Euclid Gives Back

In 2007, Jennifer Gilbride, a Euclid Hospital R.N. was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). At Cleveland Clinic facilities she underwent six months of chemotherapy, six weeks of radiation twice a day and seven reconstruction surgeries.

Gilbride is a survivor and was recently chosen to carry the flag of courage in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure®. During the walk she was interviewed by Monica Robins of WKYC, four years after their first interview together when she was first diagnosed with cancer.

Gilbride is an inspiration. She became very active with helping others through breast cancer support and education. She was even selected and trained to be a peer counselor with The Gathering Place’s Breast Cancer Connection service.

Dedicated to the education of other women about IBC, this rare and aggressive form of cancer cannot be detected by mammogram or ultrasound. There are no lumps, only red patches. Gilbride is proof that knowledge and perseverance can lead you to overcome your obstacles and live strong.

BRIDGES (Building Respect and Interaction through Dialogue, Growth, Education and Solutions) and Moore Counseling Ministries are hosting a walk-a-thon here in the city of Euclid Sept. 24, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.. “Walking with Purpose” is an event designed to bring the community together to celebrate and promote diversity and to support some of Euclid’s non-profit organizations. Walkers may direct their pledges to benefit BRIDGES, MCMS Counseling and Addiction Recovery Programs, the Rosemary Center, the Euclid Hunger Center or the Mary Mavec Opportunity School.  

Walking is a form of exercise that is simple and safe, good for your heart and your waistline. Everyone in the community is welcome to participate! Why not get a team together of family, friends or co-workers? Prizes will be awarded to the largest group, the most money raised and most interesting theme. After the walk get to know your neighbors at a picnic at Sims Park, hosted by The Lake Shore Ministry Group. Hot dogs and snacks will be provided by Dave’s Supermarket for a minimal cost. 

The walk-a-thon will begin and end at Sims Park on Lakeshore Boulevard. Walkers can choose the Senior Circuit, the 2. 5 mile, or the 5.5 mile walk. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the first step off is at 9 a.m. If you’d like to participate contact Mary Muehle at (216) 481-3272 or email BRIDGES at bridgesofneo@live.com. Information and forms are also available at www.bridgesofneo.com or at the Euclid Public Library or Euclid City Hall.  The walk-a-thon will be held rain or shine! 

Eaton Family Credit Union members and employees got into the grilling season at the eighth annual member appreciation day on Friday, July 1st. Patrick from Cleveland won a Kenmore grill donated by Sears Hardware on Chardon Road in Willoughby Hills. On behalf of everyone who entered the drawing, Eaton Family Credit Union will donate over $800 to Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital.

Mike Losneck, President, Eaton Family Credit Union remarked, “This was a record year for participation and money raised. We gave out a whole bunch of hot dogs and raised the most ever for one of our charities.” Patrick from Cleveland was pleased to win the grill and equally happy to support the hospital because his niece was treated at Rainbow early on.

Music for the party was provided by Cameron Zwagerman from WELW 1330 AM Radio. Other lucky credit union members also received tickets to the Kelly Miller Circus in Willowick and Atlas Cinemas movie tickets. Also attending the event was Leah Brown from Enterprise Car Sales and Robbie Baughman from Jay Honda. 

Euclid Curves is a flagship sponsor for the upcoming Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, a 5K walk that involves thousands of men, women, and children.  The event will take place May 21 at Cleveland Browns Stadium. 

In keeping with the celebration the ladies of Curves have decorated bras which were auctioned off to raise funds for breast cancer research. In a spirit of solidarity, the women put their creative talents to work. The bras were so very clever that they earned equally creative titles such as Red Hat Society, Beaded Boobs, Belly Dancer, and Here's Looking at You. Over 50 bras adorned the walls of the Euclid Curves. More funds were raised as the members paid $1.00 per vote to vote for their favorites.

More information about the walk is available at http://makingstrides.acsevents.org/site/TR/MakingStridesAgainstBreastCancer/MSABCFY11Ohio?pg=entry&fr_id=28159.

Walkers will go around the clock in the battle against cancer when the 3rd Annual American Cancer Society Relay For Life® of Euclid gets underway with teams of residents gathering at the Euclid High School Track on May 13, 2011 at 6:00pm.

Relay For Life events are held overnight as individuals and teams camp out at an athletic track, park or other gathering area, with the goal of keeping at least one team member on the track or pathway at all times throughout the evening. Teams do most of their fundraising prior to the event, but some teams also hold creative fundraisers at their camp sites during Relay. Relay brings together friends, families, businesses, hospitals, schools, faith-based groups . . . people from all walks of life – all aimed at furthering the American Cancer Society’s efforts to save lives by helping people stay well, by helping them get well, by finding cures and by fighting back.

This year’s Relay For Life of Euclid will kick off with a Survivor’s Lap at 6:00pm. Survivors are invited to gather on the track and lead the first lap of relay with teams and families cheering them around the track. Immediately following will be a survivor dinner for all survivors and their one guest. If you are a cancer survivor and would like to participate please register online at www.relayforlife.org/euclid.

We will have entertainment going all night. There will be local bands, food, jazzercise, karate demonstrations, raffle baskets, a bounce house, and much more!

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Let's join hands to make our neighborhods and our city as beautiful as they can be.

Clean up Euclid Day will be May 7 from 9am to noon.

All volunteers should meet at the playground behind city hall at 9am. We will break into small groups and go to an assigned area to clean up litter. Garbage bags will be provided. At 11:30 am we will meet back at the playground for pizza and refreshments.

Need service hours for school or work? Contact us at info@euclidchamber.com. Visit www.ExperienceEuclid.com.

Need a roof? A new furnace? Buying a Euclid home? You may want to consider contacting the Euclid Development Corporation (EDCOR) first. EDCOR is offering qualified Euclid homeowners three percent loans, up to $30,000, to fix violations and home improvement. Applicants must own and reside in the home in which the improvements are to be made. A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant, under the Housing and Community Development Block Grant program, and the HOME program provide funds for this program.

Additionally, through Euclid’s Special Projects Division of the Community Services and Economic Development Department, qualifying homeowners can receive services customized to meet various housing needs such as weatherization, dead bolts, smoke alarms, furnace inspection and cleaning and handicapped services. Since there can be a waiting list, those interested should apply early. For information on this program, call (216) 289-8562.

The city of Euclid is offering qualified first time home buyers a down payment assistance program. This program, managed in cooperation with Cuyahoga county, provides a 17 percent down payment (home buyer provides three percent), up to a maximum of $14,500, for purchasing a home in Euclid. Half of the money is forgiven (in increments) over a five-year period as long as the buyer resides in the home at least five years, with the remaining half recaptured upon sale or transfer of the home. There are no monthly payments required for this funding, but funds are limited so apply early. Those interested for this program should visit www.cityofeuclid.com for more information.

With all these programs available, now is the time to purchase a Euclid home or fix up your Euclid home. For additional information, please call EDCOR at (216) 289-4625.

Much of the news about the earthquake and tsunamis in Japan has been focused on the city of Sendai because it is a city of a million people. It is also still accessible to the media but close enough to the affected Fukushima nuclear power plants to portray the effects of the plants on local residents. However, there are many more villages and towns in that area that were also devastated.  The City of Euclid’s sister-city Naraha-Machi is one of them.  A farming town of approximately 8,000 residents, it is also the site of one of the nuclear plants that is having so much trouble. The news media and aid groups cannot access the town because of the troubled plants.

Euclid seniors have been the benefactors of two rather substantial donations in the past couple months.

Students at Euclid High School have participated in several charitable causes at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. This is part of an ongoing effort on behalf of the administration, staff, and students of Euclid High School to ensure their school is again viewed as a "Pillar of the Community."

Poodle skirts and root beer floats, rather than the expected scrubs and lab coats, filled the Euclid Hospital cafeteria when the clocks turned back for a 1950s-themed sock hop and employees donated pairs of socks to benefit the Euclid Public School District.

There were a few tragic news stories involving area teens last July that compelled me to action. I heard of a shooting here in Euclid on East 200th Street, and around the same time there was the report of a Mentor High School athlete who was found passed out in a backyard of a friends’ house and died on the way to the hospital. While it's too late to undo what happened, we don't have to get caught up in the faulty logic of the "since we can't save everyone, we shouldn't even try" mentality. Instead, we can focus on the things that do go well and continue doing the positive things that do make a difference for the sake of those they do make a difference to. Sure, some kids won’t listen, but some will. We can at least respond to those who reach out to us.