A sellout crowd flocked to the Shoreby Club in Bratenahl on Sept. 15 for the fourth annual Embrace Gala, the signature fundraiser for Zelie’s Home, a community where women thrive as they embrace motherhood. The event raised nearly $75,000 to support the ministry.
The weather was perfect as more than 250 attendees enjoyed a cocktail hour and the sunset on the shores of Lake Erie. Guests also viewed silent auction items as they made their way onto the well-manicured grounds of the Shoreby Club, a 25-room mansion built in 1890 as the summer home of Samuel Mather. He was the senior partner of Pickands, Mather & Co., an iron ore and Great Lakes shipping firm. Mather also was a founding director of U.S. Steel.
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Attendees made their way into a large tent on the grounds for the program and dinner. Emcee was Natalie Herbick, anchor and co-host of Fox 8’s “New Day Cleveland” show.
Bishop Edward Malesic was a special guest who offered grace before the meal and delivered remarks after dinner. “We are blessed in order to be a blessing to others,” he said, noting those in attendance are all blessed.
“I’m so glad we are getting the message out to let the community know that this wonderful program exists,” Herbick told attendees.
Joe Petros, vice chair of the Zelie’s Home board, told the group that “motherhood is a challenge that shouldn’t be faced alone.” He said Zelie’s Home has served nearly 100 mothers so far, including 29 in 2022. There are two locations, one in Garfield Heights and a new one in Lakewood, which opened earlier this year. The second home provides space to serve an additional 10 mothers and their children, he said. Currently, 13 mothers and 14 children are living in the two homes. Both homes previously served as convents for religious sisters who were teaching and staffing parish elementary schools.
“Erin Hathaway, the executive director, makes all this happen,” Petros said. He also expressed thanks to the clergy who have been very supportive of the program, as well as the Diocese of Cleveland, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Cleveland and Bishop Malesic.
Petros announced that Catholic Charities donated funds to purchase a car for the new Lakewood home and recently doubled its donation.
Herbick invited a pregnant woman who is living at Zelie’s Home, a social worker and a longtime volunteer to the stage for a panel discussion about what the program means to each of them.
Nicole, a 40-year-old who is expecting her first child, said she was living at a sober house when she learned of her pregnancy. She was given a deadline to move out and didn’t know where to go until she discovered Zelie’s Home. “They are helping me put the pieces (of her life) together,” she said.
Annie, the social worker, has worked at both Zelie’s Home locations. She explained that she can relate to the women who seek help from Zelie’s Home because she was born to teenage parents and had an unexpected pregnancy herself.
Chris, a longtime volunteer, discussed how much the program means to her and her family. On family night, she bring her children with her to help prepare and serve dinner to the women.
“Zelie’s Home is really a family,” Nicole said, expressing her gratitude for the ministry.
During his after-dinner remarks, Bishop Malesic said he encourages support for the important work done by Zelie’s Home. “Their mission is to uphold the sanctity of human life for mothers and their unborn children and those who support them.”
He recalled how the late Bishop Richard Lennon pledged support for Zechariah House in Parma, the precursor of Zelie’s Home.
“If we are a pro-life Church, we can’t just talk the talk. We have to walk the walk,” the bishop said. In March, he said the commitment between Zelie’s Home, Catholic Charities and the diocese was renewed and the second location became a reality.
“The Lord never gives us half of what we need, he gives us what we need,” he added. “Zelie’s Home does what Pope Francis tells us to do: go out to the peripheries and bring people in. It’s also what Jesus tells us to do.”
The bishop said those helped by Zelie’s Home have many challenges. He recalled the story of a woman who was living in a car behind a gas station who enjoyed a meal at a nearby parish. She is the type of person Zelie’s Home helps. Encouraging women to choose life and have their babies means providing them with the resources and wraparound services they need, including health services, job preparation, helping them locate suitable housing, offering training in financial literacy and continuing to provide resources and support after the babies arrive.
“If you don’t have a family, you need to build one and that’s what Zelie’s Home does,” Bishop Malesic said. “It teaches these women to believe in themselves.”
The bishop also encouraged the group to become informed about State Issue 1 that will be on the November ballot. The issue would allow greater access to abortion throughout a woman’s pregnancy and would do away with the parental consent if their minor children wanted an abortion.
For more information on Zelie’s Home, including how to volunteer or make a donation, click here. The fifth annual Embrace gala will be Sept. 20, 2024 at the Shoreby Club.
Details on Issue 1, the statewide constitutional amendment, can be found here.