Civic Groups

How would you answer these questions?

1. Are you the kind of person who loves dogs? 
2. Do you like to smile and have a good time? 
3. Do you enjoy making new friends and socializing? 
4. Do you have the belief that giving of your time, talents and skills is the “right thing to do” to give back to your community? 
5. Are you the kind of person who has energy, helpful ideas and works well with other people to accomplish goals and to feel self satisfied? 

If most of your answers were YES, you’re in good company!

On November 16th, a unique partnership of groups and individuals including the City of Lakewood, Lakewood Historical Society, Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District, citizens of Lakewood, and Lakewood Catholic Academy’s Green Team all came together to install a rain garden on the east side of the Oldest Stone House in Lakewood Park. The site was chosen in partnership with the City of Lakewood, Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District, and Lakewood Historical Society, who wanted to have better drainage around the Oldest Stone House to better preserve the historical structure’s foundation. After a lot of planning and leadership by Lakewood City Councilman Tom Bullock, the garden was completed with the efforts of these groups.

Again this year, the Rotary Club of Lakewood and Rocky River purchased dictionaries for all 776 third grade students in Lakewood and Rocky River.

Keep Lakewood Beautiful is a City of Lakewood committee comprised of volunteers who work to promote citizen involvement and investment toward the beauty of Lakewood through green space activity, litter prevention, and recycling efforts. The committee also encourages individual environmental education. The committee's activities include an annual Clean up Day, Adopt-a-Spot program, leaf humus sales, Earth Day Event and Beautiful Home Awards.

The Beautiful Home Awards are awarded to one home in each school district in order to include a wide range of home values and styles. The nominations are accepted, in July and August, from friends neighbors and often even the home owners themselves. The board of directors from Keep Lakewood Beautiful then divide the school districts up among themselves and determine the winners based on 3 major criteria- landscaping, house maintenance and overall beauty of the property.

On October 22nd, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., the Lakewood Historical Society hosts its second annual Vintage Varieties sale at the Skate House at Lakewood Park, just behind the Oldest Stone House, 14710 Lake Avenue. This sale was intended to feature small furniture, of which we have a nice array, but we've also received donations of some beautiful larger items Of note are a TV armoire; two corner china cabinets- one in gleaming cherry and one in lustrous oak; two dining room tables; a Victorian reproduction parlor set; wicker porch furniture and a most precious vintage child's roll-top desk and swivel chair. You'll also find architectural salvage, including two porch rail sections; 35 leaded windows (double-hung, casement & fixed) and a pair of French doors to match. There will be vintage hardware, vintage and contemporary lamps and light fixtures; artwork in all styles and sizes; home decor items and some things that are just plain fun- like boxes of rocks. Just looking at all the interesting stuff will be a treat, but at these prices, better bring a truck! Don't miss this sale!

The Kiwanis Club of Lakewood will be selling donuts on Thursday and Friday, October 27 and 28. I have already sung the praises of Kiwanis donuts, so I don’t need to tell you that they are the highlight of the autumn season. Instead, I will provide the details:

Stew Buchannan (left), past district governor for Rotary 6630, has presented Jim Lechko, member of the Rotary Club of Lakewood and Rocky River, with the Rotarian of the Year Award for 2010-2011, in recognition of Lechko's outstanding leadership and service to the district and Rotary. There are 56 clubs in the Northeast Ohio district with over 2,300 members.

The Gold Coast Follies is a musical variety group made up of seniors from Lakewood and the Greater Cleveland Area. Members range in age from 60 to 95 and are dedicated to staying active, having fun and making others smile.

It started as a project to celebrate “Make a Difference Day” and has become a treasured favorite event for Lakewood families: PUMPKIN PALOOZA is coming up! On Saturday, October 29, the east end of Lakewood High School will be transformed into a Halloween funland, with games, prizes, activities, food and of course…pumpkins! The best part of all is that the entire event is a fundraiser to benefit the Lakewood Community Services Center and the Lakewood Charitable Assistance Corporation. In addition to donating the proceeds to these local agencies, attendees are asked to bring a non-perishable food item that will be donated as well. Pumpkin Palooza is brought to you by H2O “Help to Others,” The City of Lakewood, Lakewood City Schools, Lakewood Hospital, Lakewood Public Library, Lakewood Non-Profit & Civic Organizations, LHS Student Organizations, Lakewood Early Childhood Professionals, and the generosity of Pumpkin Palooza sponsors.

H2O, “Help to Others” has had a remarkable start to the 2011-2012 school year. The students are energized and responsive to the many volunteer opportunities that have been presented to them. This first month has included some events that are familiar to the program, such as the Lakewood Community Festival, Harrison PTA Child care for meetings, Ronald McDonald House, Trinity Lutheran Community Outreach’s Food Distribution, and the Cedar Valley Settlers Celebration in the Cleveland Metroparks.

The Fifth Annual Light Up Lakewood festival will take place this year on December 3. This year, thanks to the generous sponsorship by David Stein of Plantation Home, LakewoodAlive is instituting the First Annual Light Up Lakewood Festival King and Queen Scholarship for college. This scholarship is open to any Lakewood resident that is currently a high school sophomore or junior druing this 2011–2012 school year.

A $500 scholarship will be awarded to one male and one female recipient on December 3. The deadline to submit applications is October 14, 2011. The scholarship recipients must agree to various obligations including attending the Light Up Lakewood Festival on December 3 and dedicating 20 hours of volunteer service to the community between December 4, 2011 and June 15, 2012.

Is it presumptuous to suggest that the United States government would do well to look at the way Lakewood Kiwanis chooses its president? Let’s look at the facts.

The verb of the day was “Persevere.”  A collection of middle-school aged campers and other various adults sat on the floor of the Lakewood High School L-Room, reflecting on the word “persevere” and listening to a former student at LHS talk about his life story and his most recent accomplishment. The students were all part of the H2O (Help to Others) Summer Service Camp, a City of Lakewood Division of Youth summer camp that stresses the importance of community and service work by providing middle school kids chances to actually engage in volunteer work and community building every day of camp. The speaker was a man with the nickname “Dee”. He had been a Lakewood High Class of 2008 graduate, a former soccer teammate of mine, and had then gone on to Denison University. He had just run 117 miles in less than 3 days.

Members of the public are invited to join Lakewood Kiwanians on August 24 as they celebrate 90 years of service to our community at the Clifton Club, 17884 Lake Road.

I am not a world traveler, and never have been, far from it. But I have seen Barcelona, and that makes up for a great many deficiencies.

One of the main charms of Barcelona is the Ramblas, a pedestrian boulevard (technically, a series of boulevards), where every evening it seems that half of Barcelona is out strolling, perusing the stalls and the street performers and each other.

What’s the point of all this, you say. Well, the point is that every year, on the first Saturday in August (Aug. 6 this year), Lakewood turns into a second Barcelona for the Arts Festival. It seems that half of Cuyahoga County is congregated along Detroit Avenue between Belle and Gladys, perusing the stalls and each other. 

What would the Fourth of July be without hot dogs?

Well, it would still be the country’s birthday, and a tribute to the Founding Fathers, and a stimulus to patriotic fervor.

Okay, then… Let me re-phrase the question: What is the national food on the Fourth of July? Hot dogs, of course, and what better place to get your hot dogs on the Fourth of July than the Kiwanis stand in Lakewood Park?

This month the spirit of the big red-striped tent will arrive from the shores of Lake Chautauqua to the shores of Lake Erie, and Lakewood Kiwanis will be helping to welcome the participants  and make their visit a rewarding one.

As Observer readers well know, the Chautauqua tent will be up in Lakewood Park from June 22 through June 26, featuring presentations and displays concerning the Civil War era.

Remember, “Follow the money,”? That was the premier catch-phrase during the Watergate era. Watergate, however, is long past, and following the money these days will likely result only in disillusionment, despair and cynicism.

Four high school seniors have been awarded scholarships by the Lakewood-Rocky River Rotary Foundation. The students were introduced to the club at its May 9 meeting.

Keep Lakewood Beautiful Great American Clean - Up in Lakewood and Earth Day event was a huge success this past Saturday, April 30. Over 150 participants-children and adults picked up litter, raked up yard waste and collected recyclables in our community's public spaces. Armed with rakes, brooms, gloves, garbage and yard waste bags they spruced up our city parks, parking lots, tree lawns and curbs. Twenty-five individual and groups registered for this year's clean up and were assigned to clean up 22 of our city's public spaces. Many walked in that morning as well asking what can I do to help. The city provided us with assistance at our two big parks and picked up our collected bags at various sites through the city. Our city's biggest litter complaint was cigarette butts and we targeted that litter through out the city and specifically on our city sidewalks and curbs. Now that we got a head start on cigarette butt litter we are asking our businesses to continue the efforts by picking up and sweeping their store fronts daily. What a great community effort. Fortunately the weather was cooperative and we had warm and dry skies to make this clean up easier!

I’ve never taken a poll, but I would guess that many people come to Kiwanis meal-time fund-raisers for the purpose of supporting Kiwanis and the community. That’s all for the good, but there’s another very strong reason- you get an excellent meal.

Winners of the Rotary 66th annual Music, Speech and Visual Arts Contest were honored at an awards ceremony April 11 at the Beck Center for the Arts.

Keep Lakewood Beautiful is starting up for another busy spring! As our snow melts and flowers begin to pop up, we need to clean-up what an especially long winter left behind. We are planning our Great American Clean-Up in Lakewood on Earth Day April 30 and are thrilled to have received a grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) to help with these events.

Keep Lakewood Beautiful is looking for individuals and groups to register for the Great American Clean-Up in Lakewood. Church groups, scout troops, block groups and community groups and individuals are needed to assist with picking up litter and sprucing up our public areas of Lakewood. KLB will provide supplies to registered groups before the event. Groups can inform us of a park, business district, or parking lot that they would like to clean or we can suggest one for them. The Clean-Up is Saturday, April 30 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. All clean up groups are then invited back to the Woman’s Pavilion in Lakewood Park for lunch provided by Keep Lakewood Beautiful. If interested in helping with this event please call 529- 6602 or email Holly.Lauch@lakewoodoh.net. Help us and do your part to Keep Lakewood Beautiful by joining us April 30 for this Spring Clean-Up.

Former long-time Lakewood resident, Douglas Cooper, has received one of Rotary International's most prestigious awards, the Paul Harris Fellowship. Named after the founder of Rotary, it recognizes Rotary members who have made substantial contributions to the Rotary International Foundation. Doug is the immediate past President of the Sunrise Rotary Club of Lakewood/Rocky River. He was a long time member of the Lakewood/Rocky River Rotary before joining the Sunrise Club. Doug was an Attorney with the firm of Thompson, Hine, LLP for 30 years. Most recently he was the President of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

On a recent blustery January day, a group of eight Lakewood High School (LHS) students met to prepare for a community discussion about what it’s like to be a teenager growing up in Lakewood. The “Youth Conversation” will take place February 16th from 7:00-8:30 pm at the Lakewood City Hall Auditorium.

Hosted by the Lakewood Community Relations Advisory Commission, the “Youth Conversation” will provide an opportunity for city leaders and residents to listen to our youth describe both the positives and the negatives of their experiences of being teenagers in Lakewood.

The students who volunteered to lead the discussion are an eclectic mix of Lakewood teens spanning ethnic, racial, and economic differences. Despite these distinctions, their shared vision is of teenagers who want to make a positive impact on their community. The purpose of the preparatory session was to get everybody thinking and talking. Joe Lobozzo, LHS teacher and co-chair of the “Youth Conversation” asked, “How do you respond to the phrase, ‘There’s nothing to do for teenagers in Lakewood?’”

We’ve been hearing recently about the upcoming celebration this year of the centennial of the chartering of Lakewood as a city and the 100th anniversary of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce. This year the Kiwanis Club of Lakewood will also be celebrating its 90th year of service to the children and citizens of our community.

The very first Kiwanis Club was chartered in Detroit, Michigan in January 1915 , and the second club was Cleveland, Ohio which celebrated its 95th birthday in November 2010. Lakewood Kiwanis was sponsored by Cleveland in 1921, one of the many clubs that were initiated by the Kiwanis Club of Cleveland, including the first club outside of North America in Vienna, Austria in 1965.

Lakewood students honored the legacy of Dr. King on Monday, January 17th by volunteering time on their day off of school and sharing lunch and reflections about the meaning of the holiday. The service sites were arranged in advance by H2O coordinator Celia Dorsh and the wonderfully accommodating organizations who provided meaningful work and background information for the kids.

In addition, several adult volunteers made the community service part of the day a success by accompanying student volunteers to their sites. Lynn Foran and Nora Steele took a group of students to the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) and toured the facility. They helped organize the pop-tab collection (a fundraiser for RMH), cleaned toys, and helped serve food to the guests.

Did you know that feminine care products are often unavailable at shelters and food pantries? In fact, many local relief agencies and government subsidy programs do not cover the cost of these items frequently referred to as “unmentionables.”

You are invited to hear world-renown chef and cooking school founder Loretta Paganini at the League of Women Voters' "First Thursdays" speaker series on Thursday, December 2, 2010, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, at Trinity Commons at Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. Chef Paganini's talk is titled, "A Woman's Place is Running the Kitchen." The public is invited to attend at no charge, with free parking behind the Cathedral off Prospect Avenue.

Last time I mentioned that donut-sale money is used for community service projects. What are these projects? Let’s look at some that might be funded by the donut-sale projects, and for how much.

The November 2nd election ballot for District 2 (Brook Park, Lakewood, and Cleveland Wards 18 and 19) will have five candidates for Council and six candidate for Council Executive. The League of Women voters has organized two separate nonpartisan forums so that voters can meet their candidates and learn more about their positions before voting.

The Lakewood Democratic Club met earlier this summer to elect new officers and make its endorsements for the September 7 Democratic Primary for the new County Executive and County Council District 2 which includes all of Lakewoood.

On Thursday, July 15 the Lakewood Democratic Club honored Gerry Nelson, the former club secretary, and lifelong Democrat as the Lakewood Democrat of the Year. The presentation was made by club President Karolyn Isenhart and First Vice President Kyle Weigand at the club’s annual Summer Supper Steak and Veggie Roast at the Clifton Beach. Gerry Nelson is recognized as a political and social activist and a leader on the ground, where it matters, working with workers and unions, with seniors, with Democratic candidates and throughout the community in Lakewood and Northeast Ohio.

Keep Lakewood Beautiful (KLB) took being green literally this spring with many green events. First of all, a big THANK YOU to all the residents, block groups, girl scouts and community groups who participated in our Great American Cleanup in Lakewood on April 24. This annual event, sponsored by Keep America Beautiful, had many registered groups picking up trash, recyclables and yard waste in Lakewood and beautifying our public spaces.  What a great response and what a difference groups coming together can make. Again, thanks to the many who helped with this year’s clean up.

The Kiwanis Club of Lakewood is pleased to announce the ten recipients of $10,000 academic scholarships to the following Lakewood residents who are graduating with the class of 2010. Awardees were selected based upon overall academic performance, community involvement, and extra curricular activities.

Dear Citizens of Lakewood:

Lakewood resident Dr. Sheila G. Bailey, Senior Research Physicist at NASA Glenn Research Center, is the featured speaker at the League of Women Voters' public meeting series titled, Women Who Know Their Place. Her talk, "Science and Petticoats," is set for Thursday, April 8, 2010, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, at Trinity Commons at Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland. The public is invited to attend, with free parking for attendees behind the Cathedral off Prospect Avenue.

The Junior Women's Club of Lakewood ("JWCL") is currently accepting grant applications. Each year JWCL solicits grant applications from non-profit organizations serving the Lakewood community. The recipients chosen by JWCL in April, 2010 will receive proceeds from JWCL's fundraising events held next year. JWCL has supported many local non-profits over the past decade, giving more than $165,000 to past recipients including Project H2O, The Barton Center, The Beck Center, Kids' Cove, Lakewood Christian Service Center, Lakewood Charitable Assistance Corporation, Lakewood Library Foundation, Matthew's Lending Library and Meals on Wheels.

“Lets Wine About Winter” – March 6, 2010 – Save the Date!

Lakewood resident and Attorney at Law Susan Jankite has been named "2009 G.A.L. of the Year" by the G.A.L. (Guardian ad Litem) Project of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. Guardian ad Litem literally means "guardian at law." A G.A.L. is an attorney appointed by the Juvenile Court to advocate for the best interests of a child (or, in some instances, an adult) in a juvenile court proceeding. Currently there are approximatley 100 qualified G.A.L.'s who have received special training from the G.A.L. Project.