North Ridgeville Review The Community That Cares
A Note from our CEO:
As the health and safety for our volunteers and clients is paramount we have made the difficult decision to change the way we will be serving our clients.
We will be open, but we will not have any volunteers at the center. Therefore, all food distribution will be a pass through at our side door.
If you are a client and are home bound or feel it is unsafe to leave your home, please call the center and we will make arrangements for you. 440-353-9716.
As another precaution, for the time being we will only accept monetary and food donations: canned, fresh, frozen (see times below)
We are also accepting essentials items: shampoo, toilet paper, paper towels, hand soap, etc.
We thank you for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.
– Heather A. Kaesgen, CEO
NR Community Care Social Media Round-up
www.facebook.com/North-Ridgeville-Community-Care-181863864403/
Thank You!
A HUGE thank you to ALL who contributed to this year’s holiday programs and distribution! We could not have done it without you! Stay safe and warm this holiday season!
A Big Thank You!
A BIG THANK YOU to the community for donating all items to make our clients’ Thanksgiving special. We couldn’t have asked for more beautiful weather on day one of our Thanksgiving distribution!
Community Care Agency Programs
We provide these programs to a range of clients including singles, families and seniors.
Once approved, based on guidelines of household size and income, the following programs become available to them at no cost to the client.
Food Pantry: Part of our facility is our food pantry which provides complete and balanced meals to our clients with sufficient food to accommodate all persons living in the home. It is our philosophy that regardless of parental lifestyle, if there are planned meals in the home the children will not go hungry and may also benefit in other ways from the familial value of an organized mealtime. If someone is in immediate need of food and they are not one of our pre-approved clients, our policy is to give them “emergency food” from the food pantry and have them complete an application form for future needs.
Clothing and Household Items: We provide our clients with gently used clothing, laundered by our volunteers, and made available on a daily basis. The clothing is donated by persons in our community. Household items are also donated, and special needs are met whenever possible such as requests for beds, cribs, household furniture, etc.
Utility and Housing Assistance: In order to provide our clients another opportunity to maintain reasonable living accommodations, we assist with utility and rent payments. Clients are allotted $100 per calendar year toward rent/mortgage payments after providing proof that they have received no financial assistance from any church, governmental agency, charitable institution or relative for at least four months. They are also allotted $100 towards utility assistance (i.e. electricity and/or gas) per calendar year. When a client requests assistance, we are able to send the necessary funds directly to utility companies and/or landlords to ease the economic burden that many families have had to shoulder in recent years. We have been proud to pioneer this unique service for clients which, since 1989, has prevented countless utility shut-offs and evictions. New clients are eligible for this program after one month.
Dairy: We provide milk, eggs and butter to our clients. The essential nutrition of dairy products is especially needed for the development of our young children.
Layettes: When a baby is born to one of our clients, the parent is presented with a layette of personally purchased items including diapers, “onesies”, booties, a sweater set, blankets, bottles, a baby toy, a stuffed animal, and baby hygiene products.
Summer Lunches: Five lunches per week are offered for school age children who have been on a government funded school program which ends with the school year. Their eligibility is qualified by the North Ridgeville City Schools. Food is purchased in bulk and then packaged and distributed by volunteers.
School Supplies: Required school supplies are purchased and distributed to school age children. We feel it is important for all children to begin the school year on an equal footing with their classmates, and to better enable them to focus on their studies in the year ahead, dignity intact.
Easter Baskets: Easter Baskets full of candy and small toys for children 10 and younger are distributed to our client families along with a box of food for Easter dinner, including a ham, spring vegetables, sweet potatoes, pie, and eggs for coloring.
Thanksgiving Baskets: Each Thanksgiving we receive donations of turkeys and other food items for Thanksgiving. The week before the holiday, we offer baskets containing an entire meal complete with a turkey.
Christmas Store and Adopt-A-Child Program: Every Christmas we request donations from the community for new gift items: brand new toys, clothes, games, etc. We place all of these items by category in our specially designated “gift shop” area and, prior to Christmas, invite our clients to shop (with no money) for their family members and loved ones. We also ask our clients to fill out Wish Lists which we pass on to people in our community who would like to “adopt” a child or family for Christmas. Each year we make every effort to ensure that every client with a Wish List receives gifts for Christmas.
Emergency Prescription Financial Assistance: With the prescription expertise of a local pharmacist, we can offer immediate and/or temporary medication. Sometimes there is an urgent need that cannot wait on a free clinic and must be addressed immediately.
Essentials: Twice a month items that are needed on a daily basis, which are taxable but not covered by Food Stamps, are offered to our clients. These essentials include personal and hygiene products such as toothpaste, soap, shampoo, laundry detergent and cleaning supplies as well as paper products like towels, Saran wrap, aluminum foil and toilet paper.
Community Care Garden: Volunteer men and women from the community, with the help of a local farmer and his wife, have coordinated local plots of land throughout the city in order to grow produce to donate and distribute to our clients. We believe it is a great blessing to be able to offer fresh, in-season vegetables to our clients
This page is sponsored by North Ridgeville Convenient Sunoco
