Westshore groups help out
less fortunate during holiday season
By Jeff Gallatin
happenings
Published Dec. 22, 2004

Christmas and the holiday season can present many challenges to families and people who aren’t as well off but different agencies and groups rise to the occasion and offer a variety of assistance to those in need.

“Certainly, North Olmsted as a city and the Westshore in general is a very giving community,” said Don Copeland, director of Human Resources for the city of North Olmsted. “We as a city try and set up the programs to try and offer assistance by ourselves as well as with other groups and agencies.”

Copeland said with the changing economic climate through the last few years, there are families and people who can use some help — particularly during the holiday season.

“There are about 12,000 households in North Olmsted and about 1 in 12 of those can qualify for some kind of assistance,” Copeland said. “What we try to do is match them up with a program which suits their particular need. We also try and spread it around to different people.”

Copeland said for example, if a family is on one program, the city wouldn’t place it on some of the others. He also said the city tries not to have the same family year after year if at all possible.

“We offer the assistance we can but we also try and work with them toward becoming more self-sufficient when they can,” he said.

Copeland also lauded other groups such as the city employees, firefighters and the North Olmsted city schools as well as lauding other groups such as churches.

“We have some great partners who are very sensitive to the needs of people,” Copeland said. “All of the people are very good at working with the community and us.”

Mary Ann Pack of the city cited the Adopt-a-Family program that the city works with the schools on.

“All the kids and people at the schools do a great job of helping these people out,” Pack said. “The kids come over and help us pack the different groceries up for these families and then we get them over to them.”

School officials said helping out people is a long-standing tradition for North Olmsted.

Bob Pierce, who helped found the SITES (Social Involvement Through Educational Services) program, said the program aids both the people receiving assistance as well as the students.

“It’s good experience for the students to learn a little about what is going on around them,” Pierce said.

He said the SITES program for example works with seniors and other city residents all through the year.

“We’re glad to help out during the holidays, but we also do other things throughout the year,” Pierce said.

Don Frazier, who has been on the North Olmsted School Board for more than 20 years, said having students involved in more than just academic activities is a vital part of education.

“You need more than just the classroom experience,” Frazier said. “Programs like SITES can make an impact in the community and provide some assistance for people who might not get it. It also gives the students experience in different areas of the community and with different people and learning environments.”

Margaret McKay, a member of Saint Richard Parish and a wide assortment of religious and service-oriented organizations, said those groups try and cast as wide a net as possible in offering help. She cited organizations such as the St. Vincent DePaul Society and Isabella Guild as offering assistance.

“St. Richard has been working with the St. Vincent DePaul Society for 45 years so it’s been successful for a long time,” McKay said. “It raised over $7,000 to help people just through October of this year. It’s also donated many more items to different people and organizations.”

McKay also recalled church groups helping veterans at the VFW hospital in Brecksville with clothes and gifts for their family during the holidays.

“These were things that they couldn’t get for themselves ad we were glad to offer them assistance,” she said.

Janet O’Donnell, pastoral associate for Saint Richard, said the entire church lends a hand when it is needed.

“We have blanket Sunday where blankets are collected and later distributed to various people,” O’Donnell said. “Children at the church and school collect canned goods and also go out and help people when they need it.”

Another organization that offers assistance is the Associate Lodge 28, of the Fraternal Order of Police, the Western Cuyahoga County communities.

FOP President Jim Calvitti, said the organization raises funds and gets gift cards for food and necessities to distribute to different families during the holidays. He said officers appreciate being able to give some resources to those who need it.

“We try and give a little back to the communities where we work,” Calvitti said. “The cards go out to about a dozen cities and organizations in the Westshore.”