December 2021
For Strata’s December community service initiative, Strata made a donation to Friends of the Homeless, as part of the 7th annual “Our Hand to Homeless” campaign organized by Anna Rosier. Anna is a Freshman in high school and lives in Dublin, OH. She was a third grader when she first started collecting items for the homeless. This year she collected the most items ever – 1,601 total hats, gloves, scarves, socks, and hygiene items. These donations were provided to the following organizations:
- Out of Darkness – battered women’s shelter
- Star House – homeless shelter for teens and young adults
- Friends of the Homeless – men’s homeless shelter
- Volunteers of America – supporting 70+ veterans
Thanks to Anna for her time and effort in putting this together for such a worthy cause this time of year.
November 2021
Our 2nd Annual Strata Financial Group 401(K)anned Food Drive ran from November 1st through November 15th and we were blown away by the generosity and support of our clients and community. We collected 944 lbs. of food and $50 in cash donations. Additionally, Goodwill raised another $852.81 as part of their “round up at the register” campaign that ran from November 1st – 15th. All donations were delivered to Goodwill’s “Good Will” pantry that has served 27,567 meals to 1,082 families so far in 2021. The “Good Will” pantry has their next distribution scheduled for Wednesday, December 15th from 10:00AM – 12:00PM. THANK YOU to everyone who donated and supported our food drive. Because of you, hundreds of families in our local community will not go hungry this holiday season.
October 2021
According to the Red Cross, there is currently an emergency blood shortage. Chris Hrouda, president of Red Cross Biomedical Services, recently gave the following statement regarding the shortage: “Throughout the pandemic, we have experienced challenges collecting blood for patients from blood drive cancellations to surging hospital demand. Now with decreased blood donor turnout, our Red Cross blood supply has dropped to the lowest it has been at this time of year since 2015.”
Mitch and Kyle answered the call and donated blood at the Red Cross, Lorain County chapter in Elyria as part of Strata’s October community service initiative. If you would like to donate, please visit https://www.redcrossblood.org/ and schedule an appointment today!
September 2021
Pediatric cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for children under the age of 14. With September being National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Strata made a donation to the University of Massachusetts Amherst lacrosse team “Vs. Cancer” campaign, benefitting the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. We were able to help one of our summer interns and UMass goalie, Dominic Elmo, exceed his personal fundraising goal of $300. The proceeds for this fundraiser will be used to support families in local children’s hospitals as well as fund life-saving pediatric brain tumor research. Thanks to Dominic and the entire UMass Lacrosse team for taking a stand against childhood cancer!
August 2021
For our August community service initiative, Hannah and Kyle volunteered as “book sorters” at the United Way of Greater Lorain County. Books are one of the four items collected as part of the United Way’s Collect-Sort-Deliver impact initiative. Books are donated by community members, local businesses, and corporate partners who hold collections. Then the books are sorted, quality checked, and inventoried by volunteers and are made available to the community through the United Way’s collaborative partners, Little Free Libraries, and literacy kits for children. Hannah and Kyle were excited to get out of the office early on a Friday, but even more excited to help get books in the hands of children throughout the community!
July 2021
We put our community service initiative on hold for July as we prepared for our inaugural Strata Family Day. Team members and their families met at Rocky River Reservation and enjoyed an all-day picnic filled with plenty of food, games, and water balloons.
We couldn’t help ourselves, we also cleaned up some trash around the park in between cornhole and Spike Ball games.
A big congratulations goes out to Lynnae and Devan for winning the water balloon toss!
From our family to yours, we hope you are enjoying your summer and THANK YOU for being a part of our Strata Family.
June 2021
For Strata’s June community service initiative, Kyle and Mitch volunteered as route marshals for the “Race for Kids,” a 5K race and 1-mile walk benefitting Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio. The race took place on Saturday, June 26th at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Baker Mayfield was the (virtual) race ambassador and one lucky participant won a Browns jersey signed by Baker himself. All proceeds will go towards helping to provide safe, fun places for kids, ages 6-18, to go after school throughout Northeast Ohio.
Boys & Girls Clubs are able to offer programming that focuses on healthy lifestyles, academic success, and character development:
- Over 367,865 meals are served to kids in Northeast Ohio every year.
- 91% of Club Members graduate on time.
- 54% of alumni said the Boys & Girls Clubs “saved my life.”
Strata Financial Group is proud to support such an impactful and influential organization in our community.
May 2021
Now that it is finally summer, some Strata team members were able to get outside and participate in the 12th annual “2FGR Run for Down Syndrome,” benefitting the Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio (DSACO). DSACO’s mission is to support families, promote community, and encourage a lifetime of opportunities for people with down syndrome. The event was once again “virtual” this year, allowing the Sheffield Village office to participate in the Dublin, OH-based 5K race in their own communities. Thanks to Strata for sponsoring the runners and for supporting the Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio.
April 2021
For Strata’s April community service initiative, we donated to the Blessing House “Be Part of the Heart” Campaign. Blessing House is a shelter located in Lorain that helps families who are in crisis by providing shelter for children and support for their families. There is a constant waiting list for the shelter, sometimes reaching up to 50 children.
The “Be Part of the Heart” campaign is raising money to build a new facility that will expand the capacity by 3x, allowing Blessing House to help all children who need it. Strata is proud to support such an impactful organization and we are excited to see the positive effect this new facility will have on our community!
March 2021
April is Financial Literacy Month, a time to help Americans get educated on their finances so as to avoid making costly mistakes. In preparation for this very important month (in our eyes at least), one of our advisors, Mitchell Romeo, partnered with Goodwill of Lorain County to host a 4-part Financial Literacy presentation series for the local community to attend throughout March. Mitchell presented a number of financial topics to help educate and prepare community members for tax season and beyond. These topics included:
- Budgets: Building a Budget for You, Your Family, or Your Business
- Credit: Understanding, Building, Obtaining, and Reviewing History
- Tax Season: Gather Your Documents, Understand Your Filing Options, and Review Keeping Adequate Records
- Investments: Understanding Empoloyment Retirement Plans and Additional Personal Options
18 people attended the classes including multiple Goodwill employees. A big THANK YOU goes out to Mitchell for volunteering his time and making a difference in our local community.
February 2021
This February marked the second anniversary of the passing of our dear friend, Rino Romeo. As a founding partner and co-owner of Strata Financial Group, he played an instrumental role in shaping the company that we are today. Throughout his career, Rino’s unmatched work ethic and calming demeanor helped so many of his clients reach their financial and retirement goals. His legacy will forever be a part of Strata Financial Group as we continue to grow and expand. Rino literally changed peoples’ lives and that is what we are striving to do every single day in his honor.
Rino loved basketball, watching college football, traveling, fitness, and living a healthy lifestyle. He is survived by his wife of 10 years, Amanda (nee Tromczynski); parents, Fred and Iolanda Romeo; brothers, Carlo (Beth) Romeo, of Avon, and Dr. Fred Romeo, of Columbus; sister-in-law, Maria (Tim) Yurick; nephew, Mitchell Romeo; nieces, Cecile Romeo, Kelly and Amber Yurick; and his beloved dogs, Gia and Renzo.
In loving memory of Rino, Strata has made a donation to St. Peter Parish in Lorain to help with the repair and renovations of the vaulted ceiling in the sanctuary/nave.
January 2021
Strata kicked off the new year by volunteering with the Lorain County Office on Aging (LCOOA) to deliver meals to local seniors in the community. The LCOOA delivers meals on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to local seniors in need, specifically those that lack reliable transportation. During the pandemic, this service has been especially important for older residents as it allows them to stay home and avoid contact with other people. There are a total of 133 senior citizens that receive meals on a weekly basis throughout Sheffield Lake, Sheffield Village, Avon, and Avon Lake. Employees and volunteers prepare the meals at the Joyce E. Hanks Community Center in Sheffield Lake, which serves as the “command center” for the meal deliveries. Kyle helped out on a Friday in January and delivered 23 meals to 10 seniors in Avon Lake. A big thank you to the LCOOA and all the volunteers that provide this vital service to the elderly in our community.