Charity Ewanko has made a name for herself that goes beyond all the volunteering she does — although her name helps explain a big part of her passion.
“I think it’s just been bred in me,” the 34-year-old says of volunteering. Her parents, both medical professionals, led by example. They traveled to Haiti this year after the earthquakes to offer their skills to a country in need. Their daughter teaches at the YMCA, mentors aspiring graphic design students and has participated in a running club for underprivileged children.
Ewanko’s passion for helping people doesn’t just fill her free time. It also drives her business, Chartreuse Inc., a three-woman graphic design company located in a refurbished doctor’s office in Lakewood. Ewanko works to find creative solutions for her clients — small companies and larger clients such as Moen — by getting to know them and their businesses. She entertains clients and friends with drinks, movies and art at get-togethers in Chartreuse’s backyard.
The events showcase her creativity, says Mary Seay, past president of the Junior League of Cleveland, one of the places where Ewanko volunteers. “It’s all very creative and strategic at the same time,” Seay says. “She’s all about color.”
Ewanko studied graphic design at Syracuse University then joined a Cleveland advertising firm where she had interned. After moving to another ad agency, Ewanko decided her work wasn’t “super fulfilling.”
“In my heart, I felt like I was still the summer intern,” she says.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Ewanko spent the workday making panicked phone calls to her friends in New York. Afterward, she decided life was too short to spend on work she didn’t find meaningful. She left the ad agency and started working with small businesses trying to get off the ground.
“I thought it was so neat to be able to impact someone’s … business by way of a really great brand,” Ewanko says. “You see that you can really help someone that way.”
She founded Chartreuse when her freelance career outgrew the coffee shops where she’d been giving presentations.
If anything surpasses Ewanko’s creativity, it’s her generosity. She is involved in several volunteer organizations, including the Junior League of Cleveland, Lakewood Arts Festival Board, Greater Cleveland YMCA, Cleveland Food Bank and Cleveland Bridge Builders.
Ewanko also teaches a cycling class at the YMCA. Before that, she was part of We Run This City, the Y’s running program for inner-city children.
“The kids are fantastic,” Ewanko says. “You go and run with them once a week, and they change the way you think. … I feel like I’m giving back, too, because people don’t always believe in them.”
And believing in people and communities is what Ewanko does. She shares her enthusiasm for living in Cleveland on her blog, iheartcleveland.com.
It began as a series of e-mails to her friends who were stay-at-home moms about fun events going on in the city, such as plays, wine-tasting events and concerts. When she found out her friends were forwarding her e-mails to other friends, she decided to check out blogging. Now, she says her new posts attract 500 to 600 readers a day.
Ewanko’s enthusiasm blossoms and spreads. She mentors young women through the Junior League and by taking on interns at Chartreuse.
Kelly Dorsey, now a graphic designer in Philadelphia, was a Kent State University student when she interned with Ewanko.
“She figures out a way to make things work and never lets ‘no’ be an option,” Dorsey says. Ewanko also taught Dorsey to temper her bluntness.
“She taught me how to be professional but still personable,” Dorsey says. “That’s her strength. She becomes friends with her clients and they enjoy coming to the office and collaborating with her.”