Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
The East Toledo Family Center, an organization that has served Northwest Ohio for 125 years, will celebrate its anniversary with a community open house on April 30 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. inside the Glass City Enrichment Center, which is located at 815 Front St. in Toledo. The event is free and open to the public.
The open house will feature a historical timeline showcasing the organization’s 125-year legacy, family-friendly activities and refreshments, and opportunities to meet the staff, learn about current programs, and explore future initiatives.
“Reaching 125 years is a testament to the strength of our mission and the unwavering support of this community,” Jodi Gross, Executive Director of the East Toledo Family Center, said. “This open house not only celebrates our history but also serves as a heartfelt thank you to the volunteers, donors and partners who have made our work possible. We are excited to welcome the community and share our vision for the future.”
Founded in 1901, the East Toledo Family Center has spent more than a century adapting its programs and services to meet the evolving needs of the East Toledo community. Over the past 125 years, the organization has impacted thousands of individuals and families through a wide range of educational, social service, and community-building initiatives.
In particular, Gross is excited about the open house’s timeline, as well as being able to share the organization’s future initiatives.
“It’s important for people who may have known us maybe 30 years ago or maybe don't know about us either because we are in the East Toledo community, and I think sometimes people don't really know who we are or where we came from,” she said. “We want people to know where we came from, and 125 years is a long time. If we can get people to come out and see our timeline and the information that we're going to share that day, I think that's important.”
Gross said the organization started with a mission in a tent, grew to a lot that had a home on it, and then opened the current facility on Varland Avenue in 1971. She said that most recent milestone was critical because it was needed to meet the organization and community’s needs in the early 70s and into the future.
The structural evolution is important, but Gross said they’ve also evolved from helping families who were just coming to America, whose second language was English, how to find jobs and homes in the community. One key figure in the organization’s history is its first director, Warren Densmore, who took over in 1946 and served for 35 years.
“One of the most important things in getting to this 125-year milestone is that we didn't get here alone,” Gross said. “We have worked really hard to create partnerships, whether that be with the city of Toledo to build a new building for us in the late 60s/early 70s, but we know that we can't do it without partners, and I think that's critical even more now at this point because we can't provide those programs and services alone.”
Looking forward, Gross said the organization is focused on adding to their current facility through a five-year plan in order to help more families and to continue to offer programs that are relevant to meet the needs of their families.
“It’s really critical that yes, we made it 125 years, but we're also looking at the future and what that could look like and what we think our families will need for the next 125 years, but obviously the next five to 10 years,” she said.
Thus, officials at the East Toledo Family Center are looking to expand its current facility with the intention to bring all their programs under one roof. Gross said that they have already received some funds from state representative Marcy Kaptur’s appropriation committee that will help them kick off the project with the goal of making it a reality over the next five years.
“Our current space, we're at capacity,” she said. “Our senior center is actually located at the Navarre Park Shelter, and we'd like to build a new facility for the seniors, our preschool program, and then build a new gym or recreation space that we can utilize for multiple programs at one time. That’s our end goal.”
