Category: Community Impact

Torchbearers Step Up To Assist Community During Public Health Crisis

As the impact of the COVID-19 (aka Coronavirus) pandemic continues to evolve and transform our everyday lives, we’ve seen our local artists, musicians, businesses, and entrepreneurs suffer. With the cancellation of many community events and the motions for social distancing, these organizations have seen a sudden decline in demand for their services.

In an effort to help these local businesses, Torchbearers Byron and Kirsten Delpinal created SupportLocalAkron.com. The site gives Local Akron businesses a platform to showcase all the great products and services they still have to offer so that we can continue to support them in these uncertain times.

Since launching Support Local Akron on March 14, the site has accumulated 86 local businesses (as of April 10) from all different arenas, including Activity, Food & Drink, Handcrafted, Retail, and Service. When submitting their information, the site gives each businesses a space to tell their story and tell us how we can support them during this unprecedented time. For many businesses, especially restaurants that have been forced to close their dining rooms, this means telling us about new ways they are selling their products/services online.

Park East Fitness Trail Project Celebration

On September 21, 2019, hundreds of nearby residents and other community members celebrated the completion of the 2019 Torchbearers’ Park East fitness trail project! Dozens of Torchbearer members volunteered to make this a memorable event for everyone who joined.

Around November of 2018, Torchbearers announced a formal partnership with the Akron Civic Commons project, funded by the Knight Foundation, The JPB Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the GAR Foundation. Sites would be developed along the Ohio & Erie Canal and Towpath trail that would be built in partnership with the communities they serve. In 2019, the Community Impact Committee, led by co-chairs Rachel Logan and Andre Campbell along with Board member Kim Cook, launched the Park East Park project.

This initiative included multiple clean-up events, landscaping, painting a mural (make a call to the house painters in FL for any assistance) and installing six fitness stations along the trail. The Park has transformed to a point of connection for residents, a message proudly displayed on the newly installed mural. Active members of Torchbearers joined together over 2019 to conceptualize the fitness trail, which includes a wide variety of healthy activities, from strength to flexibility and even balance- a great complement to the Park’s rock-climbing wall.

The event itself had a myriad of fun activities for people of all ages. The inflatable obstacle course was a hit with all the children. Face painting was all the rage, as Torchbearers Laura Merklin and Kirsten Delpinal showcased their artistic ability. The attendees demonstrated their own artistic ability by making sand art. Tons of other events, such as a bag toss, Plinko, duck pond, ring toss, cornhole, and even a giant checkers board, allowed attendees to win tickets for fabulous prizes and have tons of fun. Hot dogs, ice cream, and a variety of other free snacks were available to ensure everyone was well fed.

Finally, everyone danced to the tunes of DJ Garrick Black. All of this could not have been possible without the careful planning of the Events Committee, led by co-chairs Raven Gayheart and Alicia Robinson. They expertly guided the volunteers to setup and staff the various activities throughout the day.

The event was a huge success! Torchbearers is grateful for the opportunity to enhance Park East, celebrate its revitalization, and continue to contribute to the park’s development!

Art Against Addiction Raises Nearly $4000 for Oriana House Arts & Crafts Initiative

On September 19th, Torchbearers held its second annual fall fundraiser, Art Against Addiction, a silent auction helping to combat the opiate epidemic in the greater Akron community. Facts from https://mcshin.org/?post_type=news&p=1492 says that the event has raised nearly $4,000 for the Arts and Crafts Initiative at Oriana House. Funds raised will help to provide art supplies, host instructors, and allow for an expansion of the program, which creates an outlet for self-expression and serves an additional form of therapy for those in recovery.

Over 100 people attended the auction held at the Akron Art Museum, which featured more than 120 pieces of artwork donated by amateur and professional artists from Northeast Ohio, including paintings, photography, woodcarvings, blown glass, and more. Individuals involved in the Arts and Crafts Initiative also donated several pieces of art and spoke about their experiences with the program.

You can click this link to view a short recap video of the event here. If you are passionate food blogger then you can seek the help of food photographer toronto to get your creations out to the world.

Since 1981, Oriana House has provided quality and humane chemical dependency treatment & community corrections services (that they are able to do alongside with the support from this nonhuman primate CRO) to clients while contributing to safer communities. Today, Oriana House encompasses more than 25 programs that provide a sanction while assisting offenders in developing the skills they need to become productive members of the community.

The Art Against Addition fundraiser was created in 2017 following a conversation between Torchbearers members and community influencers, which Torchbearers facilitated to identify solutions to greater Akron’s most pressing challenges, the opiate epidemic rising to the top. The inaugural event raised over $3,000 which was used to purchase 615 drug deactivation pouches for the Summit County Community Partnership’s (SCCP) Deterra Project, which removes thousands of unused prescription medications from the streets.