Neighborhoods

The Youngstown Foundation awarded more than $910,000 in third-quarter grants to 33 organizations.

That includes $646,171 by the distribution committee from its unrestricted fund, the Hine Memorial Fund, Mahoning Valley Sports Charities, donor advised and restricted funds.

Additionally, nearly $264,000 was awarded through the support fund, a program that provides approved local charities the opportunity to receive an additional 5 percent grant for contributions received for their organization, said Janice Strasfeld, foundation executive director.

The single largest grant, $232,786, went to the Potential Development Program for costs associated with housing its Operation Search and Help Program. The grant is restricted for the medical needs of children with special needs in Mahoning County and Liberty, Girard and Hubbard in Trumbull County.

Of the 33 grants awarded, four organizations committed to serving children with diagnosed disabilities received funds from the Hine Memorial Fund. They are: SMARTS, $27,440, to support the Beats Drum program; The Paula & Anthony Rich Center for Autism, $18,000, to update the sensory room; Eastern Gateway Community College, $5,500, to install two exterior automatic door openers, and Potential Development, $232,786.

Youngstown Foundation unrestricted fund grants are: ACTION, $5,000, to support its Integrated Voter Engagement Program; Big Brothers/Big Sisters, $7,500, to support its site-based Mentoring Program and $28,000, toward implementation of the Year of the Teen programing; Catholic Charities, $10,000, to help purchase desk cubicles; Easter Seals, $60,190, for its new LED lighting project; Heart Reach Ministries, $33,255, to replace the boiler system; Hope House Visitation Center, $30,000, to support its Healthy Child Development/Parent Access Program; Turning Point Counseling, $20,000, for building renovations; Youngstown Area Goodwill, $15,000, toward costs for upgrading its security and safety systems; Youngstown Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program, $20,000, for after-school programming and academics at Youngstown City Schools’ Martin Luther King Elementary School; Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., $11,000 for equipment for the REVITALIZE Program Sustainability Project; Youngstown State University, $20,000 to support implementation of the university’s Academic Encouragers Program, and the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber Foundation, $10,000, for the Jobs Now Workforce Development.

The donor-advised fund awarded a total of $85,000 to these organizations: Beatitude House, Rescue Mission of Mahoning County, the YMCA’s Camp Fitch, Pregnancy Help Center, Inspiring Minds, Protestant Family Services, YSU Encouragers, Mercy Health Foundation Mobile Health Clinic, Potential Development, Teen Challenge, Veterans Resource Center, Brody’s Bunch and Operation Christmas Child.

Mahoning Valley Sports Charities awarded $7,500 to Trumbull Mobile Meals.

For information on creating a charitable fund, donating to existing funds, grant application guidelines, applying for a grant, or the Support Fund charities, visit www.youngstownfoundation.org or call 330-744-0320.

To read the full story from the Vindicator, click here.

Mahoning Avenue will feature live music, an outdoor cafe, an art sale, a farmers market and a dog costume contest during the Mahoning Avenue Fall Fest from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The event will be between Steel Street and Milton Avenue on the city’s West Side.

The West Side library branch is currently closed, but the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County will have a pop-up library.

The new library will be named the Michael Kusalaba Branch, and the Friends of the new branch will take pre-orders of keepsake bricks from the old library, which will soon be demolished to make way for the new one.

The event’s purpose is to spur more permanent improvements to support and promote local artists and businesses. Supporters are the city; Councilman Mike Ray, D-4th; Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.; City of You; Garden District Neighborhood Association; Paisley House; Casa Ramirez; Kelly’s; and Sons of Italy.

To read the full article from the Vindicator, click here.

An outdoor café, a farmers market, live music and art galleries will be among the attractions transforming Mahoning Avenue Oct. 15 as part of the Mahoning Avenue Fall Fest.

The festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. between Steel Street and Milton Avenue on the city’s West Side.

The Garden District Neighborhood Association will have a pumpkin painting booth, the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County will host a pop-up library and Auntie Dee’s Pooch Haven is sponsoring the Howl-a-Ween dog costume contest. Baked goods, art and fresh produce will also be available for sale.

“The purpose of the event is to demonstrate the vibrancy of the community and try to catalyze more permanent improvements in the future that will support and promote local artists and businesses,” organizers said in a release.

Businesses in the corridor are also participating. Casa Ramirez will have carnitas and drink specials, as well as hosting the “City of You” exhibit in its banquet room, Sons of Italy will feature a DJ and Kelly’s will have live music and specials throughout the day.

To read the full article from the Business Journal, click here.

“If you build it, they will come,” a famous line from the 1989 “Field of Dreams” film starring Kevin Costner, might apply to Saturday’s inaugural Fall Fest along Mahoning Avenue on Youngstown’s West Side.

West Siders and other folks from near and far strolled along both sides of Mahoning between Steel Street and Milton Avenue wearing short sleeves soaking up the sunshine and friendly atmosphere, looking at the wares of a couple of dozen vendors and meeting neighbors and former West Siders.

The event included family-friendly activities, including an art sale, a dog-costume contest and mini pumpkins to paint, courtesy of the Garden District Neighborhood Association and other children’s activities sponsored by Lit Youngstown.

“This is a positive thing for the West Side,” said resident Elena Hanuschak, who was enjoying the day with friends, Carol Reed of Austintown, formerly of the West Side, and Gloria De Los Santos, a West Side resident.

“It’s nice to see the community do something like this,” Reed said.

“It’s a very nice event. I got to see several people I know,” De Los Santos added.

“It proves the stigma wrong. We want to be able to walk the streets. We want this type of event. It’s nice to have it in our neighborhood. This proves that as long as there is something to come to, they’ll come,” Hanuschak said.

The Fall Fest, which ran from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., was organized to show people the area’s social and business potential, said Councilman Mike Ray, D-4th, in whose ward the event took place.

Ray said the anchors of the area are the Sons of Italy Lodge, Kelly’s Bar and Grille, Casa Ramirez Mexican Restaurant and the Garden District Neighborhood Association.

“There are lots of hidden treasures here where people can get a burger or a taco or a beer,” he said, noting the day’s great weather and strong turnout.

Among the vendors were Fresh Prints, a custom silk-screening and vinyl-cutting business at 2903 Mahoning; Ashley’s Creative Crafting, featuring a lot of handmade Hallo- ween items made by Ashley Brumert, who can be contacted via email at AshleysCreativeCrafting@gmail.com; and Sally & Lorraine, owned by artist Sarah Fenton, who handcrafts wire-wrapped jewelry that she describes as “earthy.” She can be reached via email at SLFenton@gmail.com.

“We love the event,” said Katie Smith, a West Side resident who was looking at Fenton’s creations with her husband, Jim, and daughter, Iliana.

“I like it. We love it,” Jim said of the event.

To read the full story from the Vindicator, click here.

Monday, October 17, 2016

On Saturday, October 15, volunteers from the Idora neighborhood, Tabernacle Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Victory Christian Center, AmeriCorps VISTA, and YNDC planted trees and perennials

in the new section of boulevard that returned to Billingsgate this fall. This is the second stretch of boulevard installed in the past two years. The new boulevards return Billingsgate to its historic form, as the street originally included a boulevard that was removed decades ago. Many thanks to all the volunteers and to Pizza Joes Cornersburg for providing lunch. REVITALIZE.

The Mahoning Valley Young Professionals, in partnership with the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, today announced the 2017 honorees for the 25 Under 35 Awards.

The recognition program, previously known as the 40 Under 40 Awards, is in its 12th year of honoring the young professionals for excellence in their professional field and commitment to their community. Proceeds from the event benefit The Young Philanthropist Fund, a component fund of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley.

“As always, we had an exceptional and very large group of nominees, which is a testament to the quality of the dedicated young professionals in the Mahoning Valley,” said Rose Shaffer Saborse, 25 Under 35 committee chair. “We are excited to continue this excellent tradition of honoring the successful young people in our community.”

The honorees will be recognized at an awards ceremony Feb. 9 at Stambaugh Auditorium. During the ceremony, three honorees will be distinguished for special accolades as MVP Award winners. A committee of community leaders selects the 25 honorees and MVPs based on professional and service categories.

The 2017 25 Under 35 Honorees are:

Dr. Tiffany Anderson, Youngstown State University

Dr. Diana Awad Scrocco, Youngstown State University

Becky Bertuzzi, Valley Electric Consolidated

Anthony Caraballo, Hometown Pharmacy

Shawn Carvin, Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership

Nicholas Chretien, YSU Regional Economic Development Initiative

Dr. Chad Donley, Island Medical Management

Brittany Housel, The Youngstown Business Incubator

Heather Hrina-Medvec, Senior Independence MVSI

Thomas Hull, II, Manchester Newman & Bennett, LPA

Eugene Mach, II, Warren City Schools

Patrick Manning, Elizabeth A. Bernard, LLC

Lisa Metzinger, Cohen & Company

Joseph Paloski, Ohio State University Extension SNAP- Ed

Joselyn Parker, Youngstown YMCA

Dr. Carl Peterson, III, Mercy Health Care

Dr. Alicia Prieto Langarcia, Youngstown State University

Daniel Rauschenbach, The Soap Gallery

Matthew Ries, Harrington, Hoppe & Mitchell, LTD

Tracie Schmidt, Friedman & Rummell Co., LPA

Nick Sebastiano, Sebastiano Haddaeus

Dr. Elizabeth Shobel, Centers for Hearing Care

Sara Wenger, Eastgate Regional Council of Governments

Joshua Zarlenga, Hill Barth & King

Chelsey Zoldan, Meridian Health Care

Event sponsorships and reserved table seating are available by contacting Rose Shaffer Saborse at rose@tbeic.org or 330 207 2635. Tickets to the event will be sold at Stambaugh Auditorium box office or by calling 330 259 0555.

The YPF was created through the partnership of the then MVP 20/30 Club and CFMV. The fund has been put in place to introduce our younger generation to philanthropy by fundraising, analysis of grant requests, interaction with non-profits, and recommendation of grants to be awarded from the Fund.

To read the full story from the Business Journal, click here.

The Catholic Diocese of Youngstown held a community forum to discuss the thought of bringing refugees to Youngstown.

About 200 people, both for and against the idea, attended the meeting at Saint Columba Hall Wednesday night.

It was an opportunity for those who are enthusiastic about the possibility of refugee resettlement, as well as those who may be resistant to the idea, to learn more about the issue, ask questions and engage in a dialogue.

There are currently 65.3 million displaced persons throughout the world. Of that total, 25 million have legal standing as refugees and are free to immigrate.

“This is our attempt, the first attempt to educate people to the real needs of our sisters and brothers, especially who are the victims of political unrest and violence,” said Rev. David Berger with Catholic Charities.

Dee, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, told the crowd what his life was like before making his home in Cleveland, gradating from college and going to the Olympics.

That’s why he’s so passionate about giving refugees a second chance in a new community like Youngstown.

“Maybe 25 to 30 people, which is not that many, and help them by being involved in the work of the Catholic Charities here,” said Cleveland Migration and Refugee Services Director Thomas Mrosco.

About a year ago as he ran for president, Ohio Governor John Kasich said he opposes allowing Syrian refugees because he doesn’t believe the U.S. can adequately screen them.

Kelly Gauger, deputy director of the U.S. Department of State Refugee Admissions, says that isn’t true.

“Refugees who are resettled to the United States are subject to the highest level of security of any category of traveler that comes to the U.S.”

Pending legislation in the Ohio Senate, passed by the House, could potentially ban refugees from entering the state.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, less than one percent of all refugees are eventually resettled in third countries. The U.S., however, welcomes over half of these refugees, more than all other resettlement countries combined.

Since 1975, Americans have welcomed over 3 million refugees from all over the world.

To read the full story from WKBN, click here.

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) has increased funding to fight blight in the tri-county area.

Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties are all receiving additional funding under the Neighborhood Initiative Program, which works to prevent foreclosures and revitalize abandoned spaces.

Trumbull County will receive $1,323,816, Columbiana County will get $1,600,000 and Mahoning County will be given $3,153,034.

A total of $238 million has been allocated to the program. OHFA is partnered with 37 land banks across the state.

To read the full story from WKBN, click here.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, the PNC Foundation awarded YNDC a $9,000 grant to YNDC for support of our financial literacy programming.

The funds will be used to provide counseling services to housing and small business clients. Many thanks to the PNC Foundation for their continued support of YNDC! REVITALIZE.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

On Saturday, October 22, 2016, volunteers from the Four Square Block Watch, Valley Christian School, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Horizon Science Academy, Mike Notar, ORC, and 614 Church, came together for one of the largest annual single-days of service nationwide, Make A Difference Day.

Volunteers cleaned up over 30 properties in the Oak Hill neighborhood. A total of 125 tires, 207 bags of trash, and 4 tractor trailers of debris and overgrowth were removed from the neighborhood. Over 1100 linear feet of sidewalk were scraped and cleaned up to make it safer for neighborhood children to reach school bus stops in the neighborhood. The project was planned and coordinated by AmeriCorps VISTA Anika Jacobs with support from VISTAs Gia Cappabianca, Kaytlin Fenlason, and Grant Taylor.

Special thanks to Southgate Pizza and Walmart for donating lunch for the volunteers, Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church for accommodating the volunteers for lunch, Randy Ware for helping to haul debris and brush out of the neighborhood with his excavator, and to Mr. and Mrs. Sipp for helping to coordinate the event! REVITALIZE.