PROJECT EXARTIZO + REFINE CHURCH
Christmas joy,
close to home.
We bring neighbors, businesses, churches and organizations together to collect toys for children in need. Families of every racial, ethnic and cultural background are welcome within this year’s service area.
LOCAL NEED · 2024 CENSUS ESTIMATE
53,508children under 18 in Cuyahoga County were estimated to live in poverty.
Collected together.
Shared with care.
Sponsor a child or family through our team, or donate toys to the community collection. We confirm sponsorship matches before you shop, coordinate pickup or drop-off, and distribute the gifts. Assistance depends on donations and availability.
The same need, residency and program requirements apply to every family. An application does not guarantee gifts.
Explore child poverty by school district
A CLOSER LOOK AT OUR COMMUNITY
Child poverty by school district
Estimated children ages 5–17 in poverty · 2024
Color shows the estimated number of children, not the poverty rate. Dashed line: Cuyahoga County boundary.
Lakewood City School District
618
estimated children ages 5–17 in poverty
Whole-district estimate for 2024.
These are children who live within district boundaries, regardless of where they attend school. Figures do not represent school enrollment, toy requests or children this drive has promised to serve.
View this drive’s service area →Community context, separate from eligibility. The county headline covers children under 18; district figures cover related children ages 5–17 in families in poverty. District estimates cover the entire district, including any portions outside Cuyahoga County.
All 31 district estimates & source notes
| Map # | School district | Estimated children |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Bay Village City School District | 75 |
| 02 | Beachwood City School District | 161 |
| 03 | Bedford City School District | 842 |
| 04 | Berea City School District | 781 |
| 05 | Brecksville-Broadview Heights City School District | 227 |
| 06 | Brooklyn City School District | 278 |
| 07 | Chagrin Falls Exempted Village School District * | 44 |
| 08 | Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District | 1,588 |
| 09 | Cleveland Municipal School District | 21,063 |
| 10 | Cuyahoga Heights Local School District | 35 |
| 11 | East Cleveland City School District | 1,049 |
| 12 | Euclid City School District | 2,140 |
| 13 | Fairview Park City School District | 166 |
| 14 | Garfield Heights City School District | 1,351 |
| 15 | Independence Local School District | 47 |
| 16 | Lakewood City School District | 618 |
| 17 | Maple Heights City School District | 1,319 |
| 18 | Mayfield City School District | 369 |
| 19 | North Olmsted City School District | 625 |
| 20 | North Royalton City School District | 432 |
| 21 | Olmsted Falls City School District * | 237 |
| 22 | Orange City School District | 108 |
| 23 | Parma City School District | 2,230 |
| 24 | Richmond Heights Local School District | 204 |
| 25 | Rocky River City School District | 171 |
| 26 | Shaker Heights City School District | 573 |
| 27 | Solon City School District | 256 |
| 28 | South Euclid-Lyndhurst City School District | 704 |
| 29 | Strongsville City School District * | 487 |
| 30 | Warrensville Heights City School District | 816 |
| 31 | Westlake City School District | 337 |
* Whole-district figures: Chagrin Falls extends into Geauga County; Olmsted Falls and Strongsville extend into Lorain County. No district count has been prorated to the drive’s ZIP codes or county boundary.
Source and timing: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), 2024 estimates released in 2026. Districts were selected using the Census 2025 school-district/county crosswalk and mapped with 2025 TIGER/Line boundaries for the 2024–25 school year. The county land outline comes from Cuyahoga County GIS. These are geographic areas, not participating school partners.
Read with care: Estimates have uncertainty. The county estimate of 53,508 children under 18 has a 90% confidence interval of 47,515–59,501. District figures are model estimates; small differences should not be treated as precise rankings. The county headline and district figures use different age groups and should not be added together. Poverty estimates do not count all families experiencing financial hardship and do not determine any individual family’s circumstances.
This year’s service area & ZIP codes
Demand is greater than the gifts available. This year, assistance is limited to children in need whose households live in a listed ZIP code and within Cuyahoga County.
Northwest
44107, 44116, 44140, 44145
West
44070, 44102, 44109, 44111, 44113, 44126, 44135, 44144
Southwest
44017, 44129, 44130, 44133, 44134, 44136, 44138, 44142, 44149
This ZIP check is not an application or a reservation. Donors may contribute from anywhere. For application announcements, visit Exartizo.org or Refine Church on Facebook.