Block Party held
Hundreds of East Toledo residents enjoyed The Rock Church’s annual block party held July 12 at Joseph P. Burnett Park at 1600 Starr Ave.

Children of all ages gathered for face painting, games and fun in the “bounce house.” Live music from the center stage added to the carnival atmosphere.

Free hotdogs, cookies, popcorn, cold beverages and cotton candy were available at several locations throughout the park.

Margaret Raher of The Rock Church gives a hug to one of the many children of all ages who gathered for the church's Annual Block Party.

In addition, more than 300 back packs filled with school supplies were distributed to school-age children.

According to Laura Angel, associate pastor, “The purpose of the Block Party is to fill a physical need in the community through providing backpacks and school supplies to needy families and also to show the love of Jesus to our community.”

Area residents were invited to join the party, even if they did not have school age children. Local resident Jamie Rossi was driving by and stopped to chat with some of the church helpers. “What a great way to serve the people of this area” she said. “School supplies are so expensive and every child wants a new backpack to start school.”

The Rock has been holding Block Parties for approximately 15 years. By partnering with Cedar Creek Church, which provided the back packs, both The Rock, at 4058 Starr Ave., Oregon, and Vision Ministries, at 1630 Broadway, in South Toledo, distributed over 600 backpacks.

BSBO honors volunteers
At its annual volunteer recognition picnic, Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) recognized its many volunteers and presented their prestigious “Shieldcastle Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service,” to Delores Cole, of Cleveland, and Karen Zach of Perrysburg. 

Created in honor of Mark and Julie Shieldcastle, two of founding members of the Observatory, the award recognizes individuals who have given extraordinary time, talent and service to BSBO’s mission to inspire the appreciation, enjoyment and conservation of birds and their habitats through research, education and outreach.

More than 70 volunteers from around the state gathered to celebrate BSBO’s work and the thousands of volunteer hours required to achieve the organization’s goals.

“When we stop to catch our breath and look back over a year’s worth of hard work, the breadth and reach of this organization is astounding,” said Tim Bollin, chairman of the observatory’s board of directors. “From hosting one of the country’s largest birding festivals, The Biggest Week In American Birding, banding more songbirds than any other bird banding research station in the country and offering free songbird education programs to thousands of local students each year, BSBO has grown into an organization with a national reputation.

“We have a tremendous staff, but without the commitment and dedication of our volunteers, our work would not be possible,” he said.

Volunteers do not need to be bird experts to get involved. To learn more about volunteering, call BSBO at 419-898-4070 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 
Relay for Life raffle
St. Paul United Church of Christ Voll-unteers in Oak Harbor, will hold a raffle to win a pair of tickets to a Cleveland Indians home game during the upcoming season.

Five hundred tickets will be sold at $10 each. A total of 81 winners will be drawn. Tickets are in section 452, row A (1st row) of the View Box Seats located behind home plate (a $64 value).

Raffle tickets can be purchased at the church, 165 Toussaint St., or by calling 419-898-0852. Ticket information can also be found on the church website at www.stpauluccoh.org.

A ticket-drawing party complete with hot dogs, popcorn and beverages will be held March 26 at 6 p.m. at the church.

All proceeds will benefit the Relay for Life team. Winners need not be present. however, winners who are present will get their first choice of games to attend.

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