The children of Beatitude House will operate a lemonade stand from 4:30 pm until 6:30 pm on Tuesday July 7 and Friday July 10 at the corner of Lora Avenue and Fifth Avenue on the north side of Youngstown.  All proceeds from the sale will be donated to a local charity. 

Last year the group raised over $180.00 for the Kaluza Family Fund.  Joe Kaluza was injured in an attempted robbery. “They had such a good time last year and they asked if we could have a stand this year,” said Katie Guerrero, child advocate for Beatitude House.   Projects like this help teach the children the importance of helping others in the community.  

Although the group hasn’t decided on a charity yet, they decided they definitely want to help children in need. “The children are very excited to operate the stand and have set a goal to raise even more money this year,” said Katie.  The children would appreciate the support of the community in their efforts to help those in need.  For 25 cents you can purchase a cold refreshing glass of lemonade and help these children reach their goal!

The Potter’s Wheel is proud to announce three women received their General Equivalency Diplomas on Thursday June 18, 2009.   Alma Clark entered the program in June 2008.  She plans to attend Youngstown State University in August to study social work.  Since coming to The Potter’s Wheel she has also secured a better housing environment for herself and her three children.

Mary Harris came to The Potter’s Wheel in September 2008 and also has plans to attend YSU in August.  She recently became a published poet when her piece title “Life” was selected for publication by the Ohio Writers Conference.

Cassandra McCullough sought the services of The Potter’s Wheel in January 2009, she was able to complete her GED in six months.  She is expecting her third child in October.

Beatitude House has received a $2,500 grant from The Youngstown/Mahoning Valley United Way to fund summer camp attendance for the children served by Beatitude House programs.  This is the second year United Way has provided this opportunity for the disadvantaged children living at Beatitude House.

Currently children are attending LEAP camp in Villa Marie, PA.  This three week long day camp provides interactive activities emphasizing Leadership, Education, Arts and Play.  Promise Peace is the primary theme of LEAP camp, where participants learn to get along with one another and handle conflict in a positive way. A new emphasis on multicultural appreciation brings trained leaders to work with the children through games and awareness activities.

Potter’s Wheel client, Mary Harris was chosen to have an original work published in Beginnings XII, a publication of adult student writing of the Ohio Writer’s Conference of the Ohio Literacy Resource Center. 

Mary’s poem was one of seventy –two chosen from the nearly five hundred submitted.  In her biography Mary wrote: "I am a single mom of three children and had a stressful and depressed like in my past.  Now I’m looking forward to being a successful person and having a better life in the future for my children." 

 Below is Mary’s poem.

LIFE

Life is full of twists and turns,

Some hard-aches and pains,

From which we learn.

Sometimes it might be hard and seem unfair,

But the one thing we know is that God is there.

You may not be able to see him,

Touch him, or stare,

But the one thing we know is that God is there.

Without a shadow of a doubt, I know this is true,

Because I’ve had hard times and

He’s brought me through!

I always kept the faith and never gave up.

I just kept on moving and didn’t get stuck.

So if you still have doubts and just don’t believe,

Just say a small prayer and then proceed.

The social enterprise venture team completed their workshop series by presenting the Beatitude House Green Clean idea to a panel of four individuals from the business community.  The group read over the business plan, presented the idea, went through a question and answer session and received feedback on the proposal. 

"Overall the presentation went well," said team member Kelly Elko.  The team is on scheduled to launch the business this September.  Currently they are focusing on creating a logo, business cards and looking into different areas to advertise.

Nicole says of her progress and accomplishments, “You have to know there is something better out there.  You have to take one day at a time.”  Congratulations Nicole – we wish you the best of luck!

Congratulations to Austin Hoschar who recently graduated from preschool.  Austin, his mother and sisters came to Beatitude House in 2006. Since that time the family has completed the Beatitude House transitional housing program.

Congratulations Austin and Best of Luck in the Fall!

Students in Mark Melnek’s class at the Odyssey School of Possibilities, an alternative school within the Youngstown City School district, ended the school year by donating $500 to Beatitude House.

As part of a year long project “Giving Back to the Community” the students sold popcorn and cookies weekly to raise money for local charities. In addition to the donation to Beatitude House, students have made donations to Toys for Tots, the Mahoning Valley Second Harvest Food Bank, as well as contributing to off-set the funeral expenses of an Odyssey student who passed away during the school year. 

Keith Griffin, educational assistant and Michael Flood, assistant principal assisted with the project. The trio explained this was the first year for the project which they are planning to continue next school year.  “We are working to teach students the importance of giving to their community,” said Melnek

The children of Beatitude House received a special delivery - diapers. Not just a single box of diapers, 20 boxes! A total of 2,240 diapers were delivered by the Trauma Services Department at St. Elizabeth Health Center.

M. Ben Melnykovich, RN was the weekly guest speaker at Beatitude House earlier this year. He learned of the need for diapers and suggested the group from St. Elizabeth use funds from their annual golf outing to purchase items needed for the homeless women and children at Beatitude House.

In addition to diapers Trauma Services purchased several boxes of baby wipes, bike helmets, laundry detergent and over the counter medicine.