#TisTheSeason Special Donation Drive, and Holiday Banquet @ 2100 Lakeside Men’s Shelter, Fri 12/25

(It has been a while since my last post; Grad School got in the way! I am at Case Western Reserve University studying for my Master’s in Positive Organizational Development and Change…makes sense, right?!)

It is the time of year once again to give back in an extra special way! In “Very Rare” fashion, I have decided to take up another collection of scarves/hats/gloves/socks for the residents of 2100 Lakeside Emergency Men’s Shelter in downtown Cleveland. I will be dropping off a first batch of donations Friday December 11th, and will drop off a second batch Friday December 25th. For those who want to help out with monetary donations, you can send $1 donations to my PayPal account at vrere@aol.com. Please use the ‘friends & family’ option so you are not hit with a fee. Also please note, if you are using a credit card and not a banking account you will be hit with a service fee through the credit card…if you have any questions please send me a message through social media (I’m on the major ones LOL) or email me at ‘Vreredai@gmail.com’ THANK YOU to those who have contributed already!!!

In addition to this drive I am doing for the season, Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry is having its annual Holiday Banquet over at the shelter (2100 Lakeside) on Friday December 25th from 12pm to 5pm. Many food/non-food donations are needed including:
-New Children’s Toys (the men of the shelter will be able to select these items to give to their children as presents)
-Men’s Clothing Items

Please refer to the flyer attached to this post for the list of food items that are needed; it’s a lot!

If you have donations and/or would like to come volunteer at the banquet, please email Terry Vaughn (tvaughn@lutheranmetro.org, 216-333-2430) or Carl Cook (carlcook2100@gmail.com, 216-376-0396) with the donations you would like to bring and the number of individuals attending and the times you plan to attend.

 

#VolunteerCLE Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities in October

I’ve had a few parents approach me asking for opportunities for their children to rack up some community service hours for school, so I thought I would share a few upcoming ways to give some of your time back before the Cleveland weather we have all come to love (did I spell hate wrong?! LOL) does its thing…if you have any questions about the contacts I’ve listed at the end of each opportunity in bold, let me know!

On Thursday October 1st, help middle school and high school students with their math homework after school at the University Heights branch. Under the supervision of library staff, volunteers will be available at least one hour a week to help students with their math homework on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Volunteers must be age 18 or older and must submit to a background check, and must have demonstrated experience working with high school students and/or math tutoring experience.
Volunteers must be available at least one hour a week at a predetermined time after school at the University Heights branch, and commit to helping through the full school year. Contact Julia Murphy at JMurphy@heightslibrary.org.

Sunday morning, October 11^th is the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk taking place at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Many volunteers are needed, and responsibilities include:
-check in tent
-route marshalls
-water stop
-food and beverage set up
-banking
If interested, please email Christine Grapo at ClevlelandOHStrides@cancer.org

Saturday morning, October 17^th is the Out Of The Darkness Community Walk with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at Wade Oval in University Circle. Many volunteers are needed for this also. You can register as a volunteer HERE or reach out to Emily Siegel at afspcle@gmail.com

On Tuesday October 20th, volunteers can help give out fresh produce with the Cuyahoga County Department of Public Health. This opportunity takes place the 3rd Tuesday of each month from 3:30pm-6:30pm at the J. Glen Smith Mobil Food Pantry (11100 St. Clair Ave. Cleveland OH 44108). Connect with Kathy Rothenberg-James at krothenberg@city.cleveland.oh.us or at 216-664-2362. *This is a great opportunity for students in need of community service hours and happens once a month!

Saturday evening, October 24^th is the Halloween Boo-tanical Bash at Cleveland Botanical Gardens. Volunteers are needed to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters; assist with crafts, activities, or games; face paint and help pass out snacks & cider to guests. **They also are in need of volunteers to help set up for the Holiday Show taking place the week before Thanksgiving, November 21^st-25^th. Contact Sarah Hartley-Volunteer Coordinator at 216-707-2822 or shartley@cbgarden.org

Saturday evening, November 21^st is the fundraiser for PAWS-Public Animal Welfare Society at St Michael Woodside Party Center in Broadview Heights. They are looking for help with the reverse raffle/silent auction that night during the dinner. Volunteers will be shown what to do when they arrive. Please contact Susan Boyle-Treasurer at treasurerpawsohio@yahoo.com for additional information.

#VolunteerCLE Run For Recovery Volunteering (Final Details) Sat 8/22

First I want to thank those who have decided to come volunteer with me! I appreciate that you feel like doing something simple to give back and the participants will be grateful! I am still looking for a few more people who would like to help out Saturday August 22nd at Progressive Field for the Run For Recovery held at Progressive Field. Here are final details and the schedule for the event:

Volunteers will assist Peace Racing with the set-up, maintenance and breakdown of a water stop. Volunteers will ensure participants receive water and will help maintain a smooth traffic flow to avoid congestion near the water stop. Volunteers should cheer participants on as well!
Team: Vrere Bunkley and friends 🙂
 Time: 7:30am-10:30am
Location: Outside Stadium – East 9th and Carnegie
Check In/Volunteer Assignment:
Please check-in at the information/volunteer station upon your arrival to receive your assignment and t-shirt. Please try to arrive a few minutes before you scheduled shift time.
Entrance is at Gate A off Eagle Ave. (Home Run Porch)

Timeline
7:00 am Packet Pickup/Registration Opens
8:15 am Welcome
8:30 am Kids’ Fun Run begins
8:45 am 5k Run begins
9:15 am 1 mile Wellness Walk begins
10:00 am Awards Ceremony
10:30 am Raffle Prize Drawing

Walk A Mile In Her Shoes Committee Meeting, Wed 7/29

The Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center is now in the beginning stages of planning its 3rd annual Walk A Mile In Her Shoes, an event giving men the opportunity to help raise awareness about violence against women.

The DVCAC will have a planning committee meeting on Wednesday July 29th at 8am, at their offices (2806 Payne Ave, Cleveland OH 44114). These volunteers will join in recruiting walkers, donations/sponsorships, planning process, etc.

If you are available to attend that morning, please email Sara Otts directly at sotts@dvcac.org.

*UPDATE* #VolunteerInCLE Where’s Vrere? Run For Recovery, Sat 8/22

****UPDATE****

I wanted to let you know of the upcoming Run for Recovery Kick-Off Rally happening Thursday July 23rd, 2015 at Music Box Supper Club (1148 Main Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44039), from 6pm-7pm. The event is FREE, and you can register HERE. I hope to see you there! 🙂

I know this is over a month away but I wanted to get a head start on seeing if others would like to volunteer with me. On Saturday August 22nd, I will help out once again with Recovery Resources’ annual Run For Recovery, taking place at Progressive Field. This event is put together by Recovery Resources, a nonprofit helping people triumph over mental illness, alcoholism, drug and other addictions. Additional event details can be found HERE.

I will be working a water stop along the route; nothing too challenging. If you would like to come along to volunteer with me please send a comment, or reach out to me via social media if we are connected; you can also send me email vreredai@gmail.com to let me know you want to help out. You can expect to volunteer between 8am-12pm (give or take 30 minutes).

#VolunteerInCLE 1-2-3 Read! Program and Homework Centers; Various Dates & Locations w/Cuyahoga County Public Library

This Summer, I will be tutoring first and second graders at risk of not reaching the state mandated Third Grade Reading Guarantee. I initially posted a status on Facebook to see if anyone wanted to help out, and there was a pretty good response so I am listing all additional details here.

1-2-3 Read! provides free one-on-one tutoring in reading skills and small group tutoring with literacy games.
This 1-2-3 Read! Program is at the Brooklyn, Garfield Heights, Maple Heights and Warrensville Heights branch libraries. There is a particular need at Garfield Heights and Maple Heights. The program starts June 29th and runs through August 6th.

During the summer, 1-2-3 Read! is offered 2 days a week, per location. The upcoming schedule is as follows:
Brooklyn: Tuesday & Thursday from 1:00-2:15pm
Garfield Heights: Monday & Tuesday from 12:45-2:00pm
Maple Heights: Tuesday & Thursday from 12:45-2:00pm
Warrensville Heights: Wednesday & Thursday from 1:00-2:15pm

Upcoming training times for 1-2-3 Read! being held at the Garfield Heights Library (5409 Turney Road) are:
Monday, June 22nd from 7-8:30pm
or
Sunday, June 28th from 2-3:30pm

There will also be 10 Homework Centers with a need for volunteers to help tutor students in Grades K-8 with their homework. Homework Centers are located at: Brookpark, Brooklyn, Garfield Hts., Maple Hts., North Olmsted, Parma, Richmond Hts., South Euclid, Southeast, Warrensville Hts.

If you have an interest in volunteering or know someone who does, an application form will need to be filled out. You can access that HERE.

Please feel free to connect with Nicole Joy Beleske, Volunteer Coordinator at 216-749-9400 or nbeleske@cuyahogalibrary.org to send your application and set up a training time.

 

#EventsInCLE America SCORES Cleveland: Inspired Art, Sat 6/6

As a Development Board member for the Cleveland chapter of America SCORES, I want to invite you all to attend our upcoming event Inspired Art, a collaboration of Cleveland artists and young Cleveland poets of the after-school program America SCORES Cleveland. The original poetry of Cleveland kids involved in America SCORES has compelled over 40 local artists to create and donate artwork to support the after-school health and literacy program. At the benefit auction, students will witness their visions brought to life and artists will experience the poetry on a deeper level as select youth perform.

America SCORES provides unique, creative after-school programming for more than 600 youth in nine Cleveland public schools, teaching poetry, service-learning and soccer to measurably improve literacy, community engagement and fitness. Ticket and art sales will provide students with the opportunity to participate in America SCORES’ soccer, creative writing and service-learning programming.

Tickets for Inspired Art are $75* and include:

• Heavy hors d’oeuvres provided by Duet Catering
• Great Lakes beer & assorted wines
• Free parking
• Poetry performances by America SCORES poet-athletes
• The opportunity to meet the artists
• Music by DJ Bradley P
• Desserts & coffee provided by Duet Catering

*Tickets are $75 pre-sale thru June 4 at midnight. Tickets at the door are $80.  The location is: smARTspace at 78th Street Studios in Gordon Square Arts District 1305 W. 80th Street, Cleveland, OH 44102

I will be in attendance helping out during the event. I hope to see you there! As always, please spread the word 🙂

 

 

My (Extended) #VrereDai Present to the Men’s Shelter

 

I want to say Thank You again to everyone who had something to do with celebrating my birthday (VrereDai) by giving back so far. I wanted to update you all on an additional component for this second round of donations for the 2100 Lakeside Men’s Shelter. My Sorority chapter (Kappa Gamma Sigma chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated) has decided to help me out along the way! My Sisters will be accepting donations and money from anyone wanting to contribute! Again, I am still accepting monetary donations with my PayPal account and I will do the shopping for you. Please send money to VRERE@AOL.COM and use the “Friends & Family” option so no fees will be charged. Every dollar equals one item from the following list of things needed:

Bar Soap
Toothpaste/Toothbrush
Shampoo
Hand Lotion
Chapstick/Lip Balm
Deodorant

…a few of my own donations to the Men’s Shelter 🙂

I am wrapping up this drive on Thursday April 30th. The chapter and I  will deliver all donations to the shelter on Saturday May 2nd, in addition to serve lunch for the residents as our Day of Service Project. If you have any questions please connect with me at vreredai@gmail.com or at 216-236-5470.

I hope you can help me continue my birthday celebration for the month by giving back to those not in the best situation. If I may get personal for a moment, this has been the most rewarding birthday for me. At 31, I am truly grateful that I was blessed to make the decision to celebrate in a way that benefits others. I promise to keep this going for years to come and make it something bigger, and I look forward to the continued support of my friends and family!

#VrereDai Thank You…and Part Two.

I had my little brother and sister help me with donation delivery!

I just wanted to take time to thank everyone who took their time to support my special present to the 2100 Lakeside Men’s Shelter. I hope you know that am deeply humbled. I was able to collect a monetary total of $330 dollars from family, friends and colleagues via Paypal. That was used to buy 330 $1 items. I also collected many donations from people around town; I believe it was well over $200 worth of items, in addition to a box of books I selected from the bookstore in Gordon Square (Cleveland), Guide To Kulchur. There was so much to take over that I had my little brother ans sister help me out. It was good for them to participate in this kind of service and to see the impact it truly has on the community. It’s important that I expose them to giving back.

I did not expect to receive so much help-this was my first attempt to start my own drive for a cause. I have signed up tp participate in walks and other activities in the past in which I ask for donations…but this was something I started on my own. It was a LOT of work and I learned things about myself during the process. I’m so grateful I stepped up and followed through. To see so much praise and encouragement for a task like this was overwhelming; it felt really good to grab as much attention as I did and I hope I influenced you in some way to give back on your own.

There were many people who were unable to donate to this drive or simply missed my deadline, which was not a problem. Due to that response, I have decided to begin a new drive for the month of April. The 2100 Lakeside Men’s Shelter is always in need of items; they support up to 400 men each night. Although the donations collected for this drive was highly appreciated and more than the shelter expected, they will never stop needing our help. I want to extend my “Vrere Dai” celebration all month by collecting items, and monetary donations that I will use to shop on your behalf.

Here’s a reminder of the items needed for me to collect:
Small toothpaste & regular size toothbrush
Bar soap
Regular size deodorant
Small shampoo
Small hand lotion
Chapstick/Lip Balm

If you would like to send money, please use my PayPal account (VRERE@AOL.COM) and be sure to choose the ‘friends and family’ option so your donation is not deducted a fee.

The deadline for this drive will be THURSDAY APRIL 30TH.

If you have any questions or want to connect, please email me at Vreredai@gmail.com or send me a text at 216-236-5470. I may not generate the same numbers as the last go-round…but any and everything helps… 🙂

 

Update on How to Help Celebrate my #VrereDai (Birthday Donation Drive for the Men’s Shelter)

…a few of my own donations to the Men’s Shelter 🙂

 

First off, THANK YOU to everyone who has given me items and/or cash towards this project! I’m really excited for the 2100 Lakeside Men’s Shelter. They should expect over 100 items for my VrereDai (birthday-April 4th)! I just wanted to do something out of the norm of celebrating for myself. Based on the success of this drive I may do this every year, and I hope I influence you to do something similar some day 🙂

I want to let you know that if I’m unable to connect with you or you’re unable to collect/purchase items, I have a PAYPAL Account that you can send money to, and I will use that money to shop for the toiletries needed by the Shelter. In case you forgot, here is what they are asking for:

Small toothpaste & regular size toothbrush
Bar soap
Regular size deodorant
Small shampoo
Small hand lotion
Chapstick/Lip Balm

My PAYPAL Email is VRERE@AOL.COM. Please send all monetary donations to this email only. Each dollar donated equals one item from the list above. If there is a particular item you would like me to use your funds for, please send me a note with the donation. I know that not everyone has a Paypal account so let me inform you of a few things…

1. Sending money from your Paypal account to my account is FREE.

2. If you do not have a Paypal account and want to send money for free, you will need to sign up for one. Signing up is free; you are simply being asked to link your personal bank account to the site.

3. There are two options for who you are sending money to. Please choose the “FRIENDS OR FAMILY” option! This is not a business transaction in which I am sending you anything.

4. If you send money using a debit or credit card, you will be charged a fee, like with most sites.

Information on Paypal use can be found HERE.

Again, if you have questions or want to connect because you have items, I can be reached at vreredai@gmail.com (please note-this email IS NOT the same email linked to my PayPal account; please don’t get confused) or send me a text at 216-236-5470.

I can’t wait to do all this shopping and donate for my VrereDai! I may eat some carrot cake or ice cream cake in between…or maybe a nap! 🙂