Community Service

Rock-N-Bowl II raised approximately $3,400 for the Village Food Project on Jan. 28 at Bay Lanes. In its two years, the Rock-N-Bowl event has raised nearly $7,000 towards this deserving cause. The Westshore community is blessed with caring, generous people.

Over 240 people gathered at Bay Lanes for an evening of music, dancing and bowling. Money was raised through admission prices. Additionally, Sunnyside Toyota of North Olmsted owner and Bay resident Kirt Frye generously presented a check for $2,500. Toyota Motor Sales USA matched Sunnyside's donation with a check for $2,500. In total, about $8,400 in proceeds were delivered to the Village Food Project for the evening.

If sewing is your passion and you enjoy using your skills to give back to others, then please consider joining us!

Hospice of the Western Reserve and Birds of a Feather are hosting a sew-a-thon to create 200 lap blankets for patients with dementia. Made of special textured materials, these blankets are used to promote tactile stimulation.

The sew-a-thon takes place every Wednesday, Jan. 25-Feb. 29. Bring a friend and join us at Birds of a Feather, 25963 Detroit Rd. in Westlake.

Happy New Year! Many of us have made a resolution to improve our health in 2012. We know how important a healthy diet and regular exercise are to our physical and mental well-being. Something that may come as new health information to you is how “volunteering” offers benefits to health!

Our Compeer volunteers are always telling us how much they enjoy the time they spend offering friendship to people that need it in order to recover from mental illness. Since these reports are so common I went and did a little online research to find the health benefits of being a volunteer. I found an article written by a chapter of the American Red Cross entitled, “Be Happy, Be Healthy: The Health Benefits of Volunteering.”

It is with great excitement that I introduce to the community the Friends From The Start Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing information, services and resources to individuals and their loved ones facing extreme medical challenges. Our initial focus will be Bay Village, Westlake and surrounding suburbs, with an eye to expanding throughout the region as time progresses.

I'd like to explain why my wife, Bev, my family, some dear friends and I are establishing this foundation.

On Aug. 2, 2010, I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In mid-2011, I was in the hospital for approximately a month for a bone marrow transplant. It has now been seven months since my transplant, and I am thankfully cancer free.

In 2009, Rob Hendricks, an eighth-grader at Rocky River Middle School, wanted to find a way to get fellow classmates – and neighboring rival Bay Village – to help the less fortunate in their community. It was from this that Hoops for Hunger was born.

This student-led mission comes together every winter for three weeks to donate food and funds that benefits the Cleveland Foodbank’s Harvest for Hunger campaign.

The culmination of the three-week project is a boys basketball game between Bay Village and Rocky River high schools. In order to get some real exposure, Rob presented his idea to SportsTime Ohio who loved the idea and televises the game annually.

The students, faculty, parents and visitors to Lee Burneson Middle School on Dover Center Road know that something exciting is going on in the vivarium. The glass-enclosed room is being transformed into a winter wonderland by Don Bowman. 

Don is a familiar sight around the school because he goes there at least once a week to water and care for the plants in the vivarium. Don started planting flowers around the three trees on Dover Center Road in front of the Red Brick School in 2010. It was a problem getting water to the plants, so he asked if he could get water from the vivarium at Lee Burneson and in exchange, he would water the plants in the vivarium. Of course the school said yes, and Don has been at it since.

The joys of Christmas are overshadowed by the intense heat, noise, exhaustion and anxiety experienced by our troops stationed in the Middle East. Separated from family and friends, our service personnel may find the holidays the loneliest time of their tour of duty. Surrounded by the unfamiliar, our troops must look for ways to adjust to a foreign lifestyle. How they must long for the comfort and certainty of home.

Thanks to the efforts of the West Shore Senior Center's Craft Club, thirty-six members of our armed forces will have their holiday season brightened by eighteen-inch Christmas trees decorated with handcrafted ornaments in shades of red, white and blue. A tiny dove sits on the top of on the tree, symbolizing the peace which our troops hope to achieve in these places so far from home.

A letter has been sent to every family in Bay Village asking each household to make a donation this year, no matter how small, to demonstrate support for the many projects being planned for the village. As we mourn the loss of our founder, T. Richard (Dick) Martin, we have a renewed energy to build the foundation into an endowment that matches and exceeds Dick’s dreams for The Village Foundation.

The Bay Village Community Council is now accepting nominations for the 2012 Bay Village Citizen of the Year and Project of the Year.

Nominations will be accepted until Jan. 6, 2012. Selections will be announced by the Community Council shortly thereafter.

Members of the Bay Men's Club and their children volunteered on a beautiful fall morning recently to rake the leaves and clean the yards of needy Bay Village residents.

The group raked the leaves at the homes of 16 residents, community members who were judged in need of assistance by the city's Department of Community Services.

The Rusty Barrel, a popular neighborhood sports bar and restaurant on Center Ridge Road owned by Rusty Jesset, has begun a new community outreach program as a way to thank the community for its support. During the month of October, Westlake Meals on Wheels will receive 10% of Monday food sales between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.

For more than 30 years, Westlake Meals on Wheels has provided continuous service to our community. It is a non-profit, non-governmentally funded service whose purpose is to help people who are unable to prepare meals for themselves due to health or age related problems. Meals on Wheels provides two well-balanced meals a day, one hot and one cold, five days a week.

Innovative Senior Care Hospice (ISC hospice) is the new hospice serving your community. ISC hospice provides a full spectrum of care and support to people facing a life limiting illness. Our mission as a hospice organization is to focus on physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of person’s illness and also to include caregivers as part of the unit of care. This is done in the form of a multidisciplinary (or team) approach to care.

The ISC Hospice team consists of the doctor, nurse, nurse aide, social worker, chaplain and volunteer, all of whom make intermittent visits to the hospice patient and family to ensure they are receiving exceptional care.

The actions of one area boy scout have benefitted the citizens of Bay Village and the Bay Village Historical Society twice.

A few years ago, young Bill Wolf was walking near the remains of the old electric railway bridge in Bay Village, when he found a ticket dropped by a passenger on the train many years before. Wolf donated that ticket to the Bay Village Historical Society, to be framed and displayed at the Reuben Osborn Learning Center and museum.

This past summer, when considering projects for his Eagle Scout designation, Wolf crossed paths with the historical society once again. Wolf and his mother were driving past the Reuben Osborn Learning Center on Lake Road, when they noticed that the building was badly in need of painting. Wolf called Bay Village Historical Society President Carole Roske to discuss his idea of painting the museum.

Would you know how to help your family and neighbors in the event of a disaster or emergency? The Westshore Regional Community Emergency Response Team (WSC) is offering free classes on topics such as disaster preparedness, basic injury assessment and medical treatment, search and rescue procedures, fire suppression, disaster psychology, and much more. The 20-hour adult FEMA course is conducted by local safety professionals. Westshore residents who are US citizens, successfully complete training and pass a background check are eligible for team membership.

Training begins Saturday, Oct. 1. The five consecutive Saturday morning classes will be held at St. John Medical Center, 29000 Center Ridge Road and the City of Westlake Service Center, 741 Bassett Road, from at 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The Westlake Garden Club was honored at the Westlake in Bloom Award Ceremony on August 4 with a Distinction Award for Community Involvement. The garden club has had a presence in the community since 1963, working to educate the residents on environmental issues as well as working to beautify our city through garden projects.

Longtime member Kathy Molner has been the driving force behind the garden club’s celebration of Arbor Day at which a tree is planted at various locations around the city. This year, a tree was planted at the Westlake Porter Library.

The garden club also planted and maintains a memory garden at the Westlake Community Services Center. Last year, a tree was planted and a small statue installed in the garden in memory of Lu Walter, who was very active in the garden club and in the community. 

The Westlake Junior Women’s Club will have its first meeting of the 2011-2012 season on Wednesday, Sept. 7, at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Wyndgate Clubhouse building, 2570 Wyndgate Court in Westlake. This is a meeting for returning members and is also a special welcome meeting for women who have an interest in joining the club. The first hour of the meeting will be a social time to mix and mingle and learn more about the club and its members.

Community members of all ages are sharing their gifts and talents to insure the success of The Village Food Project (VFP). Recently, Barbara Woodburn and Nancy Glinka stopped by the VFP kitchen with a few of their first- and fourth-grade students to donate two hand mixers. The students purchased the mixers with money raised from the First-Fourth Key Chain Company. The company annually raises money by selling homemade key chains.   

“We sell the key chains for $1.00. They are about five inches long and have different patterns and themes. This year we sold about 1,500,” Westerly student Kolby Johnston shared.

Up to 60 full meals, complete with side dishes and desserts are prepared weekly in the VFP kitchen. Since the Project cooks a wide variety of meals, many types of equipment are required.

The wet spring couldn't stop The Village Food Project (VFP) volunteers from preparing three plots in the Bay Community Organic Garden. Thanks to a variety of generous donations and the hard work of our phenomenal volunteers, the VFP kitchen will receive fresh, organic food later this summer and into the fall. 

The Village Food Project is a non-profit organization completely run by volunteers. The Project’s mission is to come together as a community of all ages to provide nourishing meals and support for neighbors experiencing a cancer crisis.  Currently there are over 175 volunteers serving in a variety of roles.

“Our garden volunteers have done a fantastic job despite the inclement weather,” Executive Director Barb Harrell stated. “I continue to be awed by all of our volunteers’ willingness to share their time, talent and resources. We live in a wonderful community.”

May 24, 2011, marked the 21st anniversary of KeyBank’s annual “Neighbors Make a Difference Day.” Managers and staff from area KeyBank offices met at Devon Oaks, Eliza Jennings Senior Care Network’s assisted living community in Westlake. The volunteers spent the day weeding, pruning, planting flowers and beautifying the garden areas.

As Devon Oaks and other not-for-profit providers of aging services deal with funding and budget cuts, organizations benefits from involvement of volunteers because the resources of the organization are multiplied through their work. Additional benefits include potential board members that might come from program volunteers. The tasks that volunteers perform and the duties they carry out are several and varied. 

Bay High School senior Joseph Melenick was one of two Ohio students recently honored with the Prudential Spirit of Community Award and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. Each year for the past 16 years, Prudential Financial and the National Association of Secondary School Principals have awarded the top two student volunteers from each state and the District of Columbia with a $1,000 award and a free trip to the nation's capital.

While in Washington, Joe met with Sen. Sherrod Brown, who congratulated him for raising $50,000 for Crohn's disease research.

Laura Petto is the recipient of this year’s $500 scholarship awarded by the Bay Village Historical Society.

The scholarship is awarded to the Bay High senior who has an overarching interest in local history, as determined by teachers at Bay High.

Petto, the daughter of Peter and Anna, will be attending Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where she will pursue a double major in government/legal studies and mathematics.

Westlake Girl Scout Troop 71047 concluded their Bronze Award project with a May 15 dedication ceremony at Bradley Road Nature Park. The scouts – Gabriela Kosakowski, Kara McNeilly, Kelley Moutoux, Melanie Rence, Vanessa Richards, Emily Steigerwald, Holly Tomkalski and Adrienne Wentling, under the guidance of leaders Linda Tomkalski and Roberta Rence – identified all of the animal inhabitants at the Nature Park as a service to the community. The city’s sign shop printed their research onto signs installed in an information display at the park.

Compeer staff members Jody Bell, Program Peer Support Specialist, and Denise Ayres, Compeer Coordinator, were honored to be the recipients of the Eugene Brudno Memorial Award of NAMI Greater Cleveland on April 13. The honor was one of seven awards presented by Michael Baskin, Executive Director of NAMI Greater Cleveland, in recognition of outstanding achievements by individuals and organizations for their work with or on behalf of mental health consumers. 

The Eugene Brudno Memorial Award is given to recognize “the provider or organization that has demonstrated innovative work with peers and/ or families.” Eugene Brudno was one of the founders of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in Cleveland. Eugene Brudno and his wife, Irene, dedicated themselves, for many years, to make sure there were quality services for individuals in recovery from mental illness. Their daughter had been diagnosed with mental illness and they worked to help a countless number of individuals and families. NAMI Greater Cleveland established this award to honor Eugene Brudno.

In honor of Mother’s Day, I’d like to introduce our group of military moms to those in the community who may not be familiar with us. We are the Blue Star Mothers of America and our chapter is called the Ohio Buckeye Chapter #26.  

BSMA is a tax-exempt organization that has been around since 1942. We meet on the fourth Monday of every month at 6:00 p.m. at the American Legion Hall (Clifton Post 421) located at 22001 Brookpark Rd., Fairview Park.  

Our organization participates in many activities to support our troops and support each other, which includes letter writing and care packages to our soldiers, family socials, speakers, knitting and sewing projects and community fundraisers.

Each year, the student council and teacher advisors select a recipient for the funds raised at the school carnival. This year, the $300 donation went to the Bay Village Animal Kennel.
 
Westerly teacher and student council advisor Kirsten Thomas explained in a letter to Animal Control Officer Diana Fife that the students chose the kennel because of its importance to the school’s custodian, John Glasmire.

“We are proud of all [his] work and dedication” to the kennel, Thomas wrote to Fife. “To honor his hard work and your good cause, we have donated the money. Thank you for all you do for the animals.”

Our dynamic Compeer Program at Far West Center is looking for many adult volunteers to offer friendship to adults recovering from mental illness. Compeer would love to receive more volunteers from our own hometown of Westlake! Also, it would be great to have some Bay Village volunteers sign on board, especially for our second Garden Club season at the Bay Village Community Garden.  Westlake and Bay Village bowlers are invited to be a friend to someone in need of more confidence, and enjoy bowling twice a month with us!

In Compeer, the focus is on friendship and activity, not illness and therapy. At Far West Center we have other exceptional behavioral health services that address illness and treatment needs. Compeer members are adults at a stage of their personal recovery in which it is most beneficial for them to get back out into the community. Members and volunteers go through an application process. Compeer one-to-one friendship matches are done using the selection criteria of the volunteer. Compeer has found that by having the volunteer participate in the match process, matches are more successful.

With Bay Village Kiwanis Club Community Service Chairman Jim Potter (right) assisting, Fire Department Captain Thomas Boatwright explains to Kiwanians how four new juvenile emergency transport backboards will help the city’s EMS squads in immobilizing children with possible injury to get them safely to medical care. The Kiwanis Club bought the $600 set as part of a state-wide effort by Kiwanians to survey the child transport needs of EMS organizations and help fill any gaps in equipment.

We’re off and running! And doing well, thanks to an amazing group of 150 volunteers who willingly share their time and talents with us. Because of our team, The Village Food Project (VFP) is living its mission of coming together as a community of all ages, to love neighbors who are experiencing a cancer crisis by providing nourishing meal deliveries.

After only eight weeks of operation, the VFP kitchen, manned by over 36 teen volunteers and 24 adult supervisors, has served over 375 delicious and nutritious meals. The food is excellent and a true blessing.

One client who receives meals had this to share: "That was five-star, quality food. You have no idea how that meal helped us. I had an extra couple of quality hours to spend with my wife last night since I did not have to deal with cooking, and then cleaning the kitchen."

Bay's Dwyer Center will host St. John's Medical Center's Deborah Recko, RN-BC, who will give a presentation on heart disease. It is the No. 1 killer of females – approximately 484,000 women will die of a heart attack or other cardiovascular disease this year. Heart attack symptoms are different in women and men. Attend this informative discussion to learn how to prevent and treat heart disease. RSVP to 835-6565.

The Westlake Kiwanis Club has been named a 2009-2010 Distinguished Club by the Ohio District Kiwanis. There are 251 Kiwanis Clubs in Ohio, of which only 51 have obtained Distinguished Status.

Westlake's longest-serving Kiwanis member, Bill Sifritt, accepted the award from Past Divison 14 Lt. Gov. Bob Williams. Lt. Gov. Williams also presented Bonnie Smith with a pin recoginizing her as Distinguished Club President for 2009-2010 and Jeff Elwell with a pin recognizing him as Distinguished Club Secretary for 2009-2010.

Recent flooding across northern Ohio has left many families in need of basic household goods. Prince of Peace Lutheran Church located at 28455 Center Ridge Road in Westlake is a collection site for furniture and appliances. Donated items will be distributed to families in need through Lutheran Disaster Response of Ohio.

Items may be brought to the church and placed in the trailer located in the church's upper parking lot through April 2, 2011. For more information go to the church website at www.princeofpeacewestlake.org or call 440-871-5565.   If you would like to know of other ways you can help flood victims, contact LDR coordinator Mary Woodward at Lutheran Disaster Relief Ohio, 810 Main Street, Caldwell, OH 43724 or call 740-509-1132.

If you think you see fur flying in the halls of Westlake's Lutheran Home at Concord Reserve, it may be that a “volunteer” named Wally is making the rounds. Wally is a lanky, loving Golden Retriever who visits regularly with his owner, Laura Geuther, and her niece, Alexa Pohlkamp. Wally even has a “Volunteer” tag attached to his collar.

Bay residents Laura and Alexa receive a list of residents at the Lutheran Home who love dogs and look forward to Wally’s visits. It is difficult to stick to the assigned list, however, since many residents and staff members stop the group as they parade through the hallways, and ask to pet this extraordinarily friendly puppy.

The Westlake Kiwanis Aktion Club delivered valentines to the residents of The Gardens of Westlake on Feb. 12. The Aktion Club delivered Valentines which they took part in making at Pat Catan's of Westlake. A yearly event, Pat Catan's provides materials for the public to make valentines for delivery to local nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

The Aktion Club is a community service group for adults who are disabled. Delivering the valentines is one of their many community service projects.

What's Eating America is a course that focuses on helping participants establish their place in the world today as it applies to food and nutrition.

Jackie McNamara, Nutrition Therapy Practitioner and founder of Hungry for Health, is pleased to bring this program to the city of Bay Village and hopes to contribute to the health and wellness of our community. This six-week course begins March 17 at 10:45 a.m. at the Dwyer Center, 300 Bryson Lane. The cost is $55 per person and reservations should be confirmed by calling 835-6565.

Westerly School fourth-graders in Barbara Woodburn and MaryJo Mahall’s classroom have put their artistic talents to work. Under the guidance of art teacher Debbie Sanson, they have created beautiful note cards with the theme “Bay in Bloom.” The teachers are proud that last year’s class launched this idea using the theme of Bay’s Bicentennial and were able to donate over $300 to Relay For Life.

Packs of note cards will include four original student designs and will be sold for $5.00 beginning at the Westerly Carnival, March 11. They make a perfect hostess gift or to write a note to a special friend. Proceeds go to Bay’s Relay For Life campaign and the student artists know that they have a part in finding a cure for cancer.

Anyone interested in supporting these fourth-graders by purchasing cards may contact their teachers at 440-871-1322 or 440-871-4412.

The Village Food Project, an endeavor spearheaded by Executive Director Barb Harrell, held an informational meeting at Bay Presbyterian Church on Jan. 9. The evening included an overview of the project, as well as prayer, videos and performances by the Bay High Choraleers. The many attendees were also treated to a sampling of a few VFP dishes.

The project, which was born on Sept. 24, 2010, and modeled after a similar program in Sebastopol, Calif., will provide three meals per week to Bay families who are facing a cancer crisis. The meals will be offered for up to 12 weeks – an average cancer treatment duration – after which clients will be asked to provide a donation to continue in the program.

Students in 9th-12th grades who reside in Bay, with guidance from volunteer adult chefs, will prepare the meals on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons in the Bay Presbyterian kitchen. Trained adults will deliver a week’s worth of meals on Wednesday evenings. Adult volunteers are also needed for grocery shopping, fundraising, planting and harvesting produce, composting and administrative tasks.

Two teen volunteers at Lake Erie Nature & Science Center single-handedly secured a nearly $1,000 corporate donation to support the Bay Village nonprofit. Vince DiGennaro and Sean Waitkus went into the board room to compete for funds under the Farmers Insurance Future Leaders Development Program.

“It was a wonderful program and experience," said DiGennaro. “Although nerves got to us in the beginning, we were relaxed by the end of the presentation, thanks to hours of preparation.”

DiGennaro and Waitkus developed a 20-minute PowerPoint and video presentation to explain why the nonprofit charity of their choice should receive a donation. A panel of company leaders judged competing student pitches. The Farmers Insurance Future Leaders Program is aimed at fostering the development of student leadership, communication and negotiation skills; exposing students to a corporate environment and helping students raise money for charities they feel passionate about.

December is a month when local community service organizations are in over-drive serving holiday dinners and distributing toys and food. It’s that time of year when folks are not only looking for something special for Grandma and Uncle Joe, but in the spirit of the season are also handing out charitable donations.

As long-time ministry leaders in Northeast Ohio, the Lutheran Home at Concord Reserve in Westlake has once again come together to help people in need. The generosity of the Lutheran Home at Concord Reserve this holiday season has been two-fold.

The Westlake Assistance Program, through Westlake Community Services, will offer food baskets to Westlake families in need this holiday season and would appreciate donations of non-perishable food items, household goods and toiletries. Please check expiration dates on food products. Volunteers are needed to sort donated food from the food drive. Call 440-899-3544 if you'd like to help.

Drop-off locations:
Westlake Recreation Center, 28955 Hilliard Blvd.
Westlake Police Department, 27300 Hilliard Blvd.
Westlake Community Services, 29694 Center Ridge Rd.
Westlake Porter Public Library, 27333 Center Ridge Rd.

Sammy Brenneman from Bay Village celebrated his 9th birthday party with 24 friends. Sammy asked that they bring food items to be donated to Bay Village Community Services Department's Feed-A-Family Program for the holidays. The party guests brought 100 food items for donation!

The Community Services Department is accepting donations of non-perishable food, paper products, cleaning products and toiletries through December 18. Community Services is open Monday-Friday, 8:30-4:30 p.m. They are located next to the Bay Pool on Bryson Lane.