One of our newer members, Malia Lewis joined HRRC’s Board of Directors last June. After moving to Cleveland Heights from Chicago ten years ago, Malia had seen the need for our services first-hand. “As a small scale landlord and rental property manager,” she says, “I witnessed the devastation wrought by ballooning lousy mortgage loans which forced people out of their homes.” She was familiar with HRRC, having previously attended classes and used our Resource Library. Perhaps more importantly, she believes in HRRC’s mission. In Malia’s view, “We all benefit when houses are well maintained and neighborhoods are stable.”

Malia believes that her most meaningful experience as a board member has been “getting to know the variety of people who share a passion for the organization. We all have different reasons to come to the table and bring different skills. It makes for a great working environment!”

Nevertheless, Malia recognizes that HRRC faces challenges as we reach out into neighboring communities. She says, “HRRC has to overcome many people’s assumption that it only helps low income households, and that the ‘H’ stands for ‘Heights.’ Also, we help with more than just repairs; financial counseling is a very important part of our mission.”

In addition to her work on our board, Malia serves as one of our volunteer instructors, and spent many hours helping to reorganize HRRC’s workshop and tool room. Her volunteer efforts are not limited to her work for HRRC; each year she participates in the annual fundraiser for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. She decided to shave her head this year “because a 6-year-old I know died from an aggressive brain tumor last spring.” The photo above shows a newly-shorn Malia beaming about the success of the St. Baldrick’s event. “They raised over $102,000 this year.”