Community
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION CHAIRMAN, Nanette Fetter
Please Bring Kitchen Items to Highland Meadows
LCRTA welcomes FOCUS to our September 28, 2010 meeting at Highland Meadows. Family Outreach Community United Services (FOCUS) provides shelter for the homeless in our area, and we are asking members to bring kitchen items including: mops, brooms, buckets, cleaning supplies, hot pads, kitchen towels, large wastebaskets, cooking utensils, dish drainers, dishes, pots and pans, silverware, baking dishes, clocks, and other similar items to Highland Meadows. FOCUS director, Kyle Greffe explains that FOCUS provides hope, a home, and independence to over 100 families at any given time in our community. FOCUS began in 1982 when a group of Old West End pastors came together to address the critical needs of their neighborhood by creating a common place for people to receive services and obtain food, clothing, and other kinds of support.
From that humble beginning, FOCUS clearly saw that housing was the most critical stabilizing factor to put peoples’ lives back together. Today, FOCUS takes referrals from emergency shelters for families and individuals experiencing an episode of homelessness. As the first order of business once enrolled in our program, FOCUS secures housing in a neighborhood that suits each family based on their preferences of school, services, and housing affordability. FOCUS then provides furniture and home-based case management services for adults to gain the skills and resources needed to never be homeless again. Over the course of 18 months, FOCUS provides rent subsidy and education and employment resources to make households independent. When families move into their housing units, they need many items to make a house a home. Imagine that you walk into an empty kitchen and need to set it up to provide a nurturing place for your family. That’s what our FOCUS families need from your donations.
Please be generous as you shop and look in your kitchens and basements. Ms. Greffe reminds us that our donations “will make such a big difference in the lives of over 320 people housed through FOCUS each year”.
At each LCRTA luncheon, members have the opportunity to purchase 50/50 raffle tickets. In May one lucky member won $147, but the real winner is the local charity who will be able to take advantage of the other $147 which was put in the Community Participation account. When we accumulate $500 in this account, the LCRTA board funds a project submitted by one of our participating charities. Our first $500 project was awarded to Sara Mattson, the Early Literacy Program Director of Read for Literacy. Sara used the money to fund a Backpack Program that provides books, 
manipulatives and directions for preschoolers to take home so that parents in low income areas can work with their children on reading readiness activities. These activities create a bridge between home and school. Site coordinators work with parents and monitor bags. Sara brought a bag like the one distributed at the Toledo Day Nursery on Stickney to our May luncheon so that members could see this creative project. A second charitable project is in the works. Watch future Slates for more information.
Attention Members! Save this Donation List
Please keep the following list as a reminder of items to bring to each of our luncheons. We hope knowing in advance will allow you to shop the sales. Shopping List:
Sept .29, 2010-Focus: Kitchen items
Oct. 28, 2010-Friendly Center: Senior bingo prizes, child and adult socks, personal care items
Dec. 15, 2010-Children Services: Stuffed bears and animals
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