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Summit County Children Services School Supplies Program Receives Support from ‘Youngest Donor Ever’

maya-and-school-supplies-2Maya Burke

 

Little Maya Burke may not even be one year old yet, but she’s already made a grown-up impact on the lives of many children in the care of Summit County Children Services.

To celebrate their recent adoption of Maya through Summit County Children Services, her parents Amanda and Vanessa Burke decided to have a party for family and friends to meet and celebrate Maya. They called it Maya’s ‘Gotcha Day.’  And instead of toys for Maya, they asked their guests to bring school supplies – which would be donated to Children Services’ annual School Supplies Program which helps hundreds of children in agency care get a solid start to the new school year.

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September 9, 2016
Health

YMCA offers Free Memberships for Drug Court Diversion Participants

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Y-STRONG Helps Accompany Alternative Sentences through Summit County Courts

— The Akron Area YMCA announces “Y-STRONG” – a program developed to assist defendants battling addiction.

The program was the result of the YMCA’s collaboration with Judge Thomas A. Teodosio and Judge Joy Malek Oldfield, who preside over two Summit County drug courts.

“Y-STRONG” is a three-month complimentary YMCA membership available for participants of Summit County Common Pleas Court’s Turning Point Program and the Akron Municipal Court’s Recovery Court who have maintained six months of sobriety and are exhibiting positive life-style changes.

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August 19, 2016
Education

Education for Akron’s Bhutanese Refugees Part 3

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Story by Tom Crain

Education beyond K-12

Educational requirements for Summit County refugees 18 years and older are serviced through Project Learn, an organization spearheading the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) instruction. Project Learn is part of Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) through the state of Ohio and is funded by the Ohio Board of Regents. It also receives support from United Way of Summit County, GAR and Akron Community Foundation.

Project Learn partners with local refugee resettlement organizations, including International Institute of Akron (IIA), Asian Services in Action (ASIA) and World Relief, to administer classes.  There are 64 different countries represented in Project Learn’s ESOL program, with over 40 languages spoken. At any one time, there are 20 classes held at various sites throughout the county, with a current enrollment of 550 students, many of whom are refugees.

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August 5, 2016