Community Care operates with the help of churches, schools, individuals, corporations, grants, outside support, and hardworking volunteers. 100% of donations to our Client Fund go directly to meeting the needs of clients within the city of North Ridgeville. Client programs include the following:
FOOD PANTRY: The primary focus of our facility is our food pantry which provides groceries to our cli
ents with sufficient food to accommodate all persons living in the home. If someone is in immediate need of food and they are not one of our pre-approved clients, they are welcome to come for food and encouraged to complete an application for future service. CLOTHING & HOUSEHOLD ITEMS: We provide our clients with gently used clothing that is donated by people in our community. Household items are also donated, and special needs are met whenever possible such as requests for beds, cribs, household furniture, etc. (WE ARE NOT CURRENTLY ACCEPTING CLOTHING OR HOUSEHOLD ITEMS. THIS PROGRAM WILL RESUME AT A LATER DATE IN 2022)
UTILITY & HOUSING ASSISTANCE: In order to provide our clients another opportunity to maintain reasonable living accommodations, we assist with utility and rent payments. 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. LAYETTES: When a baby is born to one of our clients, the parent is presented with a layette of personally purchased items for their newborn baby. 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 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 DINNER DISTRIBUTION: Each Thanksgiving, we receive donations of turkeys and other food items for Thanksgiving. The week before the holiday, we offer food boxes containing an entire meal complete with a turkey. CHRISTMAS STORE & 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. ESSENTIALS: 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 GARDEN: Volunteer men and women from the community plant, tend to, and harvest vegetables at the community garden. We believe it is a great blessing to be able to offer fresh, in-season vegetables to our clients.
