Thursday, January 17, 2019

On January 22, we will celebrate Beech Brook’s 167th Birthday. That is very old indeed! In fact, according to the Western Reserve Historical Society, there are only18 Northeast Ohio organizations older than Beech Brook that are still operating.

1812 Rider’s Inn

1820 Cleveland Museum of Natural History

1825 Brown-Forward, Inc.

1826 Western Reserve University (now CWRU)

1826 Patterson Fruit Farm

1826 Western Reserve Academy

1833 Austin Powder Company

1840 Empire Plow Company (today part of McKay Empire Wiese)

1840 End of the Commons General Store

1841 Joseph and Feiss Company (now associated with Hugo Boss)

1842 The Plain Dealer

1844 Evarts-Tremaine-Flicker Company

1845 Baldwin-Wallace University

1848 Greater Cleveland Growth Association (merged in 2004 with others to become Greater Cleveland Partnership)

1848 Westfield

1849 Brooks & Stafford Company

1849 Society of Savings (now part of Key Bank)

1850 Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company

1852 The Cleveland Orphan Asylum (now Beech Brook! Beech Brook has, in fact, outlasted many iconic organizations from Greater Cleveland, such as:

Altman (automobile)

American Aviation

Baker Motor Vehicle

Central Press Association

Cleveland News

Cleveland Press

Cleveland Recording Company

Fisher Foods

Halle Brothers Co.

Higbee's

May Company of Ohio

National City Bank

OfficeMax

Ohio Bell

Peerless Motor Company

Republic Steel

Richman Brothers

Standard Oil of Ohio

Sterling-Lindner Co.

TRW Inc.

So how have we done it?

Beech Brook is still here because we have continually evolved to meet the ever-changing challenges facing our community, beginning In 1852, when we opened our doors to 11 orphans in a house at the corner of Erie (now E. 9th) and Ohio Streets.

Today we serve 15,000 children, teens and families each year in ways unimaginable to our founders, but always true to our mission of helping our community’s children.

We have never been afraid to make changes, and we never will be afraid! And that’s what it will take to make it another 167 years.

In 2016, following the closing of our residential services, Beech Brook adopted the following new mission statement to reflect our expanded focus on moving upstream to address the needs of children and families early…when we can have the most impact on their lives and, ultimately, on our community.

Our Mission

Helping children and families thrive by promoting healthy child development, strengthening the ability to overcome adversity and enhancing family health and stability.

And just a few weeks ago, Beech Brook’s Board of Directors formally adopted new Vision, Values and Culture statements to guide us through this new chapter of our history.

Our Vision

Organization: Beech Brook will be a highly effective, efficient and fast-moving organization. Beech Brook will be a recognized and respected organization serving as a positive example of being a good partner and contributor to our community.

Services: Beech Brook will bring to our community a portfolio of high quality, trauma-informed services that anticipate and satisfy the community’s desires and needs. Families and the community will seek us out as the provider of choice because we are responsive, respected and trusted, providing the right service at the right time.

People: Beech Brook will be a place where people are proud to work. The organization will be the preferred employer in our space, employ the best people where staff feel valued, empowered, connected, inspired and part of something meaningful.

Outcomes: Beech Brook will create measurable, meaningful, tangible and sustainable outcomes that make a positive difference to our families and community.

Our Culture

We inspire creativity, passion, optimism and fun, remain responsive to change and are insatiably curious. We value diversity and inclusion, and we hold ourselves accountable for our actions and inactions. We empower our people to be innovative and find better ways to solve problems, and we learn from our outcomes. We demonstrate resilience and have the courage to change course when needed.

Our Values

Leadership: We have the courage and vision to shape a better future. We are leaders in the field, we are best in class in what we do and can tell our story in a compelling way.

Integrity: We are ethical, and we do what we say and say what we mean.

Diversity: We are as inclusive as our community is diverse.

Collaboration: We are a team, engaged with each other and the larger community and are always finding new partners to leverage collective genius to positively impact our community.

Passion: We are committed in heart and mind.

Quality: What we do, we do well. We operate ethically and hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards of compliance. We continually work to improve safety and the quality of our services.

There’s been one more constant in our 167-year history, however, and that’s the support of a community that cares about children and families and gives generously to make sure that that light of hope we have shone for children and families will not waver. On behalf of everyone at Beech Brook, I thank you for your commitment and ask for your continued commitment to this vital mission.