The Village of St. Edward residents make Easter baskets for local women’s shelter
Fairlawn, OH: On Monday, April 10th, women at the Village of St. Edward collaborated with Summa Health at Home to make Easter gift baskets for children at ACCESS women’s shelter in Akron. Ten residents at the Village worked hard to create 25 brightly colored baskets for the children, completed with playdough, sidewalk chalk, and Easter eggs filled with chocolate.

ACCESS shelter provides emergency shelter to women and children in need. They also link women to resources in the community, and help them work towards an independent future, assisting in the alleviation of any hardships caused by their crisis situations.

The funding for the project came from the hard work and donations of the residents at the Village of St. Edward. Last week, they put on a soup kitchen to raise money for the project. That money, combined with donations from the residents, resulted in an excess of nearly one hundred and fifty dollars after the baskets were completed. This money will be used to buy personal items such as flip-flops and warm blankets for the mothers at ACCESS.

According to Beth, Resident Services Coordinator at the Village, St. Edward has a very philanthropic population. “Our residents are very giving,” she said, “making the baskets makes them feel good about themselves while helping their community.”

Participating in volunteer work is a popular activity with residents at the Village of St. Edward. Other resident volunteer projects include collecting school supplies for Akron schoolchildren, participating in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, and raising money for the Akron Children’s Hospital.

Article submitted by Colleen Lyons.