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Dec 11

LaJean Ray asks the community to Dream with us at Fatima Family Center: Cleveland City Champions – cleveland.com

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This story is part of The Plain Dealers Cleveland City Champions series, which honors people and organizations that have done bold, innovative work to lift up a neighborhood or a community. The series was produced in partnership with The Guardian and with public broadcaster Ideastream.

CLEVELAND, Ohio When Fatima Family Center in Hough was due for a brand-new building about 20 years ago, director LaJean Ray gleaned ideas for programs and architecture from the community, right down to the bricks.

When we began to think about getting a new building, we [administrators] didnt go into a room and make all of the decisions ourselves, remembers Ray, 69, who has been with the center since 1986, and director since 1997.

We knocked on doors in the neighborhood and said, Dream with us. So everything that the neighborhood asked for is here. We even sold the bricks that are out front just so people would feel like they own a piece of the building. We sold them for $25 and raised $17,000. Its really a blessing to be here.

Ask center-goers spanning elementary schoolers to seniors how they feel about Rays diplomacy, and the word blessing comes up conversations. In fact, during a recent tour of the center led by Ray, one senior blurted, We love her!

Fatima Family Center is under the umbrella of Catholic Charities Diocese of Cleveland. Programs in this bright, bustling building include exercise, yoga and wellness for seniors; quilting and other crafts; summer day camp; computer lab, teen leadership and other after-school activities for older kids; a food bank and emergency assistance; family nights; a boutique in which women can twice a month drop in for clothing to wear to church or job interviews; and more. Thats what happens in-house.

Over the years, Ray has shepherded Cleveland School District high-schoolers to Africa, an opportunity that they otherwise wouldnt have dreamed possible. Ben Hughes, 48, hung out at Fatima as a youngster and now works here as a program coordinator and computer technician.

Without Miss Ray, I wouldnt have had a lot of the opportunities that Ive had, Hughes says. We went to Tanzania and Zanzibar with students 10 years ago, and it was life-changing for all of us. I went to Morgan State [University] because every year Miss Ray takes high school kids to visit campuses during spring break. I never would have even heard of Morgan State if it werent for her.

In these times of tension between the black community and law enforcement, Ray found ways to forge a positive relationship between neighborhood youngsters and police officers in that district. Police officers drop in and talk after school to children and teens, including providing career information. During the summer, the police escort children during weekly bicycle rides. And so on.

Our officers are frequent visitors in our building, says Ray.

Programs for seniors are crucial, Ray says, because Hough is an old neighborhood, and many seniors live all alone. Programs get them out of the house and amongst one another to quilt, craft, exercise, do yoga or just hang out and talk. Ray not only gets seniors out of the house, but out of the city. She leads group excursions to as far away as Washington, D.C., to as near as Ohio Amish country.

Oneida Collins, 70, said of one trip, We stayed at a hotel where they carried our luggage up to our rooms, and there was a jacuzzi in the bathroom. Were not used to that.

Ray and her husband, Ulysses, who live in Hough, have two sons and attend Antioch Baptist Church. She is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority. Ironically, Ray grew up in a Cleveland neighborhood called The Village. She was the oldest of four, so Ive always been taking care of folks, she says.

Before Fatima, for 10 years Ray worked at Harvard Community Center, founded by Rubie McCullough. When Ray returned to school later in life and earned a masters degree in 1997 from Kent State University, her thesis was on McCullough.

In 2000, Ray and the Fatima team received major kudos when the center was recognized by the Annie E. Casey Foundation as one of the top five family centers in the United States.

Ray was nominated to be recognized as a Cleveland City Champion by Marianne Crosley, president and CEO of Cleveland Leadership Center.

I have been there [Fatima] 10 times, and every time I go, I meet groups and individuals whose lives have been impacted by what LaJean is doing, Crosley says. She has the unique ability to care about individuals as well as the entire community, and she relates to everyone. She works constantly, and she does it graciously and always with a smile. She makes people feel like their lives have purpose.

Cheryl Hutson-Law, 68, has been best friends with Ray since the two were students at John F. Kennedy High School.

We were in the library sitting near each other, and somehow we got into a conversation about pity, piety and love, Hutson-Law remembers. It was enlightening. She was a good student and I was a good student, and we were of similar mindset.

Adds Hutson-Law, who now lives in Tampa, Florida, She [Ray] has always been an advocate and a lover of people. I do so admire the work that she does and the lives that she has changed. There are a bunch of kids who, if it werent for her and the center, they might be off doing other things. But they come here and learn respect.

Name: LaJean Ray

Organization: Fatima Family Center, under the umbrella of Catholic Charities Diocese of Cleveland

Cleveland credentials: Ray, 69, has been with Fatima Family Center in Hough since 1986; director since 1997. She grew up in The Village neighborhood on Clevelands East Side.

Champion credentials: Ray cares deeply for the residents of Hough, from elementary schoolers to seniors. Under Rays leadership, children enjoy summer day camp. Teens come for leadership training, social activities and, during spring break, visits to college campuses. Ray also fosters a positive relationship between teens and police officers in that district. Seniors enjoy crafts, yoga and group trips led by Ray. In 2000, Ray and the Fatima team were recognized by the Annie E. Casey Foundation as one of the top five family centers in the United States.

Read more about Cleveland City Champions:

Cleveland Champions: 25 people and organizations who are lifting up their communities

Heroism, selflessness and race became the main characters in our Cleveland Champions series: George Rodrigue

Birthing Beautiful Communities wants to fix terrifying reality of black infant mortality in Ohio

Rhonda Crowder and Hough Reads battle widespread illiteracy

Edwins, a restaurant serving up second chances for ex-offenders

Kim Foreman doesnt overpromise, delivers solutions for toxic neighborhoods

Rid-All shows us how to create a green oasis in a segregated city

Leftovers are black gold to Rust Belt Riders

Renee Jones uplifts human trafficking survivors through empowerment, respect

Shooting Without Bullets aims for visual truths

Tim Tramble builds toward the ultimate city to live in

Twelve Literary Arts taps power of poetry to heal, celebrate communities of color

Urban Community School beat the odds to become a beacon for low-income students

Will Sanchez runs a gallery where he once tried to rob a store

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LaJean Ray asks the community to Dream with us at Fatima Family Center: Cleveland City Champions - cleveland.com

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