When you’re on tour for 40 years, you have a big impact on the community and society. We’re not talking about the Stones who played Cleveland Browns Stadium at the start of summer, or even Fred and Barney who still play from Bedrock on nostalgic television cartoon channels. We’re talking about a group of folks who have made a positive impact on disadvantaged kids, adults and families year after year.
While it may be a little hard to get in the Christmas spirit during the summer, it’s not too early to think about helping life-challenged kids, adults and families during the upcoming holidays.
Now celebrating its 40th year, Dick Clough & Friends “Tour of Good Cheer” is already starting to organize for the upcoming holiday season, when 100 or more volunteers will board Barons Bus, charter bus services in Lakewood on December 21, visiting eight facilities in different parts of Cleveland’s inner city to deliver Christmas to between 700 and 1,000 deserving kids, adults and families. Two of the buses transport volunteers while others are loaded with coats, over-sized toys and over 200 custom-packed cartons and tubs filled with 8,000 units of merchandise — “everything from soup to nuts,” says Dick Clough, the Tour’s founder.
“There seems to be a lot of division in this country, but people in Cleveland do come together during the holidays to help people who are less fortunate,” says Clough. “The tour is designed with stops at organizations that support programs across the whole continuum of community care.”
At Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, kids, parents and families are drawn in from nearby urban parishes and West Side neighborhoods. The Redeemer Community Center, which is affiliated with the Greater Cleveland Hunger Network, serves kids, parents and families from the Clark Avenue neighborhood.
Cleveland Police Department’s (CPD) Fourth District officers help deserving families from the Kinsman neighborhood. The Charity Medical Center, which is now closed, was an original tour stop. This year, the tour will visit two ministries affiliated with the Sisters of Charities Ministries located in the Central Avenue neighborhood, which offers restive care to homeless men and women.
Front Steps, another stop on the tour, provides temporary housing for men, women and families who are homeless due to sudden circumstances. At Procop House, military veterans are in the mix of men recovering from addiction issues. Community Assessment and Treatment Services (CATS) is a reentry, locked down population of adult men and women in recovery, which rounds out the last
two stops.
“Many people support these organizations throughout the year, and they should,” says Clough. “But being a stop on the Tour of Good Cheer during the holidays also exposes a lot of people in our area to what these folks are doing to help support our community throughout the year.”
The Tour of Good Cheer is not limited to just one special day during the holidays. Clough and his merry band of helpers have also embraced opportunities to help in a large variety of ways to extend the season of giving. The Tour supports numerous charitable organizations with surplus merchandise and donates giant plush zoo animals to kids in hospitals battling serious health issues.
“Nothing goes to waste,” says Clough of the donations the Tour receives.
While he is reluctant to receive any accolades for his philanthropic efforts and eschews attention, the Tour’s founder supports Tour charities by serving on their boards of directors. He served for 10 years on the board for Joseph’s Home, CATS and is currently board chair of the Police Athletic League (PAL) and the Cleveland Police Foundation.
“Through the years, I suppose we have had a positive impact on a lot of people,” Clough quips. “Probably many more than saw the Rolling Stones earlier this summer.”
