Hope Soars Ohio, this year’s campaign organized by Greg Perry’s marketing program, raised $42,022 for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.

“Hope Soars Ohio was a traveling pop art installation composed of five huge inflatable butterflies and an inflatable backdrop,” the marketing program’s Vice President of Finance Greg Perryman wrote in an email. “Our goal was to spread hope throughout Northeast Ohio and raise a minimum of $40,000 for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.” 

The gigantic artistically-designed inflatable butterflies generated a lot of attention as they moved  through Northeast Ohio this spring. 

“Butterflies symbolize hope, transformation, and new beginnings,” Perryman wrote. “Coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic we thought they were an important symbol of a society that in many ways is emerging from its cocoon.” 

The butterflies were designed and manufactured by Northeast Ohio company Inflatable Images and were decorated with designs by local artist Sean Higgins of the Bubble Process design group.

The inflatables made their rounds at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, several locations along Richmond Rd. in Beachwood, Pinecrest, Chagrin Falls and Crocker Park. 

The Hope Soars campaign is a successor to the class’s Hope Blooms Ohio campaign last year.

Perry’s marketing program is part of the Excel TECC program and consists of 40 high school seniors from Beachwood and other area schools that participate in the Excel TECC vocational education consortium.

“Countless people interacted with our butterflies at each location,” Perryman wrote. “Several [marriage] proposals even took place in front of the heart-shaped butterfly.”  

“Not only did we reach to inspire hope, but we also raised $42,022 for the Greater Cleveland Foodbank,” he added. “That’s 126,066 meals for food insecure families in our area.” 

Perry explained that the donation amount ending in 2,022 is intended to honor the class of 2022.

The culmination of this year’s campaign was the presentation in the high school’s Karin Kushnir Atrium on May 10, where the Hope Soars marketing team donated their check to the Greater Cleveland Foodbank. 

Marketing students also released 100 monarch butterflies and added to the water garden a new butterfly sculpture designed by Craig Mitchell Smith. 

The sculpture is titled with the campaign tagline ‘fly forward together.’

Perryman explained the significance of the slogan. 

“Bringing people together around a hopeful message to address issues in your community is not just a worthy pursuit but a powerful one,” he wrote.