What is happening this week:

• Thank you for a successful Opening Day!
• Question: Who cares about OTR, anyway?

Thank you for a successful Opening Day!

Give Back Cincinnati would like to offer a huge and heartfelt THANK YOU to all the volunteers who stepped up and stepped out for the PNC Rally on the Square in honor of Opening Day. You helped slake the thirst of many Cincinnati Reds fans, helped keep the peace at security check points, and overall ensured a fun and successful event. Once again, you rocked it out!!!

But let's not forget those of you who simply stopped by the beer booths to offer a word of encouragement on a blustery day, or to drop some coin on a frosty beverage. You lifted our spirits and -- let's be honest -- added a couple of bucks to our bank account. Your financial support during this, our first and most important fundraiser of the year, will help us put on the quality programming and volunteer events that our members have come to expect from Give Back Cincinnati. Thank you!

Finally, we must also acknowledge the inimitable Naked Karate Girls, who kept the party going long after the win. Thanks for putting on your dancing shoes with us!

If you weren't able to stop by Fountain Square on Opening Day, you can click here to live vicariously through our event photos.

Question: Who cares about OTR, anyway?

Who cares about Over-the-Rhine? Give Back Cincinnati does. Over the course of the last several years, we have held quite a few volunteer events in the area, events that we strongly feel have helped contribute to the revitalization taking place in OTR.

But we realize that many of our volunteers may be less familiar with the area, beyond what's written in the headlines. With that in mind, we wanted to tell you a little bit more about OTR and why our work there is so important for the community... especially as we gear up for the Greater Cincinnati Clean-Up, which will take place in the OTR neighborhood on Saturday, April 16. So, for your reading pleasure, we present a few good, bad and soon-to-be-beautiful facts about the urban treasure that is Over-the-Rhine.

The Good
-- Over-The-Rhine is home to Findlay Market, Ohio’s oldest farmers market , which opened in 1852:

• More than 750,000 people visited Findlay Market in 2009, spending a total of about $28 million

-- The Gateway Quarter, located near the corner of 12th and Vine Streets, is quickly becoming a popular destination for foodies:

• 4 of the Top-10 Best New Restaurants named in CityBeat’s “Best of Cincinnati 2011” list were located in OTR

-- The largest collection of nineteenth century breweries in the U.S. is in Over-The-Rhine:

• Visitors can explore historic bars, saloons and beer gardens during the Queen City Underground Tour

The Bad
-- In the last 20 years, the population in Over-The-Rhine has declined by nearly 90 percent:

• 45,000 residents in 1990
• 4,900 residents today

-- Over-The-Rhine is one of the “Eleven Most Endangered Historic Places in America,” as designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation:

• Since 2001, more than 70 historic buildings have been demolished in the area
• 72 buildings are currently condemned in OTR
• Another 238 have been ordered vacated

The Ugly Soon-to-be-Beautiful

• A majority of the work we will be doing during the Greater Cincinnati Cleanup involves landscaping in area parks, clearing out debris from streets and alleyways, and painting vacant buildings with Future Blooms. We hope that by giving the area a facelift, residents and other community members will get even more involved in restoring Over-The-Rhine.
• Because of the popularity of Findlay Market, we will also be spending time weeding, planting and pruning in two of its OTR urban farms.

The Greater Cincinnati Cleanup is going to be a big job, but we hope you’ll join us on April 16th to check out Over-The-Rhine for yourself! Click here to volunteer with us.