December 2023
For Strata’s December community service initiative, Strata made a donation to Out of Darkness, as part of the 9th annual “Our Hand to Homeless” campaign organized by Anna Rosier. Anna is a Junior 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 1,511 total hats, gloves, scarves, socks, and hygiene items – a new record! These donations were provided to the following organizations:
• Out of Darkness – a battered women’s shelter
• Volunteers of America – supporting veterans
This is the fourth year in a row Strata has been able to contribute to “Our Hand to Homeless.” A huge THANK YOU goes out to Anna and her friends and family for all of their time and effort spent putting this together for such a worthy cause.
November 2023
Thanks to everyone who supported our 4th Annual Strata Financial Group “401(K)anned Food Drive!” Once again, the food drive benefited Goodwill of Lorain County’s Food Pantry, which is open to families in need every 3rd Wednesday of the month from 10:00AM to 12:00PM at 145 Keep Ct. in Elyria, OH. The final count for the food drive was 711 pounds of donations plus $300 in monetary donations! Once again, THANK YOU to each and every one of you who donated and helped make a difference to those in need in our community.
October 2023
Strata hosted our first ever FREE Lorain County Community Document Shredding Event on Saturday October 28th, 2023. The Lorain County Solid Waste Management District parked their document shredding truck in the parking lot of our Sheffield Village office from 9:00AM until noon. Chris and Rex were there to operate the truck and assist people with shredding their documents, while Mitch and Kyle gave out pens and hung out near the breakfast table all morning. Altogether, 22 people stopped by and we were able to shred 1,624 pounds of paper! A huge thanks to the Lorain County Solid Waste Management District and Chris and Rex for making this event possible. And thanks to everyone who came out! We plan to do this again next year and already have a date set for Saturday, October 26th, 2024!
September 2023
For Strata’s September community service initiative, we donated to Audrey’s Army, a fundraising team participating in the Alzheimer’s Association 2023 Walk to End Alzheimer’s held at Lorain County Community College on September 9th, 2023.
Audrey, the mother of a client here at Strata, was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s about fourteen years ago. The disease previously progressed very slowly, but over the last two years, things have changed quickly and the family made the very difficult decision to move her into a memory care facility last summer. Audrey really enjoys the companionship and activities at the facility, and most importantly, she is receiving 24/7 care.
Audrey, along with her family and friends, are fighting to END ALZHEIMER’S. They were able to raise $16,225 for the walk this year, surpassing their goal of $11,000. Altogether, Audrey’s Army has helped raise more than $75,000 over the years to help bring awareness and funds to support Alzheimer's care, support, and research. Audrey’s Army will continue marching until someone holds a white flower at a walk, representing the first cured person.
August 2023
In August, Tony, Mitch, and Kyle, along with Kyle’s uncle (and satisfied Strata client), Darren Wyville, participated in the Karen P. Nakon Breast Cancer Foundation golf outing at Red Tail Golf Club in Avon, OH. Despite the purchase of many mulligans, our Strata Team did not make it onto the leaderboard, however, it was an enjoyable day and a great cause. The Karen P. Nakon Breast Cancer Foundation was established on February 22, 2003, Karen’s 38th birthday and the date of her death, to honor her graceful and courageous five-year battle against breast cancer. Because Karen was concerned about the lack of funding for research and some families’ inability to endure the high cost of treatment, it was Karen’s wish, and therefore the mission, that a foundation be created to help families in financial crisis due to a breast cancer diagnosis. This golf outing has raised over $230,000 over its first 5 years. Thanks to all who helped make it happen this year!
July 2023
For Strata’s July community service initiative, Kyle volunteered with A Dementia Friendly LIFE, a non-profit foundation whose mission is to “partner with anyone touched by dementia, and offer resources, education, and engaging activities which promote and improve quality of LIFE.”
LIFE stands for “Linking Individuals and Families through Education and Engagement.” They do this through Memory Cafés held throughout the week at different churches. Those living with dementia, along with their caregivers, can come and participate in crafts, music, exercise, games, and pet therapy, among many other engaging activities. The caregivers even get some time to sit down together and talk / support each other. Through the help of volunteers and donations by local healthcare facilities, these Memory Cafés are offered for FREE to those affected by dementia in our local communities. Thanks to all the volunteers and sponsors for making these life-enriching programs available.
June 2023
For Strata’s June community service initiative, Kyle and his parents, Jack and Cindy, volunteered as greeters for the “Race for Kids 2023,” a 5K race and 1-mile walk benefitting Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio. The race took place on Saturday, June 24th at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Triston McKenzie, starting pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians, was the race ambassador and spoke to all the participants and volunteers after the race.
This event is the largest fundraising event for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio, which this year raised nearly $140,000. 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.
Strata Financial Group is proud to support such an impactful and influential organization in our community.
May 2023
For Strata’s May community service initiative, Shayla and her husband, Zander, volunteered for Walk MS®: Cleveland, which is an annual fundraising walk put on by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Shayla and Zander worked in the t-shirt distribution tent and handed out t-shirts to participants. There was a great turnout on a beautiful Saturday morning and a total of $231,955 in donations were raised for the event! These funds will fuel groundbreaking research that will get us closer to a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.
Thank you to Shayla and Zander for volunteering their time and to all the other volunteers, participants, and donors.
About 92% of Walk MS participants have a personal connection to MS, so not only is it a key fundraising event each year, but it’s an empowering experience for those living with MS.
If you would like to donate to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a tax-exempt 501(c)3 non-profit organization, please visit their website by clicking HERE.
April 2023
For Strata’s April community service initiative, Mitch and Shayla volunteered for United Way of Greater Lorain County, by delivering books to “Little Free Libraries” across Lorain County.
The Lorain County Little Free Library program is part of a network of 150,000+ Little Free Libraries spanning the entire world. You have probably seen them around town – they are little houses with books in them that you can take and read. When you are finished reading, just return them to any Little Free Library for someone else to enjoy.
It was Mitch and Shayla’s job to check on all ten of United Way of Greater Lorain County’s Little Free Libraries and re-stock them, organize them, and report any damage to the structures.
Thanks to Mitch and Shayla for volunteering their time and to United Way of Greater Lorain County for making sure everyone in our community has access to books!
March 2023
For Strata’s March community service initiative, Kyle volunteered with the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities (CCBDD) as an attendant for a sensory-friendly presentation of “The Gruffalo” at Playhouse Square. “The Gruffalo” is part of the Children's Theater Series presented by University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital. This special sensory-friendly matinee was reserved for guests on the autism spectrum and their families, as well as those with sensory challenges or developmental disabilities. What made this performance sensory-friendly?
- Lower sound levels, especially for startling or loud sounds
- Guests were free to talk, leave their seats and move freely during the performance
- House lights in the theater were left on low throughout the performance
- Designated calming areas were staffed by volunteer specialists in the theater lobby
- Judgment-free environment, welcoming to all
This was a great event for children, families, and groups requiring a sensory-friendly environment, who otherwise would not have been able to attend a live performance like this. The best part for Kyle was seeing the pure joy and wonder on the kids’ faces.
February 2023
In February, Eastview Elementary School in Avon Lake had a “Battle of the Grades” food drive where each grade was assigned certain items to bring in for the week. The grade that brought in the most donations won a Pajama Day at school (congratulations to the kindergartners!). Following the food drive, the donations were dropped off at Community Resource Services (CRS), which serves as the designated emergency food pantry for Avon and Avon Lake.
For Strata’s February community service initiative, Kyle and Shayla volunteered at CRS to help weigh and sort all of the donations from Eastview Elementary’s food drive. A grand total of 991.60 pounds of food, cleaning supplies, and hygiene products were donated! As an added bonus, while Kyle and Shayla were sorting, another donation from Redwood Elementary School came in – another 120.05 pounds! Thanks to all the students, parents, and staff at Eastview and Redwood elementary schools for the donations, and to CRS for providing this crucial service to those in need in our community.
January 2023
Over 50 years ago, President Richard Nixon designated January as National Blood Donor Month. It’s an important month for blood donations because seasonal demand is high in the winter and donations usually take a dip around the holidays due to inclement weather and sickness. Currently, there is a national blood shortage. According to Angel Montes, Donor Services Executive for the Red Cross Northwest Region, “Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood.” Mitch and Kyle answered the call and donated in January. If you would like to donate, you can go to https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive to find a drive near you!