These Eight Northeast Ohioans Highlight Ways to be a Good Neighbor

With a little help from our neighbor (and contributor) John Skrtic, we chose eight people who show ways to be helpful around town. 

Meghann Hennen

Shaker Heights

Educator and founder, Challah at Meg

Why your community is important to you: “My business connects to the community by providing challah for Shabbat, and it’s the centerpiece of Jewish people’s table on Friday nights. The bread is also braided, so it’s like my community is important to me because all the things that I bring to the table are braided into the challah. My business isn’t just who I am. It’s parts of who I am that are braided into it.”

Jessica Davis 

Tremont

Owner and founder, Rebuilders Xchange

Advice on how to be a good neighbor: “Go to your local coffee shop, buy a coffee, hang out and listen.”

Dawn Arrington 

Buckeye-Shaker

Neighborhood network specialist, city of Shaker Heights

Being a good neighbor means: “Being a good neighbor recognizes that a good neighbor isn’t perfect. You value community and, operationally, you move at the speed of trust. Trust is a process. In order to be a good neighbor, you are a practitioner of the speed of trust.”

Erik Anderson

Lakewood

Director, Ohio City Bicycle Co-op

Advice on how to be a good neighbor: “It can be kind of tricky to find in yourself for some, but again, showing love, compassion and empathy. And you have to want to
do it for yourself. Not for some future result.”

Related: Cleveland's Top 25 Suburbs of 2026: Best Places to Live

Alexandra Martinez

Avon lake

Ms. Wheelchair Ohio

Advice on how to be a good neighbor: “You don’t know what people are going through, and you know, your neighbor could be having a hard time. I think it’s good to just lend a hand in any way that you can for your neighbor. Send a letter, send flowers, ask if there’s anything you could do in their yard, or if they’re elderly or older, be like, ‘I can get groceries.’ Just be courteous in any way that you can.”

Minister Roland Muhammad

East Cleveland

CEO, founder of Superior Renaissance;owner of Shabazz Bakery

Why your community is important to you: “Well, the community is just like being in the womb of a mother. It’s a house to take care of you, a community where you come together and you look out for the needs of one another and build a community. You can bring the best of you that God has given to you, and you can help serve one another.”

Sister Rita Mary Harwood

Cleveland

Retired, volunteer

Why your community is important to you: “It’s important to all of us that we’re living in places that are healthy and good. We have a sense of belonging and caring about one another. People feel welcome, safe and cared about in the community that they’re living in, and I think that’s very important. We come home when we come to our community.”

Tom Kaschalk 

Seven Hills

Author, volunteer researcher

Being a good neighbor means: “Just stopping a second and thinking, what was here before. It might not appear to be the best neighborhood, but people lived here, and people survived here, and people had fun there. I end my tavern talks, for example, talking about what historic taverns are still open today, that have been open 100 years or more around that. And a really good example is: I was way out in the suburb in North Ridgeville talking to a group, and they wanted to do an actual real pub crawl in the inner city.”

For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.

Cleveland Magazine is also available in print, featuring immersive stories, helpful guides and beautiful photography and design.