PARTNERS IN EDUCATION LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEER SPEAKERS

Getting young students ready for the future is one of the primary goals of Partners in Education or PIE. Perhaps you could help. PIE is looking to gain more volunteers for its College and Career Ready, Set, Go (CCRSG) program. This program provides quality college and career readiness lessons to various middle schools in order to help students plan for the years that lie ahead of them. More than 30 Toledo area professionals have volunteered their time to help students within the past few weeks. Students are encouraged not only to follow and achieve their goals, but also to become further invested in the Toledo community. For more information, call 419-242-2122 or email volunteer@ partnerstoledo.org.

The Collaborative is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Founded in 1973, this architecture, design and planning firm has operated for five decades out of Toledo and Ann Arbor, establishing itself as a leader in projects involving corporate, civic, education, non-profit and health and wellness. NW Ohio residents may recognize The Collaborative’s work in structures like the Fifth Third Field Mud Hens Stadium, Imagination Station’s KeyBank Discovery Theater and the Huntington Center Arena. The staff is proud to continue its legacy of collaboration with clients and communities.

The Greater Toledo Community Foundation and The Blade announced the 12th annual NW Ohio Nonprofit Excellence Award winners. These awards, presented in partnership with The Center for Nonprofit Resources, The Andersons, Waterford Bank, Buckeye Broadband and WTVG-13abc, recognize local nonprofit organizations that are going above and beyond with their work in the community. Connecting Kids to Meals won the Excellence in Collaborative Programming category; Children’s Theatre Workshop of Toledo won the Excellence in Strategic Action category; and Adopt America Network won the Excellence in Organizational Operations category. These organizations will also receive grant funding in addition to the awards.

Destination Toledo has been honored with a coveted State Tourism Achievement Recognition (STAR) Award. These annual awards are given by The Ohio Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus to recognize those Convention and Visitor Bureaus that are doing innovative, creative, and effective work to impact travel and tourism marketing and advertising. Destination Toledo was recognized for its marketing excellence, winning first place in Specialty Marketing for the 2022 Partner Newsletter distributed monthly to partners and stakeholders via email. According to the Office of TourismOhio, Lucas County’s tourism brought in $1.5 billion in direct visitor spending, $630 million in wages and $361 million in taxes.

If you’d like to have a new friend, of the canine kind, to hang with for a day at the park or in your backyard or home, here’s your chance. Lucas County Canine Care & Control is expanding its Dogs on the Town program, allowing people to take dogs from the Canine Care Center on day trips around the community. On the day of the trip, participants will be given business cards for their dog in case there are any interested adoptive families. Anyone interested in volunteering must be 18 or older. For more information, visit lucascountydogs.com or call 419-213-2800.

For those who love jazz, the vibes are good at The Bay Restaurant & Nightclub at the Docks at International Park on Wednesday nights. Their special “Wine Down Wednesday” features new jazz artists each week. On Wednesday, April 12 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The Bay offers a stellar combination of wine and jazz music. Student tickets are $7, cover is $10, reserved seating $15, and the dinner and wine for two deal is $75. For more information, visit The Bay Restaurant & Nightclub on Facebook, the Wine Down Wednesday event page on Eventbrite or call 419-464-0299.

Need some new summer reading material? The Friends of the Library Used Book Sale may be a good place to start looking for that special book. The sale gets underway Thursday April 13th at the Toledo Lucas County Library’s Friend of the Library Book Center at 1301 N Reynolds Road, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The library has gently-used, well-loved books for just $1 and the proceeds will go to help support library programs. The sale continues Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit toledolibrary.org or call 419-259-5455.