Lou Vida was a resident of Lorain County his whole life and worked as an engineer at Lorain Products for 30 years.  Lou proudly served in the United States Marine Corp during the Korean War.

Lou believed in supporting his community.  He volunteered with Lifeline at Mercy Regional Hospital in Lorain and volunteered at St. Joseph Catholic Church, helping with electrical work.

Lou enjoyed woodworking and reading.  He was a compassionate, caring man with a generous quiet spirit.

We would like to recognize a donation made in Lou’s honor to Blessing House by his family.  A $60,000 donation has been made to Blessing House to start a fund to help build a bigger house to be able to take care of more of the children who need a safe place to stay when their family needs help.

We are blessed to receive this generous donation and are most thankful to his family for honoring him in this way.

The Nord Family Foundation 

The Mission of The Nord Family Foundation: The Nord Family Foundation, in the tradition of its founders, Walter and Virginia Nord, endeavors to build community through support of projects that bring opportunity to the disadvantaged, strengthen the bond of families, and improve the quality of people’s lives.

The Nord Family Foundation has provided financial support for us since Blessing House was just beginning as an idea.  They have also provided encouragement and ideas, sharing their insights to help us do the best and be the best that we can.

We are most grateful for their continued support and their willingness to collaboratively work with others, truly fulfilling the vision of Walter and Virginia Nord as they improve the quality of people’s lives in our community.

Thank you for your recent grant of $60,000 that will be used in operations to support our children and families.
 

The Community Foundation of Lorain County 

The Community Foundation of Lorain County has supported Blessing House from the beginning.  We are blessed to be able to continue to receive financial assistance from the Foundation that enables us to provide care for our children and support for our families.  Thank you for your recent grant of $55,000 that includes funding that will be used to help provide healthy meals using non GMO products.  

We would also like to thank Brian Frederick for his many years of service to our community.  He helped us in so many ways and we are thankful for all that he has done for the Foundation and for us.

We would also like to congratulate Cindy Andrews, the new Executive Director of the Community Foundation.  Cindy brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm that will help Community Foundation continue to be an agent of change in our community.

"Connecting People Who Care with Causes That Matter."

 The Alyce J. and Ann J. Metka Foundation

The Alyce J. and Ann J. Metka Foundation gave Blessing House our first grant back in 2003.  The foundation set up by these two sisters has faithfully supported our program and we are most grateful for the grant of $24,000 given to Blessing House.

The Nordson Corporation Foundation

The Nordson Corporation Foundation has been involved in our community since 1952, helping others with the goal of improving the quality of life.  The Foundation as well as Nordson Corporation have provided financial support to Blessing House through grants, matching employee donations and event sponsorship.  They have also provided employees to help as volunteers sorting clothes, working in the yard, preparing meals, making blankets, doing special projects (Project Night Night) and fixing bikes.

Our Nordson Family of Friends has been instrumental in providing leadership, encouragement and knowledge for our program that has allowed us to prosper and grow.  We are thankful for all you have done for us.
 

 The Norton Family Foundation

Every year there seems to be a different need that arises where there is a shortage of funds to meet it.  Ben and Jane Norton and the Norton Family Foundation have been a wonderful resource for these types of needs. They have helped us fill the gap when we needed funding for strategic planning, a new storage shed and help to fill the gap when our state funding was cut.

We appreciate the Norton family’s willingness to help out in these situations.  We also appreciate Brenda Norton’s service and leadership as she served on our board for 10 years and has worked on our Rock-a-Bye Ball since its inception.  She has been a co-chair for the last several years and is still very committed to helping our children and families.

Thank you Ben, Jane and the Norton Family.  We appreciate your support.
 

Sisters of Humility of Mary  

The Sisters of Humility of Mary are dedicated to bringing more abundant life to God’s people, especially to those who are poor, by announcing the liberating message of the gospel and by the witness of our lives.

The Sisters of Humility of Mary have had a strong presence in Lorain County tracing back to their initial involvement at St. Joseph Hospital in the early 1900s.  The HM community continues to support ministries that serve the poor and marginalized, especially women and children, in our community.

We are grateful for the grant of $10,000 and the ongoing support received from the Sisters of Humility of Mary community.  This grant helps us provide the services our women and children need and allows us to help fulfill their mission by bringing more abundant life to the marginalized.
 

The Giant Eagle Foundation

We would like to thank the trustees of The Giant Eagle Foundation for your gift to Blessing House to help provide food for our children. Your $3,000 grant helps us supply the fresh produce and other groceries we need to provide healthy, well balanced meals for our children. We appreciate your ongoing support and concern for our children.

The Vincent J. Stark Foundation

We would like to recognize the Vincent J. Stark Foundation for the financial support given to Blessing House.

The Vincent J. Stark Foundation was established in 2014 as the bequest of lithographer and painter Vincent Stark, a lifelong resident of Northeast Ohio, and veteran of World War II who participated in the Normandy invasion.
The Foundation supports organizations providing healthcare and economic relief to the poor and disadvantaged, and promotes education in the areas of academic achievement, civic improvement, or arts and cultural benefits to Cuyahoga County and surrounding counties.

The trustees of the Vincent J. Stark Foundation have supported our operations during the current fiscal year with a $15,000 grant as well as a $5,000 donation to our Building Fund.  

We are most appreciative for the current and past support of the Foundation and the gifts to our children through the legacy of this generous man. 








 

The Northwest Foundation

Thank you Northwest Bank and The Northwest Foundation for the grant of $5,000 to support the children and families of Blessing House.

Northwest has supported Blessing House ever since we opened.  Thank you Kevin Nelson and friends from Northwest!

The USG Foundation

We enjoyed the visit from Greg Stratton, Matt Montgomery, Karen Vidovic and Jim Pluta.  The grant was made to Blessing House in honor of USG employee, Jim Pluta who has been a loyal and devoted volunteer at Blessing House.

The Huntington Foundation 

Thank you for putting on our Valentine's Day Party where our children and families were able to have fun, share stories, play games and receive generous gifts.  We appreciate all of your hard work and willingness to support our children.

Thank you to The Women's Fund through Community Foundation of Lorain County for providing the funding for this event.

Thank you to Sacred Heart Chapel in Lorain for hosting us.

$5,000

Bay Mechanical & Electrical Group

Nordson Corporation

Ross Environmental Services, Inc.

$2,500

Equity Trust Company

Mercy Health

 Dan and Mary Jo Sustar(Procurement Party Sponsor)

$1,500

George M. Bescak, D.O. Inc.

UH Elyria Medical Center

Wickens, Herzer, Panza, Cook & Batista, Inc.

$1,250

Tom’s Country Place

$1,000

Armor Background Screeners

 Buckeye Community Bank

Cleveland Clinic  -  Avon

Hinkley Lighting

Howard Hanna - Karen Kirk

In Memory of Hayden Nelson

KeyBank

LCCC Foundation

Mike Bass Ford, Mazda

Northwest

Old Republic Title

Patsie and Jenee’ Campana Foundation

PolyOne Corporation

Ralph Hanes

Special Thanks To those who helped support the 13th Annual Rock-A-Bye Ball

Jon & Cindy Cromling

Jared & Molly Lucas

Ben & Brenda Norton

Mike & Lisa Zidar

Dan & Mary Jo Sustar

Rob & Katarina Levit –Levit Jewelers

Theresia Oreskovic – Peter & Co. Jewelers

Kevin Fuge – Off Broadway Floral & Gift

Bill Hricovec – Tom’s Country Place

SoundProof Entertainment

Jim & Betty Rowe

Bill & Joy Gallagher

SuperPrinter

Carolyn Emerine

Carla Kaucheck Graphic Design

Design Associates – Don Borger

Joe Schneeberger, Auctioneer