a new ioby campaign soon to continue the mission into the new year

“We have been amazingly blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed to adopt five children that we fostered through the Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services,” said Daniels.

Daniels is also the founder of a nonprofit: Abundant Love Community Outreach, which supports families and young people in Garfield Heights near Cleveland.

“Where there’s a connection and our youth has a need, Abundant Love is there to address it and address it with love,” she said.

COVID-19 turned everything upside down.

In addition to the absence of social connection, remote learning continues to present several other challenges. Many families rely on school for at least one meal per day, and access to books is lacking in many homes.

That’s where the Abundant Love Community Outreach Lunch and Literacy Program steps up to fill the void.

“We really, you know, look forward to seeing our families even if it was through the door to check on them and let them know that someone in the community is concerned about them and they’re not just locked in the home and forgotten about,” said Daniels.

The program kicked off in July and all of her kids participate in Lunch and Literacy.

"This is a legacy for me. Service, servitude is an inheritance that I most definitely plan to leave down to my children and the best way for them to be good stewards over this inheritance is for them to be able to serve alongside me and they love it. They love it,” said Daniels.

Multiple local businesses and organizations work together to provide the food, books, and family art projects.

During the summer, the deliveries happened three days per week. Now, the door-to-door drop-offs are twice per month.

“During COVID-19 in particular, first families are not comfortable bringing their children out and then there’s transportation barriers and so we are able to with community members and partners, we bring the Lunch and Literacy to your door,” said Daniels.

The second leg of funding comes from ioby.

Ioby stands for “in our backyards.” It’s a national nonprofit crowdfunding platform and Dawn Arrington is the Cleveland Action Strategist.

She provides coaching and support throughout every step of a fundraising campaign.

“You’re either addressing a challenge or you’re upholding the best of what your community is, and that’s what Nichelle was doing,” said Arrington.

Daniels has raised more than $6,000 on ioby in less than two weeks with the help of a match fund.

The final Lunch and Literacy of 2020 is on Dec. 19, and Daniels plans to launch a new ioby campaign soon to continue the mission into the new year.

“Any type of help, we could really use it because we are needed beyond Garfield Heights and we have a heart for all youth everywhere,” Daniels said. “So, the more volunteers and support we receive, we could pop up in your community.”