You Can Help

Updated: September 11, 2023

Ability Center Seeks Supply Donations

The Ability Center of Toledo, 5605 Monroe St., Toledo, is in need of manual wheelchairs, a knee scooter, portable bedside commodes and tub transfer benches. Call (419) 885-5733 to arrange for pickup or drop-off.

Ability Center Fashion Show Set In Maumee

The Ability Center will host a spectacular fashion show featuring local designers and boutiques on Wednesday, October 4 at 10:00 a.m. at The Pinnacle, 1772 Indian Wood Circle, Maumee.

Vendors, raffle baskets, a cash raffle, 50/50 raffle, a luncheon and a style show are all part of the event. Reservations are required by Friday, September 15. Visit https://abilitycenter.org/auxiliary-style-show/.

Fundraiser Supports Veteran Outreach

Little Blessings Veteran and Community Outreach will host its fourth annual Warrior Fundraiser on Saturday, September 16 from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m. The event will be held at The Pinnacle, 1772 Indian Wood Circle, Maumee.

Featured speakers will be Little Blessings Veteran Program graduates telling their personal stories. The event will also feature dinner and a cash bar, live music from 2 Left Missing, entertainment from Simplicity Sounds with Aby Sadowy, a 50/50 and raffle baskets, door prizes and more.

The cost to attend is $110 for adults and $20.00 for children age 8 and younger.

For more information, visit www.littleblessingsveteranoutreach.com or call (419) 779-0342.

Andy’s Canine Cancer Walk Announced

Andy’s Army Canine Cancer Project will sponsor its annual walk on Sunday, September 17 at Three Meadows Park, 300 Three Meadows Dr., Perrysburg.

Featuring a dog walk, live entertainment, a basket raffle and a complimentary picnic lunch, the event will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Event activities will feature live music by Ragtime Rick and a performance by the Bowling Green State University Dance Team.

The registration fee for the event is $20.00 per person or $30.00 for families. Children under 12 are admitted free. Event will be held rain or shine.

To obtain a registration form, email goldenrod7910@outlook.com. Participants can register at the event from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.

Sunset Soiree Supports Grief Center

The Monarch Grief Center will host a Sunset Soiree on Saturday, September 23 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Perrysburg Boat Club, 111 Water St., Perrysburg.

The event will feature live entertainment, a silent auction, cocktails and heavy grazing, showcasing foods from several Perrysburg restaurants.

Proceeds from the event will help fund the Monarch Grief Center’s generous sliding fee scale as well as community education events.

Tickets are available through the Monarch Grief Center website, www.monarchgriefcenter.org.

The Monarch Grief Center’s mission is to provide those grieving in Northwest Ohio with a place to turn so they feel less alone in their grief journey. A nonprofit organization serving Northwest Ohio, the center specializes in professional grief and bereavement services for people of all ages. It offers individual counseling and specialized support groups for adults, individual counseling for children and adolescents, and community outreach and education. The center is located in the Perry’s Landing complex at 314 Louisiana Ave., Perrysburg. For more information or to donate, visit www.monarchgriefcenter.org.

Watershed Cleanup Planned In September

Volunteers can join Northwest Ohio’s largest watershed cleanup, led by Partners for Clean Streams, on Saturday, September 30 by registering at partnersforcleanstreams.org/cys27/register.

Every September since 1997, volunteers have undertaken a Northwest Ohio environmental tradition of removing trash from their local streams, rivers and ditches on Clean Your Streams Day. Partners for Clean Streams and collaborating organizations will host the program on September 30, with seven kickoffs located around the greater Toledo area. To date, more than 380,000 pounds of trash have been removed from area waterways by over 15,000 volunteers.

Volunteers can register online now for one of seven kickoff locations or choose to join the weeklong clean-on-your-own remote kickoff, taking place between Saturday, September 23 and Saturday, September 30. Remote kickoff participants can arrange to borrow cleanup supplies and are encouraged to ask Partners for Clean Streams about suggested waterway sites.

On the morning of September 30, volunteers will begin at their registered kickoff. At each kickoff, volunteers will be provided supplies and safety training before spreading out to their assigned waterway cleanup sites. Following the cleanup, all volunteers are invited to an appreciation picnic, where they’ll enjoy free food, door prizes and some preliminary results from the friendly-yet-competitive Challenge Awards.

Kickoff sites include:

• City of Oregon Municipal Building, Oregon.
• Glass City Metropark, Toledo.
• Monroe Street United Methodist Church, Toledo.
• Secor Metropark, Sylvania Township.
• Side Cut Metropark, Maumee.
• The University of Toledo Law School, Toledo.
• Woodland Park, Perrysburg.

Partners for Clean Streams Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit community organization supporting local and regional water quality improvements in the metro Toledo area. Partners for Clean Streams works toward abundant open space and a high-quality natural environment; adequate floodwater storage capacities and flourishing wildlife; stakeholders who take local ownership in their resources; and rivers, streams and lakes that are clean, clear and safe.

To learn more, visit PartnersforCleanStreams.org.

Donations Accepted For Point Place Relief

Lutheran Social Services of Northwestern Ohio is working with churches and pastors of all denominations in Point Place to collect donations for the Point Place Relief Fund after the devastation caused by storms and tornadoes on June 15.

Interested individuals have two ways to make a monetary donation to the fund:

1. There is a link set up on the Lutheran Social Services website, lssnwo.org, that will take individuals to an online donation site.
2. Checks and cash can be donated at the LSS Toledo office, 2149 Collingwood Blvd. All cash and check donations should be designated as the Point Place Relief Fund to ensure donations end up in their proper location.

Money collected in the disaster relief fund will offset the costs of damages suffered by individuals in the storm.

Anyone with questions is encouraged to contact LSS at (419) 243-9178 or email toledo@lssnwo.org.

Toledo Helps Ukraine Seeks Sponsors

Through a search on the internet for an organization to help them escape the ravages of war in Ukraine, a family of four with a special-needs son arrived at Detroit Metro Airport recently thanks to the work of Toledo Helps Ukraine (4UA.org). The family of four is from Svitlovodsk, a city that is located on the banks of the Dnieper River in Oleksandriya Raion, Kirovohrad Oblast, in central Ukraine. The family learned about the work of Toledo Helps Ukraine online and asked for its assistance.

The family is being sponsored through a sponsor circle formed at Olivet Church in Sylvania.

Under Uniting for Ukraine, the U.S. government allows people fleeing the war in Ukraine to seek refuge in the United States on a temporary basis, known as humanitarian parole, with the support of a sponsor in the United States. The sponsor, or group of sponsors, provide financial support to meet the basic needs of someone fleeing Ukraine. They may also provide additional support, such as assistance as enrolling in educational or training programs or securing employment.

Toledo Helps Ukraine needs additional sponsors to help bring Ukrainian refugees like the Bidnyk family to Toledo.

Sponsors can be U.S. citizens, permanent residents or other lawfully present individuals. This includes individuals on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and refugees. Groups of sponsors, nonprofits, educational institutions and employers can also help sponsor people fleeing Ukraine. If you have time or services you’d like to donate, go to www.4ua.org.

Save Our Screen Strives To Save Drive-In

A group of locals with a love for the Sundance Drive-In has answered the community’s calls to save the property from development as well as preserve, restore and operate the space as a community drive-in and has plans to eventually open a national museum.

The nonprofit group, Save Our Screen Inc., is dedicated to preserving the historical significance of the drive-in and its impact upon the golden era of Americana.

Situated on SR 2, near popular nature and recreational favorites like Maumee Bay State Park and Cedar Point, Oregon’s drive-in has been a longtime destination for drive-in and cinema enthusiasts alike.

Save Our Screen plans to operate the site as a traditional community drive-in, as well as restore the concession stand and the surrounding property and eventually launch a national museum dedicated to the nostalgia that originated during our country’s golden age.

Save Our Screen is seeking community support through contributions donated online at www.SaveOurScreen.org as well as in person through community events such as the Hotrods on the Bay Cruise-In held every Thursday at Dunn Chevy Buick on Dustin Road in Oregon. Local businesses, groups and organizations are welcome to join the cause through hosting collection jars at their location or round up campaigns.

Save Our Screen Inc. is a nonprofit organization 100-percent reliant on donations from area businesses and the hard work of volunteers dedicated to enriching their community. More information can be found at www.SaveOurScreen.org.

Hospice Of Northwest Ohio Seeks Volunteers

Hospice of Northwest Ohio is building its volunteer team in Fulton, Henry, Lucas, Wood and Monroe counties. Volunteers have the opportunity to work closely with hospice staff to improve the quality of life for patients and families through a variety of tasks.

The current need is for volunteers who are willing to visit patients in their homes or at nursing homes throughout the area. These volunteers provide companionship for patients and respite for caregivers.

Free training is provided. Learn more about the volunteer program and apply via the website at www.hospicenwo.org.