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HPC receives largest gift in its history

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Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information:
Bob Rosenbaum, Communications Director
brosenbaum@hannaperkins.org
216.401.9342

HPC Receives Largest Gift in its History from Longtime Philanthropist Kim Sherwin

Oct. 11, 2023

SHAKER HEIGHTS – Hanna Perkins Center for Child Development announces its largest philanthropic donation to date, a $2 million gift honoring Kim Sherwin’s legacy. Guests who attended HPC’s Harvest Homecoming benefit on October 7 were the first to hear the announcement.

A dear friend of the non-profit institution, Sherwin died at age 82 on August 8, 2022. Prior to her death, she established the Kim Sherwin Fund to benefit Hanna Perkins, which she held dear because of its focus on mental healthcare for children.

Kim Sherwin

Kim Sherwin

A lifelong philanthropist, Sherwin became involved with Hanna Perkins late in life, after being introduced to the way it works with children and parents to address developmental challenges and bring families together. She was struck by how the gentle approach helps children build self-esteem by empowering them to communicate their feelings, needs and interests. Contrasting it with her own “old-fashioned upbringing,” Sherwin said she wished Hanna Perkins had been in her life when she was a child.

“Our staff and board are incredibly grateful to receive this substantial gift from a woman who has so generously championed support in our region for children’s social-emotional development,” said Karen Baer, HPC’s Chief Executive Officer. “It will help position Hanna Perkins as the premiere center for early childhood development, becoming the contemporary voice of child-appropriate mental healthcare and education in Northeast Ohio and beyond.”

The bequest has been established as a three-tiered gift:

  1. The Flexible Operations Fund – a board-directed fund to meet current opportunities and challenges.
  2. The Kim Sherwin Fund of the Elaine G. Hadden Endowment at the Cleveland Foundation – a structure that Sherwin herself specified to honor Hadden.
  3. Major Gift Matching Challenge – to support future fundraising campaigns.

Known for her humor, intellectual curiosity and generosity, Sherwin made an impact on dozens of area organizations involved with causes ranging from education to economic development to public broadcasting. She was an avid adventure traveler, always broadening her horizons. A student of political science, she was also passionate about music, theater and became a collector of African art.

In 2019, Sherwin was honored by Hanna Perkins with the Hadden Award for her embodiment of the organization’s mission and her dedication to helping improve the lives of children across the region. “People who need help shouldn’t have to walk alone,” she said.

About Hanna Perkins

Since 1951, Hanna Perkins Center for Child Development has been a partner with parents and professionals to help children understand, communicate and manage their feelings for success in school and life. Located in the historic renovation of the former Malvern School in Shaker Heights, Hanna Perkins provides these services:

  • Hanna Perkins School:State-chartered kindergarten, preschool, parent/toddler program.
  • Hadden Clinic for Children & Families:Mental health counseling and therapy specializing in children from birth through adolescence, and pioneering the discipline of therapy-through-the-parent to serve very young children.
  • Bullying Prevention: My Mad Feelings, an educational curriculum for young children, provides age-appropriate social-emotional lessons that head off bullying as they grow older.
  • Consultation and trainingwith other schools and early learning centers.
  • Continuing educationfor early learning educators, childcare workers, social workers, and others who work with children on a daily basis.
  • Child psychoanalytic training: An official training program of the American Psychoanalytic Association, conducted in cooperation with the Cleveland Psychoanalytic Center.

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