Lakewood Early Childhood PTA’s Brake 4 Kids™ Speed Awareness Program

Lakewood's Junior Women's Club (JWCL) continued its support of the City of Lakewood's H2O (Help to Others) program with a donation of $2,000, as Margaret Wetzler, president of JWCL, presented a check to Celia Dorsch, director of H2O, at the End of Summer party on August 12. JWCL is a long-time supporter of H2O, and has committed to an annual contribution to the group since 2007.

The H2O End of Summer party celebrated the accomplishments of more than 200 campers, leaders, volunteers and speakers who participated in this year's program, and recognized partnerships with local civic organizations and service agencies.  

According to Ms. Wetzler, JWCL is proud to support the work of H2O because its mission so closely mirrors that of the Junior Women's Club: to provide a philanthropic organization for women who are interested in serving their community while enjoying programming and social events geared toward fun and friendship. H2O Summer Camp is a service learning program for middle and high school students dedicated to strengthening and enriching the community by engaging its young people as community builders. It was evident from the campers who spoke on behalf of the group that they learned that there isn't a dichotomy between fun and service; you can smile, laugh and goof around while also serving your community and helping those in need.

Are you a parent to a child or children age 0 through 6 years old? Are you in search of free or low-cost activities to do with your child? Are you looking to connect with other parents? If so, please consider the Lakewood Early Childhood PTA!

The LECPTA is a non-profit organization, with membership open to parents, guardians, grandparents, educators, caregivers and expectant parents. We are not affiliated with any one school; instead, we strive to promote the welfare of children and family community-wide.

On Wednesday, August 18th at 6:30 p.m., LECPTA will hold its annual Salad Supper at the Women’s Pavilion in Lakewood Park. You need not be a current member of LECPTA to attend; just share an interest in programs for children from birth through age six. It is a great opportunity to meet new and veteran members, and to learn more about LECPTA and all the exciting events planned for the upcoming year. A supper of sensational salads and delectable desserts will be served. This is a FREE event for people interested in becoming LECPTA members and for existing members as well. Feel free to bring a friend or two. We promise a great night of food, fun, and friends. *Note: This is an event for adults only.*

If you are interested in attending and learning more about this great organization, please RSVP by August 11th to LECPTA@gmail.com and put “Salad Supper” in the subject line. Hope to see you there!

With summer in full swing, kittens, with or without mothers, are overflowing the Lakewood Animal Shelter. Fostering means opening your home to provide the care and socialization these young kittens need until ready to adopt. This usually lasts around six to eight weeks depending on the age of the kittens. The advantages of being in a home are innumerable compared with a kitten that spends his or her whole life in a cage with little to no interaction with people. The Citizens Committee for the Lakewood Animal Shelter assists with arranging for foster care for these litters and will reimburse for some food and supplies, when possible. The main problem is that there are usually too many litters and not enough foster homes to place them in. For those with the means and time please seriously consider fostering kittens for the Lakewood Animal Shelter.

Is Fido smelling Funky? Then you are in luck! Time to spruce up your pup at our annual dog wash. Nature’s Bin in collaboration with CCLAS (Citizens Committee for the Lakewood Animal Shelter) will host their annual “Dog Days of Summer” dog wash on Saturday, August 14th from 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a rain date of Sunday, August 15th. Proceeds will benefit the Lakewood Animal Shelter.

The Citizen Committee for the Lakewood Animal Shelter will hold its annual bake sale at this year's Lakewood Arts Festival.

Cornucopia Inc./Nature’s Bin celebrated its 35th Anniversary this year on June 16th, and the organization will be recognizing this milestone throughout the year. While some people may know about all the organic and healthy food at Nature’s Bin, they may not be aware that it is owned and operated by Cornucopia, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to help people with disabilities develop their skills, confidence and workplace potential.

Heritage Ohio recently awarded the “Main Street Manager of the Year” to Mary Anne Crampton, executive director of LakewoodAlive. Crampton accepted the award Thursday, June 17 at Heritage Ohio’s Annual Preservation and Revitalization Awards Ceremony held at the Baker Center on the campus of Ohio University. The Awards Ceremony is held in conjunction with Heritage Ohio’s Statewide Conference.

Lakewood, Ohio, June 22, 2010 – The HUGS  Foundation, a local non-profit focused on providing funding and support for families of chemically dependent adolescents will be holding their annual golf outing Monday, July 26, 2010. Proceeds will help HUGS provide the necessary financial support to assist families in defraying the cost of extended addiction recovery treatment.

Trinity Lakewood Community Outreach is "off the boards." A new service provider is being instituted through Trinity Lutheran Church. TLCO will focus on the hunger relief efforts, neighbor support, organic gardening and backpack summer project that Trinity Church began over the past number of years. New this year will be a theater production with cast and crew of Lakewood teens and tweens with intended to recruit those with financial challenges.

North Coast Health Ministry (NCHM) has received a grant from the Northeast Ohio Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure for its Women’s Health Days. On Women’s Health Days, low-income uninsured NCHM patients receive onsite mammography, breast health education, clinical breast exams and preventive gynecological care.

Tom Baker and Rick Smith were elected to each serve a three-year term on the Lakewood Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees at its recent annual board meeting. Mr. Baker, a Lakewood native and resident, is a partner with the law firm Tucker Ellis & West LLP. He is a trial attorney whose practice focuses on commercial, product liability and maritime litigation. Baker serves as a trustee of the Lakewood Public Library Foundation and was a member of the Cleveland Leadership Center’s Bridge Builders Class of 2008. He is a graduate of Cleveland Marshall College of Law and Baldwin-Wallace College. Tom and his wife Jenni have three children who attend Lakewood Catholic Academy. They are both actively involved with LakewoodAlive, Lakewood’s community development organization.

Mr. Smith is senior vice president and chief financial officer of First Federal of Lakewood. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a graduate of the University of Akron. Smith has a strong background in serving the community in both his professional and personal life. Over the past 20 years, he has been a CFO of local, community banks and an active member and leader of numerous local charity organizations, including Rotary, Kiwanis, Red Cross and United Way. He and his wife Becky, a healthcare professional at Fairview Hospital, have three children and reside in Medina.

Easter Seals Northern Ohio is pleased to announce its plans for three summer speech therapy programs in Lakewood. The programs will offer services to children with speech and language disabilities or delays.

As we drive around and look at the City of Lakewood, one of the areas we can all see that needs to be addressed is housing, and it is not confined to any one neighborhood. We all see the occasional yard with overgrown weeds, long grass, and cluttered backyards. As we look harder, we can then see the next layer: the homes that should have been painted last year, or a couple years ago, but have been left waiting on the To Do list, as homeowners try to stretch their dollars, keep costs down, and stay within limited budgets.

And then we see the final layer: homes that are slipping away from their owners. As much as we would like to blame this on absentee landlords, more often than not, it is an owner occupied home-- a home that was purchased when things were good and is now a burden. A home that was inherited, and the grandchildren living there do not have the same means as Grandma and Grandpa. Or the home of a family whose hardworking parents have seen pensions slashed, layoffs, or medical issues suddenly sideline them. Or what I think of as the tragedy homes: homes that were owned by husband and wife, and one has passed away leaving the other with their single largest investment, and a place for them to spend the rest of their years with the memories and love that accrued in that home.

The time surrounding Memorial Day is always busy for H2O – “Help To Others.” This year we have two events in place to help honor and remember those who have served in the Armed Forces.

With the weather beginning to warm, kittens (with or without mothers) will soon be overflowing the Lakewood Animal Shelter. Fostering means opening your home to provide the care and socialization these young kittens need to prepare them for adoption. Foster care usually lasts around six to eight weeks, depending on the age of the kittens. For a litter of kittens, the advantages of growing up in a comfortable home are immeasurable compared with being stuck either outside or in a cage at the shelter having little or no interaction with people.

It was A Wish Come True indeed!

This Earth Day, members of Lakewood’s youth volunteer program, H2O (Help to Others), were busy giving back, while having fun! As part of the Great American Clean-up in Lakewood put on by Keep Lakewood Beautiful, H2O members spent their Earth Day participating in a Spruce Up of Lakewood Park. Teaming up with the Rocky River Kohl’s Department Store, volunteers picked up trash and cleaned up the walkway by the lake. The group filled countless trash bags on their way to making the walkway more enjoyable for everyone.

An exciting new partnership in Lakewood, focusing on homeowners’ needs, will kick off during the month of May. LakewoodAlive is teaming up with Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland (NHSGC) to provide Lakewood residents with access to a full range of homeownership education, foreclosure prevention, and lending programs.

“The loss of jobs or cuts in hours has made it difficult for some local families to pay their mortgages. They face difficult choices about which bills to pay, and often those choices put them at risk of losing their homes,” said LakewoodAlive Executive Director Mary Anne Crampton.  “NHSGC can assist these families with preserving their homes. This nonprofit organization has a long history of successful service to Northeast Ohio and brings the right mix of educational and financial resources to address Lakewood’s unique needs.” Residents having trouble making mortgage payments cannot ask for help too early. “Reaching people at the first sign of trouble is critical to keeping their homes,” said Lou Tisler, Executive Director of Neighborhood Housing Services. “The sooner people reach out for help; the greater the chances are for a favorable outcome.” 

May is National Preservation Month and the Lakewood Historical Society is celebrating Lakewood’s architectural treasures with a scavenger hunt. The free event will run between May 15 and May 25, 2010. Participants will search for twenty architectural details shown on the downloadable entry form. The search will take them around Lakewood and help them discover unique and interesting features of Lakewood’s urban landscape. The entry form and list of Lakewood supporters will be posted on the Lakewood Historical Society website www.lakewoodhistory.org on May 15, 2010. Completed entries must be submitted by the end of the business day on May 25, 2010 and may be dropped off at Rozi’s Wine House, 14900 Detroit Avenue, or Lakewood Hardware, 16608 Madison Avenue. Entries with all correct answers will be entered into a drawing to be held at LEAF Night on June 9, 2010 at 6 p.m. in the Lakewood Public Library (winners need not be present at drawing). Prizes consisting of gifts and gift certificates from Lakewood merchants and organizations will be awarded to first, second, and third place winners.

The Lakewood Historical Society advocates for our historic community, in addition to providing stewardship of artifacts and buildings. By continuing to link our community's past, present, and future through the preservation of our built environment, we retain this sense of place as "Lakewood." Preservation, combined with appropriate economic development, is the key to maintaining the beauty of our neighborhoods, retaining our high quality of life, and keeping our community vibrant. This May, be part of the hunt for Preservation Month!

Looking to have a great time and support a fantastic cause? The Salem Team at Keller Williams Realty and friends will be holding their third annual Guest Bartending Event at Around the Corner on May 20th from 6 p.m. to midnight. Proceeds from the event will be donated to help defray medical expenses for Rocky River resident and friend of the team, Brandon Hiller, who was seriously injured a year ago.

It’s time for an evening filled with live music, comedy, food, drinks and fantastic local merchandise, all while helping our furry friends! And you can be a part of it.

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, located at the corner of Detroit Avenue and West Clifton Blvd., has been a vital part of the Lakewood community since 1906. Today, more than 500 parishioners from Lakewood and the surrounding communities call St. Peter’s their spiritual home. 

You know spring is here when the Nicholson House gardens bloom with daffodils and a giant white tent pops up in the yard. That means it’s time for Lakewood’s best event for savvy shoppers, Sale on the Grounds.

Founded in Lakewood, Ohio in 2008, the HUGS Foundation has been working to bring healing in the form of Hope, Understanding, Gratitude and Serenity, to those touched by adolescent chemical addiction, bridging the insurance gap by providing funds to help offset the staggering costs of residential recovery programs.

An eighth grade student at Lakewood Catholic Academy has started a campaign to help solve a challenge faced by low income parents in our community. “Earlier this year, I learned that government assistance programs like food stamps cannot be used to buy disposable diapers,” said Grace Powers. “This causes a number of problems. For example, most day care centers require parents to supply disposable diapers. If a parent cannot afford diapers, the child cannot attend day care, so the parent sometimes cannot go to work, meaning the family has even less money,” she said. “And parents who cannot afford enough diapers sometimes let their children wear dirty diapers for a long time, which can lead to illness,” Grace added.

On March 16th, Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland, a member of the national NeighborWorks® network, announced that it received $192,500 in flexible grants from NeighborWorks® America. The money will support NHS of Greater Cleveland’s affordable housing and community development activities such as homebuyer education, rehabilitation lending and foreclosure prevention, and comes at a time when communities need investment most. In 2010, NeighborWorks America will provide over $119 million in grants to its national network of more than 230 nonprofit organizations operating in over 4,400 rural, urban, and suburban communities, including Greater Cleveland.

Annual Ambulance Chase-  Don’t Miss It! 

Lakewood Catholic Academy will celebrate its fifth anniversary with a gala fundraiser, “A Wish Come True – A Celebration of Lakewood Catholic Academy” at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 24, 2010. The party, which will raise funds to support the school’s innovative curriculum, dedicated faculty, and beautiful campus, will take place at the school, located at 14808 Lake Avenue in Lakewood. Tickets are $100 per person and include cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and a seated dinner, as well as a wine pull and birthday “games.”

Burning River Lacrosse (owned by Woody Calleri of Lakewood) and Fisher House Foundation team up to bring you their Third Annual Lacrosse Showcase to benefit the Fisher House Foundation, serving our military families. This year’s event will be held on April 24, 2010. The ‘Showcase’ is an all day series of College, High School and Middle School lacrosse games held to raise money and awareness for the Fisher House Foundation. The event features one College game, three High School Varsity lacrosse games and three Middle School games. Teams are paired up on the field to show their talents, have some fun and learn what it’s like to give back to their community. Players are given the opportunity to show their appreciation to our military families and participate in an event to benefit others.

This success of this event is made possible by local and national sponsorships, many parent and coaching volunteers and of course the main attraction – the players. In the past two years the event raised approximately $90,000 to benefit the foundation. The Fisher House™ program is a unique private-public partnership that supports America's military in their time of need. Because members of the military and their families are stationed worldwide and must often travel great distances for specialized medical care, Fisher House™ Foundation donates "comfort homes," built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful times- during the hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury. There is at least one Fisher House™ at every major military medical center (43 total) to assist families in need and to ensure that they are provided with the comforts of home in a supportive environment. The program began in 1990, and has offered approximately 3 million days of lodging to more than 120,000 families at a savings of more than $100 million in lodging costs, plus savings on subsistence and transportation costs since its inception. This year’s event will be held on April 24, 2010 at Hawken School’s Walton Stadium, located at 12465 County Line Road, Chesterland.

Tickets are available the day of the event or in advance by contacting Burning River at 216.373.5684. Donations can be made at www.active.com/donate/fisherhouse2010lax. More event information is available at the Burning River Lacrosse website at www.brlax.net.  Burning River Lacrosse provides year-round lacrosse programs for players throughout northeast Ohio.

With sunshine and warm days nearly upon us, the new growing season just around the corner. Start your preparations for spring by joining the Lakewood Earth & Food Community (LEAF) at its 2010 Open House on Sunday, March 14th from 2:00 to 5:00 at the main branch of the Lakewood Public Library in the Multipurpose Room. This is your opportunity to get information and ask questions about LEAF programs. There will be representatives from our educational series, bulk buying, community gardening and our Community Supported Agriculture programs (CSA).

You can sign up for the CSAs and community garden plots at the meeting or you can print the applications at www.leafcommunity.org and mail payment for both programs (checks made out to LEAF) to: LEAF, PO Box 770374, Lakewood, OH 44107. First week's payment for City Fresh is due with the application and must be received by May 15th. If you are interesting in volunteering this year, please bring your calendar as we will be taking signups for LEAF Night volunteers. A limited number of garden plots are available, and they sell out quickly, so get yours soon! And don't forget to check out our free Third Thursday Educational Series, featured in this issue of the LO.

The Lakewood Earth And Food Community invites you to attend our first educational session of our 2010 Third Thursdays series, on Thursday, March 18th at 6:00 p.m. in the Library Meeting Room of Madison Library. Every third Thursday of the month LEAF features an expert on pertinent urban agriculture issues and provides the Lakewood community an opportunity to learn how we can all participate in this movement for the betterment of our community and our environment. 

The March event will focus on Lakewood's agricultural heritage. Chickens in Lakewood? It's true. What about local vineyards, orchards, and farms within our city’s boundaries? They all were part of Lakewood’s landscape at one point in time. The Lakewood Historical Society’s Mazie Adams joins LEAF for the first Third Thursday of the season to discuss Lakewood’s agricultural heritage and to illustrate that growing local foods is not a new concept to our city. Join us at the Madison Branch Library (13228 Madison Avenue) to find out more about what was growing near your neighborhood in the not-so distant past. 

Parvovirus, an incredibly contagious infection that causes diarrhea and vomiting until death, is a sad reality for dogs that become infected, since it is preventable through vaccine. For most dogs and cats, a disease-free lifestyle is as easy as kitten or puppy shots (usually three rounds every three weeks), and a yearly booster thereafter. Some of these infectious diseases can be life threatening. A majority of the common diseases can be prevented by vaccination. Rabies, distemper and kennel cough are examples of deadly diseases that can be easily avoided just by keeping vaccines up to date.  Local pet stores, such as PETCO and Pet Supplies Plus, offer low cost clinics once a month with no appointments necessary.  Or, visit Luvmypet.com for local clinic locations. Vaccinations also help prevent the spread of diseases to other pets in the family or neighborhood. After spaying and neutering, vaccinations are the next step for responsible pet owners for ensuring their furry family members have a happy and healthy life.

Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry’s Westhaven Youth Shelter and Youth Re-Entry Program have combined to form Next Step. The programs merged in order to provide a continuum of care to better serve vulnerable youth in Cleveland. Next Step will ultimately provide older youth, who are without a home or a stable living environment, with shelter care and independent living. Plans are underway to also provide transitional housing in the near future. Next Step will ensure that youth who are hurting and forgotten do not fall through the cracks and miss out on services they so desperately need. In addition to meeting the basic needs of housing, food and clothing, these gender-specific services also include counseling, independent-living skills and job placement.

You may be eligible for free insulation!

Through the HOUSEWARMING program, you may be eligible for free insulation and other energy conservation measures. These conservation measures are designed to promote energy efficiency and may include**:

Our second son, Nevan, would not be with us today without the benefits of congenital heart disease research and education. Without going into great detail, Nevan was born with multiple heart defects which resulted in numerous surgeries - the success of which would not have been possible without research and education in pediatric cardiology. While congenital heart disease is the number one birth defect in all children, a surprisingly scarce amount of resources are dedicated toward the research and education of this pediatric disease. On February 25, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. we will be attending the Jordan’s Family Foundation’s 5th Annual Charity Wine & Beer Tasting at Rozi’s Wine House, and we invite you to join us.

Kara Goeller and Corey Rossen, whose second daughter, Jordan, was also born with a heart defect, have been instrumental in raising funds to increase research and education dedicated exclusively toward congenital heart diseases. Their funding is raised through the Jordan’s Family Foundation, which is one of Lakewood’s premier 501(c)(3) non-profit charities and was recently named a member of the United Way as a designated charity for Health and Human Services. The Jordan’s Family Foundation is nationally renowned for its fundraising efforts from our very own Lakewood. The 5th Annual Charity Wine & Beer Tasting is just one of those events, but your help is needed.

A landmark study was released on February 2 by the Cleveland Foodbank and Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization. The study reports that more than 223,700 people receive emergency food each year from the 450 agencies served by the Cleveland Foodbank. Feeding America collected information from 61,000 face-to-face interviews with people seeking emergency food and more than 37,000 agency surveys nationwide.

Key findings in the Cleveland Foobank report include:

·         More than 85,000 children and 33,000 seniors received food assistance; a 54% and 75% increase respectively over 2006

·         1 in 9 people turned to local hunger centers in 2009 in the six county Foodbank service area

·         39% of the clients served through the Cleveland Foodbank report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities

·         27% had to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage

 

Beginning Monday, February 1, 2010, the AARP will be conducting tax preparation clinics at the City of Lakewood, Division of Aging Lawther Center, located at 16024 Madison Ave. Clinics will be held on Mondays and Tuesdays, from 12:00 PM through 3:30 PM. The final clinic will be Tuesday, April 13, 2010. Clinic appointments are by reservation only. Make your reservation by calling 216-521-1198 between 10:30 AM and 2:30 PM, Monday through Friday.

There is a simple, affordable solution to the out of control population of stray animals in this country.  Spaying and neutering pets is not only the responsible thing to do, but also can help with behavioral and health issues throughout the life of the animal.  Owners who choose not to have their pets spayed or neutered, for whatever reason, are directly responsible for the millions of euthanized animals in this country every year.  Some pet owners may claim that the cost is too much, which should have been noted before considering owning a cat or dog, but even that is not a good excuse due to the numerous low cost possibilities listed later in this article.  Millions of lives could be saved each year if owners would spay and neuter before allowing their pets to roam and breed at will.  Of the roughly 600 cats the Lakewood Animal Shelter and Warden see each year, only about 200 have the chance to be adopted.  The 400 left behind must be euthanized due to illness, overcrowding, or inability to find foster homes until they can be adopted.  Whole litters of animals that would make wonderful pets are never given the opportunity due to the sheer volume that shelters have to deal with.  To know that these deaths could be 100% preventable makes it even more distressing.  The Lakewood Animal Shelter, along with many other groups, offers a spay/neuter discount when adopting from their facility.  Not only would new owners be helping an animal in need by adopting, but also getting a discount on the procedure.  There are many low cost options even in the Lakewood area, which can be found on the Lakewood Animal Shelter website at: http://www.cclas.info/Spay.html .   Also for the entire state of Ohio, visiting http://www.spayohio.org/search/, or calling 1-877-644-OHIO (6446), gives every owner no excuse to not do the right thing.  When choosing to bring home that new puppy or kitten, please consider the possibility that two out of three animals you look at may never get a home, and make the responsible decision to not contribute to those numbers.

Jennifer Brunner, Ohio's Secretary of State, is the featured speaker at the League of Women Voters' First Thursdays, the League's meeting series open to the public free of charge. Titled, "A View from the Top," Brunner's talk is set for February 4, 2010, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, at Trinity Commons at Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. There is free parking for attendees behind the Cathedral off Prospect Avenue.