Above, Fostoria staff during a tour of the building. From front left are: Teresa Shultz, Diane Stahl, Shirley Bechstein, Holly Freeman, Deb Kuhn, and Jacque Smith. Project Mgr. Arlen Lowery is in the back.

Staff at the Fostoria Child Development Center and those in the Ottawa County office have new homes this year.

Ottawa County staff have already moved into their new space at the Sutton Center, 1854 E. Perry Street, Port Clinton. However, the preschool center remains at its current location.

They share the building with 10 other Ottawa County organizations such as the United Way of Greater Toledo, Big Brother/Big Sister, Independent Choices, Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc. , Certified Nurse-Midwives of Toledo, Ottawa County Transitional Housing Inc., the Salvation Army, Stein Hospice Services Inc., and YWCA Childcare Connections.

Those in Fostoria must wait until August to move. However, Fostoria staff have had an chance to tour the building currently under construction.

In Fostoria, the new center will be a part of the Fostoria Community Early Childhood and Family Center. They will share their building with the Seneca County’s MR/DD Early Intervention Program, ProMedica, Fostoria Community Hospital and the Seneca County Health Department.

Old Fort Bank employee Lindsey Thacker, in photo at left, holds one of the Easter baskets presented to two children in the homeless programs operated by WSOS in Sandusky County. In the photo, from left, are Thacker, David Talbot, his mother Olga Marez, sister Grace, and Sandy Jet, also of Old Fort Bank.

Eighteen Sandusky County children whose families are currently enrolled in the WSOS homeless programs received Easter baskets on April 12.

The Easter baskets were donated by Old Fort Bank and were distributed to children in the program 12 years old and younger. The baskets are valued at $15 each.

Last year, Old Fort Bank supported more than 100 community activities with both financial and human resources. Its employees also are active in the communtiy, serving on the boards of numerous charitable, civic and service organizations.

Dawn Hammer, above center, of Optomist, helps preschoolers to make paper candles used to symbolize hope as part of Child Abuse Prevention month activity.

Preschoolers at the WSOS Stricker Family Development Center made paper candles, marched in the parade in Fremont, then led the group in singing “This Little Light of Mine” and other selections at the Annual Light of Hope event on April 25 in Sandusky County.

The unicycle stunt kids from the New Directions Summer/After School program also participated in the parade that began in downtown Fremont and marched to the county courthouse.

The Light of Hope event is conducted annually as part of Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. In Sandusky County, the community organizations of CASA of Seneca, Sandusky, and Wyandot counties; Family and Children First Council of Sandusky County; the Sandusky County Department of Job and Family Services, Children Services; and WSOS collaborate each year to plan this event in an effort to create awareness locally of the problems of child abuse.

Tony Comes, a child abuse survivor whose story was made into a documentary, was the guest speaker. Comes has participated in legislative reform efforts at the state and national levels for victims’ rights and child abuse awareness, and has been a featured guest on several nationally broadcast television and radio talk show programs.

Representatives of the Optomist Club of Fremont Area also participated in the event by helping the preschoolers to put together the paper candles used to symbolize the Light of Hope. The paper candles were used during the April 25 ceremony.

The Sandusky County Homeless Coalition, Continuum of Care, is preparing to roll out its new - and first - strategic plan at a public forum in October.

The mission of the coalition is to provide a united effort to meet the needs of the homeless and increase independent living opportunities for the homeless population in Sandusky County through services, community awareness and education.

The group began meeting in March 2005 to develop a strategic plan aimed at coordinating and streamlining current services for the homeless as well as to support each other’s organization. The plan has been designed to help service providers focus on ways to prevent homelessness, or at least reduce the impact on the family or individual.

The coalition is a collaboration of 23 agencies in the county that serve the homeless. This group includes a homeless family currently receiving services. Kathy Kiser, a family advocate with WSOS, is the chairperson while Joyce Garvey of First Call for Help serves as the secretary.

The Sandusky County Department of Job and Family Services recently awarded WSOS Community Action Commission, Inc. a $65,701 contract to provide assistance with job training and job placement to 26 adults seeking training or re-training.

Applications for the program will be accepted until March 31.

The primary goal of the program, called the Occupation, Vocation and Skills On-the-Job Training Initiative, is to enhance employment opportunities for eligible adults and dislocated workers in the skilled workforce. Program participants will work with a job developer and a family advocate who will assist them with their career decisions.

The goal of the program is to provide assistance to 18 dislocated workers who have been displaced from their jobs, and 8 other adults who meet the income guidelines of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

Employers, who are willing to participate in the program and provide job training to the participants are also needed to participate in the program. Employers who participate in the program will be reimbursed up to 50 percent of a participant’s wages. The length of the job training contract with the employer depends on several factors to be determined by employer and WSOS.

President/CEO Neil McCabe and Community Development Director Deb Martin recently had the honor of visiting with UnderSecretary of Agriculture Thomas Dorr and Ohio Congressman Bob Ney (District 18) at an Earth Day event in Walnut Creek, Ohio.

WSOS RCAP staff was invited to participate in the event since RCAP works throughout Ohio providing drinking water and wastewater assistance to small rural communities.

"We were thrilled to have the opportunity to make the UnderSecretary aware of the great work RCAP does in Ohio," said Martin.

McCabe said it was a great opportunity to meet UnderSecretary Dorr and Congressman Ney, and to share with them the work RCAP does in the region. He noted that RCAP has enjoyed the support of Ney in the past, and added that WSOS appreciates the efforts of USDA, Rural Development, Ohio Director Randy Hunt to keep those in Washington informed about RCAP.

New Directions Summer/After School program is seeking a $1.2 million 21st Century Learning Center grant aimed at expanding the program currently operated in the Fostoria Community Schools district.

21st Century Learning Centers has funded the New Directions program in the Fremont and Clyde-Green Springs school districts. Additional funding for these programs have come from the Sandusky County Department of Job and Family Services (DJFS) as well as the United Way of Sandusky County, Boy/Girl Scouts of America and other local organizations.

The Fostoria program made its debut in Summer 2005 when the Seneca County DJFS provided funding to operate a transition summer program for Seneca County students moving from elementary school to middle school in the Fostoria school district. The program proved to be a success, and the DJFS office, the school district and WSOS collaborated to provide an after school program for about 70 elementary school students. The program is held at Riley Elementary School, Fostoria.

This funding request will help to expand the program to 115 students for five years.

If the grant proposal is successful, students in the program will be provided with a safe supervised learning environment where they will receive assistance with reading skills, writing and math. They will also receive instruction in career development, life skills training, character education, cultural programs and community service activities.

Editor’s note: This column appears in each issue of this newsletter. Next issue will feature Homeless Prevention programs.

• Senior Programs will conduct its Annual Senior Day activities on May 9 at the American Legion hall, Fremont. Twelve senior volunteers will be inducted into the Senior Volunteer Hall of Fame.
• About 75 area residents who volunteer at WSOS in Sandusky County were honored April 27 at the Annual Sandusky County Volunteer Appreciation event.
• WSOS President/CEO Neil McCabe is planning to release results of a perception study he commissioned in February.
• May is National Community Action Month, and WSOS will seek proclamations from commissioners of its four primary counties to create awareness of the celebration.
• Seniors from Woodville have established a Blue Bird trail and donated birdhouses for the trail in Woodville.

May 10 is expected to bring out lenders, mortgage brokers, community officials, and other community leaders from Sandusky and Seneca counties as well as the City of Norwalk to a seminar on the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP).

WSOS Housing and Energy department is hosting the seminar to inform community leaders about CHIP - how it works, its benefits, how to access assistance provided by the program, and other relevant information.

CHIP is a state-funded program that provides housing repairs/rehabilitation to income-eligible residents as well provides assistance for firsttime homebuyers with the downpayment for their first home. The program also provides homeownership counseling to residents seeking to buy a home.

The seminar will be at St. Francis Health Care Centre in Green Springs. It includes presentations on Fair Housing, Foreclosures, and Predatory Lending practices.

Housing counseling provided by WSOS Housing Counselor Charlene Watkins has also garnered some new clients. The Fremont Federal Credit Union and Croghan Colonial Bank, both of Fremont, have asked Watkins to conduct Housing Counseling seminars at their institutions.

ROBYN GERRITSEN

Full name: Robyn Elyn Gerritsen

Address: Fostoria, Ohio

Family: Robyn has two daughters, RaeAnn Gerritsen, 10; and Cora Miller, 7; and a son, Chip Miller, 6.

Occupation: She is a seven-year veteran employee of WSOS. She is the secretary/receptionist at the Fostoria Office, a position she was hired into in March 1999.

Favorite part of the job: Robyn said she really enjoys the challenges of her job as a secretary/receptionist as she works with the various families who come to the Fostoria office for assistance. However, the part that really makes her work enjoyable is that the staff is like family to her. "That really makes me feel good," she said.

Goals: She said one of her goals is to be able to return to college and pursue a degree in business.

Interests/Hobbies: For Robyn, spending time with her children is the best hobby she has. However, when she is not doing that, she loves to go bike riding and/or swimming.