News from Community Resource Services
OCTOBER 2021
Thanks for Making A Difference!
In honor of Howard Hanna, Jr., founder of Howard Hanna Real Estate, who recently passed away at the age of 101, employees were encouraged to take a day to volunteer for a local non-profit organization. This fantastic, hard-working group came to CRS to sort food in our food pantry!
Thank you to all of the parishioners at Holy Spirit Church in Avon Lake that donated to their recent food drive. They collected 491 pounds of food, paper goods, diapers and other pantry items!
CRS Director Pam Ohradzansky was the guest speaker at a recent Avon Lake Democrats meeting where she had the opportunity to tell the group all about CRS and the good things we do to help the residents of Avon and Avon Lake. The organization also presented CRS with a monetary donation and donations to the food pantry!
Thank you to the Hooks for Hunger Committee for holding a food drive at Erie Outfitters on October 9th. The collection was at the sign up party for Walleye Slam Fall Fishing Derby. They collected monetary donations of $1,521 and 1,807 pounds of food for our food pantry! We are so grateful for the generosity and ongoing support from the local fishing community!
CRS Staff Participates in Motivational Interviewing Training
Over the next few months, the CRS staff will be participating in Motivational Interviewing (MI) training conducted by Jeremy Evenden with the Center for Evidence-Based Practices at Case Western Reserve University. MI is a collaborative style of conversation to help strengthen a person's own motivation and commitment to change. We hope to learn skills that we can use to elicit and strengthen our client's own desire for positive change and self-sufficiency.
CRS Holiday Assistance Programs
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Preparations have begun for out Thanksgiving food baskets. If you would like to donate, here is list of some of the things we will be collecting:

-Non-perishables:
Stuffing mix, canned cranberries, canned sweet potatoes, boxed corn muffin mix, jars of turkey gravy, applesauce in plastic jars
-Perishables:
-Biscuits/Crescent Rolls, butter, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes.

Our volunteers will be packing up the food baskets during the week of November 1st so the deadline to drop off donations is Friday, October 29th. If you have any questions, please contact Cece at ccarlson@aalcrs.org.
CHRISTMAS PROGRAMS
 
This is a busy time of year at CRS and we have many different Christmas Assistance Programs! Please go to the "What We Do/Seasonal Programs" tab at www.aalcrs.org for more information about the many different ways you can support one of more of our Holiday Assistance programs:

  • Santa's Workshop
  • Be Santa to a Senior
  • Family Baskets
  • Holiday Food Baskets

This is a really great way to support our families!

For more information, please contact Amy at agood@aalcrs.org.
Another great way to support CRS during the upcoming holiday season is to volunteer to be a Salvation Army Bell Ringer! This year we will be manning kettles at the Giant Eagle in Avon Lake and the Hobby Lobby in Avon so we'll be looking for lots of people to volunteer! Be on the lookout for the on-line sign up sheets at www.aalcrs.org The sign-ups should be available by the end of October.
John T. Shook Community Service Award
The John T. Shook Community Service Award pays tribute to a very special friend and longtime CRS Board member who passed away in 2018. John touched the lives of many people in our community. He was dedicated to community service and he volunteered for many local organizations including CRS. In John’s memory, the CRS Board of Directors established an award in his name, to be given annually to an individual or group that embodies John’s commitment to volunteerism for CRS and in our community.

We are now accepting nominations for this award. If you know of an individual or organization that has been dedicated to volunteering for CRS and other organizations in our community, please complete this nomination form. Evaluation of the nominees will be conducted by a selection committee and the recipient will be announced at the Annual Charity Ball being held on January 29, 2022. The deadline to submit nominations is November 1, 2021.
MEIJER HOLIDAY SIMPLY GIVE CAMPAIGN
Meijer is a family company that is focused on enriching the lives in the communities where they do business. The Simply Give Campaign has continued to be an important way that they support their commitment to feeding hungry families. The campaign will run from Sunday, October 3, 2021 through Saturday, January 1, 2022. Customers will be invited to join their efforts by purchasing $10 Simply Give donation cards which are located at each cash register. Meijer will match each $10 card that is purchased with an additional $10 donation to CRS!
Caring Hearts Charity Ball
We are very excited to announce that planning is underway for the Caring Hearts Charity Ball being held on Saturday, January 29, 2022 at The Shipyards Event Center in Lorain. The Charity Ball is our largest fundraiser of the year! The event features a sit-down dinner, music, dancing, auctions, raffles and many other ways to support CRS. Sponsorship opportunities at all levels are available and we are also accepting donations for our live and silent auctions. Please contact Sheila at sroth@aalcrs.org for more information.
CRS has truly been blessed this month with many donations of non-perishable items for our food pantry.Thank you to the following businesses and organizations:

Avenbury Ladies of the Lake, Avon Lake Animal Clinic, Avon Lake Democrats, Avon Lake Giant Eagle, Avon Lake Presbyterian Church, Barry Bagels, Bay Presbyterian Food Pantry, Christ Church Westshore, Holy Spirit Church, Holy Trinity Parish, Hunger Network Food Rescue, and Heritage South Elementary School.

This is in addition to the many individuals who bring donations to the CRS office on a daily basis.

We are so very grateful for all of the donations that help keep our food pantry well stocked. Thank you for making a difference, right here at home!
Don't forget to log into the Amazon Smile website when you make your purchases from Amazon! Amazon Smile will donate .5% of your eligible Amazon purchases when you choose "Avon Lake Community Resource Services" as the charity of your choice.

Amazon Smile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same services.

As of August 2021, Amazon Smile has donated $628.02 to CRS! Thank you to everyone that has already chosen CRS as your charity!

Please login to smile.amazon.com today to begin supporting CRS while you shop!
Community Resource Services is a responsive, community-based organization whose mission is to diminish the effect of poverty in Avon and Avon Lake. We provide basic needs assistance and individualized resource and referral services in a compassionate and confidential manner.
We believe in a community where every resident is free from poverty.