Civic Groups

MEALS ON WHEELS Lakewood Meals on Wheels needs your help. Although there are many ways to help, first let me tell you about the program. Chef Jan LeBeau makes about 50 meals a day, five days a week, except on holidays...

Nearly 80 Rotarians and guests were on hand to witness the new Lakewood/Rocky River Sunrise Rotary Club receive its Charter from Rotary International. It was a beautiful evening at the Cleveland Yacht Club, and the food and fellowship were outstanding. Representatives of 11 Rotary Clubs from the North East Ohio Rotary District 6630 were represented.

Do you value a healthy, locally sustainable food source? If yes, it’s not too late to purchase a share bag through the Lakewood Earth & Food Community’s CSA initiative.

March 10, 2007, at the Lakewood Public Library

The Lakewood Earth And Food Community is looking for earth and food loving Lakewoodites. The L.E.A.F. Community is bringing people together who wish to buy local, healthy food, economize, preserve the environment and beautify the city while building a deeper sense of community. The L.E.A.F. Community is working to realize four basic initiatives; community gardening, bulk buying, soil building, and building relationships with local farmers through participation in Community Supported Agriculture (C.S.A.) programs.

While working the BikeLakewood booth at the Lakewood Community Festival earlier this fall, several people asked me about "the bill about biking that was just passed." The bill these folks were referring to is House Bill 389, also known as the "Better Bicycling in Ohio" bill. It was passed last June and takes effect on September 21st. Most of the festival attendees had read about HB 389 in a recent Plain Dealer article.

On Thursday, September 21, 2006, The Lakewood Commission on Aging (LCOA) held its Tenth Annual PastaFiesta, at the Woman's Pavilion in Lakewood Park.

LakewoodAlive, a citizens' community development and advocacy group committed to helping create informed and engaged residents, has announced its next forum, Hard Hat Area: Lakewood's Residential Building Boom.

On Saturday, September 16, participants walked from Lakewood Park to Edgewater Park joining a nationwide "Walk for Peace" to raise awareness of legislation (HR 3760 and S. 1756) currently in the House and Senate to create a cabinet level US Department of Peace and Nonviolence.

Walking around Lakewood, it's hard to miss the transformation that is underway. Structures and spaces are emerging that are intended to appeal to our intellectual, physical, and social needs. In many ways, political differences of the past have engaged a community that has not allowed itself to recede into apathy. We are a proactive group of people dedicated to creating the community we want to live in. This spirit, in fact, is the driving force behind a recently formed collaborative philanthropic effort called the Cleveland Colectivo.

BikeLakewood was founded just this past June to promote Better Biking in Lakewood. I'd like to take some time to update you on our progress to date.

Lakewood Observers committed to the model of community supported agriculture (CSA), the taste of fresh gourmet vegetables, good times in Lakewood together and support for local business organized the LO Gourmet Food Security Network and held the First Harvest Soiree at bela dubby on July 13.

On Saturday June 10, Julie Wiltse spoke at the National Eminent Domain Conference titled, "Moving Forward: Winning the Battle Against Eminent Domain in a Post-Kelo World", hosted by the Castle Coalition in Arlington, Virginia. Mrs. Wiltse opened her remarks with the optimistic report that "Contrary to Mayor Cain's prediction in 2002 that Lakewood would not survive without the completion of the 151 million dollar lifestyle center on the West End or that no developer would think of doing any redevelopment in the city without the city's willingness to use its power of eminent domain, I'm happy to report that Lakewood is alive and well." She went on to detail the many development projects that Lakewood is currently doing and discussing all without the use of eminent domain. Mrs. Wiltse had been one of the homeowners and business owners whose property had been threatened by eminent domain in Lakewood.

The Rockport Lakewood Kiwanis Club is on a mission to recruit more new members to its ranks. Club members have found the most effective weapon in their arsenal is FUN. Last weekend they continued their quest by holding two social activities that drew on the interest of their members, paintball and baseball. Rumor has it that this group has also formed a kickball team that is going to be hard to beat. If you want to find out more about membership, join the club on the stage at the Winking Lizard on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m.

City Year, a proud member of AmeriCorps, unites over 1,000 diverse young adults, ages 17 to 24, in 16 communities across the country for a demanding year of full-time community service, leadership development and civic engagement. This year, in Cleveland, 70 of these idealistic young leaders will make a difference in the lives of 10,000 children, providing nearly 120,000 hours of service.

The 1956 Time Capsule from the Lakewood YMCA was opened on April 5th at a luncheon event sponsored by the Winking Lizard. The Capsule was opened by Louise Fletcher, a longtime member and major donor to the 2006 campaign; Anne Palomaki, a member who attended the dedication of the Y in 1957; John McMillan, co-chairman of the 2006 Capital campaign; and Glenn Haley, CEO and President of the Cleveland YMCA.

Over 200 supporters attended the fundraiser for Lakewood Municipal Judge Patrick Carroll at Swingoes on the Lake on April 5th. Judge Carroll is campaigning for the position of Judge on the 8th District Court of Appeals in the Democratic Primary Election on May 2nd, 2006 and received the endorsement of "The Cleveland Plain Dealer".

n the summer of 2006, Lakewood offered a 7-series renovation class through the Cleveland Green Building Coalition. Having just purchased a 1910 Arts & Crafts Colonial Foursquare on Hall Avenue, I eagerly learned the ins and outs of renovating for high-energy-efficiency and low-toxicity! Our teacher Jim LaRue, former Education Director of the Housing Resource Center in Cleveland, stressed the importance of focusing on simple, cost-effective strategies. Solar energy sounds fabulous, but it can be quite costly and requires the right mix of circumstances to pay off in the end.

LakewoodAlive, a citizens' economic development advocacy group committed to helping create informed and engaged residents, has announced they will conduct a follow-up citizen survey to their most recent December 2005 survey. The online survey is available to every Lakewood citizen via their website at www.lakewoodalive.com. The nine-question survey will be conducted between March 21 and April 13, 2006. All Lakewood citizens are encouraged to complete the survey and post their comments. The survey results will be shared with city officials and published for public consumption at a later date.

Dear Students and Parents,
Planting, caring for, and harvesting fresh vegetables and flowers from your own garden is a fun experience for kids and parents.

The West Shore Chorale and Orchestra is proud to present its annual "Carols and Choruses of Christmas" Concert, at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday December 4. "The Chorale has always thought of Lakewood as its home," says Conductor John Drotleff. Indeed, the Chorale was founded in 1968 by a group of three Lakewood Residents including former Lakewood Mayor, Robert Lawther. The Chorale's first conductor, Lakewood resident B. Neil Davis, was the Fine Arts Department Chair at Lakewood High School for 25 years. And Drotleff, also a Lakewood resident, held that position for seven years. The group spent their first years rehearsing at the Lakewood Civic Auditorium then moved to Lakewood High School. Although parking constraints recently prompted the eighty-five voice group to move their rehearsals into Rocky River, they still sees themselves as a Lakewood based organization. "Anyone who knows us, knows that Lakewood is where our roots are," says Drotleff. "We even keep our mailing address here."

LakewoodAlive launches its Fall Forum Series with a program dedicated to the findings and recommendations generated by the Grow Lakewood committee. The Grow Lakewood committee is a citizens' task force headed by Mike Summers and comprised of 12 long-time Lakewood residents and leaders.

LAKEWOOD - They go to The Arab American Women's Organization (A.A.W.O.) meetings for various reasons: to seek relaxation, to hear a guest speaker, to receive and give help with language and cultural challenges - and their chance to make a difference in the community they live in.

Back in 1996, author Robert Putnam made a simple point: the cure for social unease is to join a civic group. A community of joiners is healthier, safer and happier as well as more likely to generate employment opportunity. In a civic group, health is generated from the face-to-face interaction that creates relationships. Trumping the isolating effects of mass media on the individual psyche, these relationships of civic engagement bind communities to an easy natural flow that enhances the quality of life at every turn.

They came with sharpened blades to Lakewood Park on Father's Day morning. A man looking like Santa Claus wielded a special safety blade given to him upon retirement by employees at City Hall. Like others in the crew, he was doing what he had been told to do. The crew took care of kids.

Mary Anne Crampton, President of LakewoodAlive, addressed a gathering of approximately one hundred members of the Kiwanis Club of Lakewood at the Masonic Temple on June 7th. She spoke on citizen involvement, service to the community and educational initiatives focused on economic development. Seeing that "our two organizations share a core common value," Crampton talked about the "the genesis and mission of LakewoodAlive," as well as "the tools we are using to carry out that mission."