Middletown Magazine February 2021

MAGAZINE

FEBRUARY 2021

SPARC HOPE

Middletown-Based Nonprofit Provides Resources to Single Parents in Need

DIFFERENCE MAKERS SOS Provides Health and Hope to the Sick and Hopeless DIGGING DEEP Corn Island Archaeology Discovers History in Kentucky

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Teaching Restoration: Middletown shop assists others in bringing new life to old furniture

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B u sin e ss S p otlig h t: S MI Au tomotive S e rvi ces

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Diffe re n ce Make r s: S OS Provid e s H e alth and H op e to th e S ick an d H op e le ss

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SPARC Hope: Middletown-Based Nonprofit Provides Resources to Single Parents in Need

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Cheryl Susemichel

TEACHING RESTORATION MIDDLETOWN SHOP ASSISTS OTHERS IN BRINGING NEW LIFE TO OLD FURNITURE

Writer / Jamie Hergott Photography Provided

Cheryl Susemichel loves to breathe life, color and vibrancy into whatever she can, whether it’s a garden or old furniture. Her shop, Secret Garden, offers a host of items such as home decor, thoughtful gifts, high-quality garden tools, and other garden items. Some may not know that Susemichel is a trained Fusion Mineral Paint retailer and hosts classes on repurposing old furniture by using a fresh coat of Fusion Mineral Paint.

This class is the most popular class she offers, and it’s called “Bring Your Own Piece.” The concept is simple - attendees choose a piece from home they can bring.

Students have to be able to carry the piece into the shop all by themselves without a dolly. There is only so much room and time, and Susemichel wants to be sure she can be thorough. They also have to purchase their paint from her.

“People are able to bring in a piece of furniture a family member gave them that’s old and outdated, or even ugly,” Susemichel says. “They don’t like it and they hide it in a basement or spare room. They are able to bring it to Secret Garden and transform it into something they love, and can now enjoy it with their main decor in their home.”

The class is popular and fills up very quickly.

Each class consists of around six people (due to COVID restrictions), lasts a couple of hours, and covers a wide swath of ground when it comes to repurposing furniture. The first step is to identify what the pieces are made of, such as wood, veneer or laminate.

This step is important so that pieces can be prepped appropriately for painting.

“Then we talk about the paint,” Susemichel says. “Fusion mineral paint is a perfect fit for my store and my lifestyle. It’s nontoxic, lead-free, virtually odorless, and contains no volatile organic compounds. It also does not contain ammonia, formaldehyde, mercury

or heavy metals. It’s naturally UV-protected because it’s made with minerals from the earth, and comes in 50 beautiful colors.”

Susemichel, who is currently a retailer for the paint, says the paint is ideal for the shop.

“People who love to garden and people who love to fix up their house are generally interested in chemical-free options,” she says. “It comes in beautiful colors. It can be used indoors without the worry of ventilation. It’s that safe.”

The paint can only be purchased from a Fusion merchant and is not sold at big-box stores. Secret Garden offers the full line of Fusion Mineral Paint in the store, and also on the Secret Garden website.

Susemichel had one customer who was asthmatic and had quit painting several years ago because it would send her into an asthmatic attack. She took a class, wanting to try the Fusion Mineral Paint, knowing

6 / MIDDLETOWN MAGAZINE / FEBRUARY 2021 / atMiddletown.com

Before

she’d leave if the paint started to bother her.

people literally thousands of dollars.”

Susemichel had one customer who had received a quote to have her kitchen cabinets repainted. The quote came back at $5,300. The customer decided to take The paint has a built-in topcoat. Once pieces Susemichel’s class and do her cabinets are painted, they dry quickly but need three herself. This customer did two coats of Fusion paint on her kitchen, and only used weeks to cure. After that, pieces are water 2.5 pints of paint at $19.99 per pint. Each resistant. They can be outside or have a sweating glass put right on top, and it won’t pint covers approximately 75 square feet. hurt the newly refurbished piece.

“She was the happiest person in the world,” Susemichel says with a laugh. “She took all The paint is good for more than small pieces of furniture. It can be used for nearly anything that money she didn’t spend on her kitchen, - outside furniture, larger inside pieces, or even and she spent it on a vacation. You can take one class from me, go home, and paint the ever-changing color of kitchen cabinets. anything and everything you want.”

In fact, Susemichel also offers a class called “Painting Kitchen Cabinets.”

Susemichel also teaches a “Finishing Techniques” class. This is where she “I ask that they bring in a door from their bathroom vanity or the kitchen,” Susemichel demonstrates different finishing techniques says. “I show them how to properly paint the to embellish furniture such as staining, piece so they can then go home and do their glazing, distressing, transfers, stenciling and entire bathroom or kitchen properly. It saves embossing.

“It did not bother her at all,” Susemichel says. “Now she buys old pieces, paints them and sells them. She has her hobby back.”

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Several professionals use Fusion Mineral Paint as well, including several vendors at local antique malls.

For this particular class, attendees don’t need to bring anything at all. Susemichel provides small boards for people to practice different techniques.

“Many that attend that class have already come to my other classes and painted some furniture,” she says. “Then after learning some finishing techniques, they go home and add details to those pieces.”

Several people have taken classes at Secret Garden and turned their hobby into a career.

One example is Lauren Hellmann. She was recently able to quit her job to paint full time.

It all started with a class at Secret Garden.

Susemichel’s “Transfer Class” is similar, yet attendees create a piece in class and get to take it home. In this paid class, she shows attendees how to make a lazy Susan or a serving tray with handles. Pieces can even be personalized with names and dates, and she says they make perfect wedding gifts.

Susemichel loves using her shop to give others the tools to create. She’s loved gardening since she was a little girl, and feels it’s important to garden even in a small yard. That’s why she also teaches gardening classes, including topics like planting herbs, how to transplant and care for house plants, how to find out what plants need, and how to prune the roots of a plant.

needed good tools to use to be successful at gardening. Life began in a garden, and it’s something that’s very therapeutic. When you’re in the garden, nobody bothers you.

It’s time by yourself.”

Similarly, Susemichel sees painting as another form of creativity and therapy, which is why she teaches the painting classes at her shop. She’s convinced the process of taking something ugly and making it beautiful is good for the soul.

“It’s important to have the right tools and the right products for painting, just like gardening,” Susemichel says. “Those things make painting and gardening easier. When people are feeling depressed, they go paint or they garden. Then they’re happy.”

Secret Garden is located at 12621 Shelbyville Road, Suite 24B in Louisville. For more “It’s extremely important for people to teach information and class schedules, call 502-245-4567 or visit secretgardenshop.com. children how food is grown,” Susemichel says. “I started this shop because people

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SMI Automotive Service 280 N. Hubbards Lane Louisville, KY 502-806-8647

For starters, he purchased the place right before COVID-19 hit.

“I closed on the deal on Friday, March 20,” Hart says. “I was opening as the new owner on Monday, March 23, and that Sunday night the governor began closing businesses. Talk about a scary feeling.”

Being in the automotive industry, SMI was considered essential so they never had to close. Nevertheless, money was tight for a couple of months. By June and July, however, business was taking off again. Most of their business is built around German imports like Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Volkswagen, though they also work on Asian models like Toyota and Mazda as well as domestic models.

They do not work on exotics such as Lamborghini, Ferrari and Bentley.

Owner Kenny Hart Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided

rest of my life doing cold calls to clients regarding investment advice,” Hart says.

Kenny Hart was 55 years old when his previous employer at SMI Automotive contacted him to announce his plans for retirement. He wanted to know if Hart was interested in buying the shop. The business had been around since 1969, and the owner knew after previously employing him that SMI would remain in good hands with Hart.

He started out in tire stores in college, then moved on to dealerships, then independent stores. Now he owns the largest independent repair shop in the state of Kentucky, which includes 29 service bays. The previous owner managed two body shops, a marine center and a service center. Hart elected to focus solely on the service center, which has re-energized his employees now that there are fewer irons in the fire.

“I know you’ll take good care of my people,” the previous owner had said. That mattered a great deal to him because his employees were loyal - many of whom had been with SMI for 35 years. Hart, who originally went to school to become a financial advisor, found that working in the automotive industry was more to his liking.

“I just couldn’t see myself spending the

Though Hart initially had reservations about buying a business in his mid-50s, he’s glad he did.

“It’s been a great move for me,” Hart says.

Not that there haven’t been challenges.

FEBRUARY 2021 / 9

“What happens is, I work on, say, a BMW for a mother but then her son or daughter has maybe a Honda, a Mustang or a Chevy, and the family has developed a trust in us so they want to know if they can bring their other car in for service,” Hart says. “We try to do all makes and models.”

Hart has had customers follow him from shop to shop for the past 25 years. That’s because he says that people do business with people. They don’t do business with business.

“We treat them all like they are the most important commodity,” says Hart, who is happy that SMI has customers who have been coming in for four to five decades now. “Having that longevity to feed on and grow from is pretty special. Not a lot of companies have been around that long, especially in this industry.”

Global Health Program Manager Cody Moran

DIFFERENCE MAKERS

SOS PROVIDES HEALTH AND HOPE TO THE SICK AND HOPELESS Writer / Andrew Toy Photography Provided

Many decades ago, Louisville’s medical system was the cause of a big problem, and that problem was waste.

“Perfectly good bandages, cloth operating gowns, towels and sutures were being thrown out,” says Dr. Norton Waterman.

Waterman is the man who, in 1993, along with members of the Greater Louisville Medical Society (GLMS), developed a response to the waste problem, and the response was SOS. “Good instruments were discarded because of recent improvements, regulations or changes in popularity,” he says.

Since then, because of the efforts of Waterman and the good people of GLMS, SOS has kept more than a million pounds of

medical supplies and equipment from being needlessly discarded in our landfills. These items, instead, have delivered health and hope to communities in the United States as well as 105 other countries that lack medical provisions.

It wasn’t until 2010 that SOS became an independent nonprofit organization, a huge leap from operating as a program of the Greater Louisville Medical Society Foundation. Since that landmark occasion, SOS’s presence has grown from Kentucky into neighboring states. Longterm partnerships are being forged in impoverished countries such as Ghana, Ecuador, Kenya and the Philippines.

“SOS directly benefits underserved peoples living in medically impoverished communities at home and abroad, by delivering necessary medical supplies and equipment to health clinics, hospitals and 10 / FEBRUARY 2021

other institutions,” the SOS website states.

“95% of the donated materials SOS receives are donated, repurposed or recycled.”

The supplies that come from SOS match surplus with need. It’s estimated that hospitals in the United States generate nearly six million tons of medical surplus each year, and a large portion of the surplus is made up of unused, or even underused, medical supplies and equipment. Because of SOS, medical supplies that would otherwise be polluting our landfills have been given to communities within these countries, and have provided much health and hope to their inhabitants.

It can’t be made any clearer that SOS’s goal is about everyone working together to create a healthier and hope-filled world. A board of directors serves as the SOS governing body, and the members selflessly serve without payment, so strong is their desire to

see goodness grow throughout our planet.

While SOS ships perfectly good medical equipment across four different continents, 75% of their work is in Africa.

So how does SOS survive as a nonprofit?

Like many nonprofits, they rely on goodhearted people - people who donate, people who volunteer and, of course, friends. SOS’s very small staff of nine is too focused and results-driven to deal with the red tape that can come with governmental assistance.

SOS also strongly relies on the support of numerous companies affiliated with medical supplies on many levels. These partners share SOS’s passion for a clean and healthy environment, and are a big reason why SOS continues to work and stay active.

One of the nine people employed by SOS is Cody Moran, the global health program manager. In 2014 Moran graduated from Western Kentucky University at the age of 27, and immediately started working at Baptist Health as a financial counselor; his

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The other aspect that attracted Moran to the small company was the humanitarian aid that SOS provides. There is no better position for him to be in at the company than global health program manager, where he is in charge of managing the logistics of all the supplies and equipment, like getting “The environmental impact that SOS creates cargo ready to be delivered to the right places around the world. Sometimes the is pretty significant, locally,” Moran states. boxes scale all the way up to 40’, depending “We keep half a million pounds of medical on the supplies, equipment and beds being supplies out of the landfill. Hard plastics shipped. and soft plastics would just be sitting there impacting our creeks, river and waterways.”

What’s even more crucial than that is the delicate task of handling the partnerships It should be pointed out that donating SOS has, from private family foundations all unused medical supplies to help improve the way up to state and federal governments the health of people around the world has within the countries they work with. another side of the coin - by saving that unused or under-used equipment, it is One example of SOS’s impact can be helping to improve the environment in a tremendous way. In 2018 the World Health found in a little clinic in Western Uganda.

SOS’s president and CEO, Denise Sears, Organization estimated that 12.6 million deaths occur each year that are attributed to visited the two-room building in 2017 and determined that they needed help. In unhealthy environments.

January, SOS sent a 40’ container to them, path was always in line with the medical health care field. What piqued his interest in SOS most was the environmental impact, having been raised by farmers in central Kentucky. Naturally, soil and water quality has always been important to him.

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which held hospital beds, delivery beds, incubators, and anything else they would need to start up a neonatal ward. With the aid of SOS’s supplies, the Uganda doctors in that clinic delivered their first baby on Saturday, October 24, 2020.

What about the worldwide pandemic that has affected the world in a not-so-positive way? How has a small company that operates with countries around the world fought against the currents of nationwide shutdowns and worldwide panic? How much impact could a little warehouse, tucked in the back corner of Butchertown in Louisville, Kentucky, possibly make?

It was January of last year when the calls started flooding in from Hong Kong and Shanghai - Chinese doctors pressing SOS for help due to the outbreak that occurred the previous month. SOS sent over shipments, but then February and March hit hard and it became apparent that COVID-19 was going to be a big problem

here in Louisville and throughout our own country.

more than one million dollars of supplies to all of those nearby communities.

The nine employees at SOS took the problem by the horns and were able to have a dramatic impact on the community.

They were braced and ready to go. Even on regular days the staff, from top to bottom, could be found in the warehouse doing the essential work without hesitation or complaint. They knew this was the time to do what they could, and really flex the muscles of their mission and what they believed.

Throughout the high-spike seasons, all of the effort and work they did every day around the warehouse doubled, and it was intense. The community became SOS’s main mission. The thank yous and gratitude they received were beyond value. SOS, because of their good works, received dozens of reports back from all of the facilities that they were able to donate to, about how they couldn’t have operated without the donations SOS had provided for them.

In short, the pandemic was their time to shine and really step up, and all efforts became focused on delivering personal protective items to nursing homes like Treyton Oak Towers and Nazareth Home here in Louisville, as well as other facilities whose leaders found their residents in dire straits. From there, their efforts expanded to southern Indiana, Lexington, Owensboro, and even to Nashville. In all, SOS delivered

SOS was recently nominated for the Louisville Business First Impact Award. It is because of people and companies like SOS that there is still health and hope, not only in our immediate communities, but in the world. Theirs is an impact worth celebrating.

For more information, visit soshealthandhope.org.

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DIGGING DEEP CORN ISLAND ARCHAEOLOGY DISCOVERS HISTORY IN KENTUCKY

“It really captured my attention,” she says.

“The next morning, I got up and cut out that article. I saved it and still have it. From then on, that’s what I was gonna do one day.”

She continued reading and cutting articles from the newspaper, and even subscribed to Archaeology magazine as a kid.

Tim Sullivan, Anne Bader, William Hill and David Schatz Writer / Carrie Vittitoe Photography Provided

If you are a child of the 1980s or had children during the 1980s, when you think of archaeology you may picture Harrison Ford as his film persona Indiana Jones, running to escape a large boulder that is barreling towards him with the goal of crushing him to dust. Archaeology is all about bravado and derring-do, right?

Anne Bader, principal at Corn Island Archaeology LLC, says there is a lot of exciting stuff that happens in archaeology,

but there is also a lot of artifact washing, cataloging and report writing. These sometimes tedious, no-special-effects aspects are the ones George Lucas and Steven Spielberg conveniently left out of their movies.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN When Bader was in the sixth grade and avoiding an early bedtime, she overheard her parents discussing a newspaper article about the discovery of an ancient Sumerian city.

18 / FEBRUARY 2021

In high school, Bader was gently discouraged from pursuing archaeology as a career, not only because she was a girl, but also because it didn’t seem lucrative. In her senior year, Bader was able to take the first anthropology class ever offered at Assumption High School. She went on to pursue anthropology at the University of Louisville for her bachelor’s degree, then took a break to marry and raise her four children. She eventually earned her master’s degree from the University of Kentucky and after working for others, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a time, she became an entrepreneur with Corn Island Archaeology.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME Louisville may not seem nearly as exciting as Egypt, China or Greece when it comes to archaeology, but Bader says the city has just as much to offer in terms of ancient civilizations.

“We have things that may not be quite as dramatic-looking as the pyramids and the [Roman] Colosseum, but we have things that are just as old,” she says. “We have things that go back 12,000 years in this area.”

As required by law, Bader and her team at Corn Island Archaeology are frequently called in on jobs by developers or government agencies when federal money is involved in whatever project is being done. Construction of any kind that involves a permit (such as those involving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) or is on federal land also requires an archaeological assessment.

Over the years, Corn Island Archaeology

has been involved in some interesting local digs. In 2013, the Corn Island staff conducted archaeological excavation at Locust Grove historic site, which provided information on how the land was used when humans were nomadic and how that land use changed when farming began. Since 2017, Bader and her staff have been working a dig site at the 39-acre Beecher Terrace in downtown Louisville. The city’s oldest cemetery was discovered at Beecher Terrace and dates to the 1700s.

Bader says downtown Louisville remains a treasure of archaeological sites, even though most people wouldn’t think this would be the case because people have been living

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“We’re still finding new sites related to the Native American occupation from thousands of years ago that you would never have thought were still there,” Bader says.

“I really wanted to do local work,” she adds, noting that this is due to her love of Jeffersontown, Louisville and the Falls of the Ohio. “I could serve our local community better, cheaper and more effectively by starting my own business.”

Even though her dreams as a kid were to study Easter Island, being married with four children meant she needed to stay close to home.

“My focus was going to be on the Ohio Valley,” she says.

THE TRAITS OF AN ARCHAEOLOGIST Having an open mind is an important factor in being an archaeologist, and an openness to the unexpected is critical. Another important part of the job is digging and getting a feel for what you’re looking for in the ground.

“You need that experience,” Bader says.

“You would be surprised by how many people come out with a master’s degree, get into the field for the first time, and they are lost. They need to take field school and gather experience as they go.”

Being a successful archaeologist also means recognizing that while digging can be fascinating, archaeology also involves a lot of report-writing. Bader says her staff of 24 spends a lot of time in the office washing, cataloging and photographing artifacts, as well as adding information to computer databases and writing reports. Depending

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on the number and types of artifacts discovered at a dig, these reports can be hundreds of pages in length.

Education is another aspect of what successful archaeologists do. Bader says she and members of her staff often give lectures to neighborhoods or historic societies, and also make posters or artifact displays. It can be a challenge to protect sensitive information on dig sites (for fear of looting) while also keeping the knowledge gained from the digs available to the public.

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and his men in 1778 prior to capturing a fort in Illinois.

“There is a great deal of history that we learn,” ADVICE TO YOUNG Bader says. “We try to give reports to public ARCHAEOLOGISTS libraries. This is being paid for by public While Bader jokes that an archaeologist money, so it needs to benefit the public.” may get filthy but they won’t get rich, she does have words of wisdom for young Bader credits her staff with making Corn people who are interested in joining the Island Archaeology successful. profession. Acquiring a postgraduate “I couldn’t do a thing without them,” she says. degree is necessary for being able to sign off on reports and establish oneself as a “I appreciate the people that I’ve got here.” principal in one’s own firm. Getting into excavation sites of all kinds early and ALL IN A NAME often is another plus, as well as having lots As a lover of past cultures, Bader of experience at various levels, from big specifically picked her office site at 10320 firms to small firms to teaching courses Watterson Trail in Louisville because it was at community or state colleges. Finally, the location of a former pottery kiln owned she encourages young black and Native

by Valentine Conrad. The name of her firm, American students to consider archaeology Corn Island, also has important historical as a field of study. relevance to the city of Louisville. Corn Island was originally surveyed in 1773, and “It is apparent to us that we need their was used by General George Rogers Clark voices to be in archaeology to tell the

stories of their people,” she says.

While Bader hasn’t fallen into a pit of snakes like Indiana Jones, she has had some remarkable experiences throughout her career including establishing the Falls of the Ohio Archaeological Society, which brings together professional archaeologists and individuals who always wanted to be archaeologists. She admits that she has dragged her husband to nearly every archaeological site in the southeastern part of the country.

“Sometimes it is an adventure,” she says.

“There’s that romance of faraway places and distant times, and sometimes we get it.

Sometimes we dig 1,800 holes and they’re all empty - boring, boring, boring. Almost 50 years into this, and I still get excited when we find something cool.”

For more info on Corn Island Archaeology, go to ciarchaeology.com.

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Birkhead Co. Heating and Air Conditioning was started in 1947 by Bobby Birkhead’s father. Bobby started working for his dad, and in 1960 he and his wife Mary took over the business. The couple ran the company until they sold it to Jim Ray and his business partner Wade Owen in 2011. Prior to purchasing the business, both Owen and Ray had been working for Birkhead Co. for more than 25 years.

top-notch service,” Wright says. “I appreciate honest and trustworthy companies like theirs.”

That means they won’t try to sell customers things they don’t need, yet they take the time to ensure the correct diagnosis. “[They are] very thorough and

“We’ve had customers who have been with us for 30, 40 and 50 years,” Ray says.

All of their 30-plus employees live by the tenets of honesty and fairness and are eager to serve customers like Mark Wright, who says that he could not have been more pleased when he called Birkhead Co. afterhours last year when his A/C went out.

“Wade answered the phone, took down all my info, and within the hour, a technician showed up, got to work and resolved the problem,” says Wright, who was impressed not only by the company’s efficiency and competence but also with their kind and professional interaction.

“They are a top-notch company with

One of the things Ray is most proud of is the company’s incredible employee retention. Many have been with the company for 15-plus years while a couple have exceeded the 20-year mark.

“They know that if we hire them, they’ve got a job for life if they want it,” Ray says. “We treat our employees like family and they don’t want to go anywhere else.”

“It was a good opportunity to continue the operation, and because Wade and I had been there for so long, it was a seamless transition,” Ray says.

Birkhead Co.’s exceptional customer service sets them apart from their competition and endears loyal customers to return to them, time and again.

“Companies will give him a set of plans and he designs for best usage,” Ray says.

The community certainly appreciates such continuity because that means that when you’re experiencing a heating or air conditioning crisis, you can count on Birkhead Co. determined to solve the issue you’re having with your HVAC,” says Glenda Whitledge, a satisfied customer.

“We’ve been around since 1947 and we will continue to be here,” Ray says. “Remember, you’re always a step ahead with Birkhead.”

Adds Natalie W., “After a terrible experience with another company, I called Birkhead. [Their technician] went above and beyond with kindness and professionalism to make sure our A/C unit was fixed correctly. I will continue to use this company!”

Birkhead Co. Heating and Air Conditioning is located at 1224 Old Fern Valley Road, #100, Louisville, KY. For more information, call 502-367-1212 or visit birkheadco.com.

Birkhead Co. offers both residential and commercial services throughout Louisville and the surrounding area. The oldest Trane dealer in Louisville, they are equipped to offer new air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps and thermostats.

Owen specializes in designing whole heating and air systems for commercial installation.

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PANDEMIC-PROOF VALENTINE’S DAY IDEAS Writer / Abigail Hake Photography Provided

It’s not every year that you have to get really creative for Valentine’s Day. Usually a gift or flowers, followed by a nice meal with no kids (if you have them) and a glass of wine, is just fine and thoroughly enjoyed. This year, however, it’s a little more complicated - but just because things are a bit more complicated doesn’t mean you can’t have a great Valentine’s Day. Here are six pandemic-proof date night ideas for you and yours.

TACKLE A PROJECT

While this isn’t the most romantic thing to do, it does bring you together with your partner to tackle something you’ve been wanting to start (or finish). Maybe it’s something you needed for your home, or something to give to someone else. Either way, you’ll feel good working together and accomplishing something at the end of the night.

COOK TOGETHER

While there are a few cooking stores that are still having classes in person, lots are offering online options. If you feel good enough to head out and want to enjoy a private lesson at a shop, do it. If not, sign up for an online class and give it a go in your own kitchen.

Otherwise, order an oven-ready meal kit that you can make together, with included stepby-step instructions as well as all required ingredients.

BINGE A SERIES

A trusty go-to if you can’t figure out what to do. We suggest something completely new that’s getting rave reviews, or something with lots of nostalgia. You can easily get sucked into the old “Supermarket Sweep,” or something a bit newer like “The Office.”

Perhaps check out “Cobra Kai,” which can be binged in one evening, and has both a new and old feeling to it.

24 / FEBRUARY 2021

LEARN SOMETHING NEW

Yelp has been great during these crazy times for offering info on events with local restaurants and crafters. If you can’t find anything local, YouTube is always a good place to go to learn a new trade. Maybe try DJ spinning lessons or brewing your own beer. Pick something you both want to learn more about, and dive right in.

GO FOR A WALK OR RUN Another simple yet perfect way to spend time together is a walk, or if you are feeling up to it, a run. Use the time to talk about how you hope the new year will go, or just catch up a bit.

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Pastries would be a perfect go-to for this one, but you can probably find a class for just about anything. Macarons or chocolate sound delish, and would be fun to make and take. Art lessons are another great option too.

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If you aren’t feeling that great about going out While times are still a little off, that doesn’t because of COVID, private lessons provide a mean you can’t still make time for each other. Everyone needs a little pick-me-up, great way to get out with minimal contact. and Valentine’s Day might just be the perfect

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CHECK INTO A HOTEL

Lastly, you can always book a room at a local hotel. Maybe try that new boutique hotel you’ve had your eye on, and order room service. Hotels are still open but generally at a much lower capacity, so make sure to book early. Wherever you decide, pick somewhere you can enjoy and treat yourselves a bit.

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SPARC HOPE

Middletown-Based Nonprofit Provides Resources to Single Parents in Need Writer / Noelle Tennis Gulden Photography Provided

SPARC (Single Parent Resource Center) Hope has changed considerably since its founding as Mom’s Closet Resource Center (MCRC) in 2003.

What began as a simple clothes closet to help single mothers dress for job interviews has grown into an organization focused on helping single parents - both mothers and fathers - seek a better quality of life through higher education.

It all started when MCRC Founder Sheila Day responded to a challenge she received from her pastor: Take $100 and change the world.

Day felt that God had placed single mothers on her heart. Her first step was to send letters to 50 people asking them to join her in this challenge by matching her $100. She received $15,000 in response. With that money, Day rented her first space and began serving single mothers through a clothes closet.

Not long after MCRC opened, Day added a food pantry to the clothes closet - but according to current Executive Director Laura Wingfield, Day “began to feel like she was giving a handout instead of a hand up.”

It was then that Day came up with the program that changed the very heart of the organization.

With the creation of the Life Plan program

in 2005, MCRC shifted its focus from handing out clothes and food to providing “support, encouragement and guidance to single parents in the pursuit of identifying life choice options that will enhance their opportunities for career advancement and independence,” according to the SPARC Hope website.

In addition to receiving personal, professional and educational support, Life Plan program participants may also receive help with rent, utilities, water and other needs. They have full access to the food pantry, as well as clothing through the organization’s consignment shop partnerships, household items, discounted car repair and more.

“The goal of our Life Plan program is to walk with these clients throughout their schooling,” says Staci Harrub, program coordinator. “Once they graduate, we walk with them for six more months as they prepare resumes and interview for jobs. Our goal is for them to be self-sufficient at the end of it.”

The Life Plan program is reserved for single parents who have at least 50% custody of their children, work at least 20 hours per week, attend a college, university, trade school or institution of higher education (IHE) accredited by the state of Kentucky or Indiana at least part time with a minimum grade point average of 2.0, and are not cohabitating in a partnered

relationship (e.g., living together but not married).

SPARC Hope serves anywhere from 13 to 17 Life Plan program participants at any given time, though they are looking to double their program capacity. Interested individuals can apply on the SPARC Hope website at sparc-hope.org/need-assistance.

Single parents who don’t qualify for the Life Plan program may access the food pantry once per quarter for one year. Harrub works with these single parents to help them become eligible to apply for the Life Plan program, and she connects them with other resources in the community that best fit their current circumstances.

“I will direct them and resource them out where they can get the things that they need, as well as give them access to visit our pantry every three months for a 12-month period,” Harrub says.

This includes working with parents who want to go to school, but who aren’t currently enrolled in a college, university, trade school or other IHE. “We’re trying to help bridge that gap,” Harrub says.

Local partnerships are crucial to SPARC Hope’s work. They partner with Dare to Care Food Bank to help stock their food pantry, and they partner with several area

28 / MIDDLETOWN MAGAZINE / FEBRUARY 2021 / atMiddletown.com

consignment stores to help provide clients with clothing and household items.

SPARC Hope is also connected with a number of local colleges and universities, and they work closely with Family Scholar House, another nonprofit organization here in Louisville dedicated to helping single parents meet their educational, career and family goals.

“We refer to Family Scholar House, and they refer to us,” Harrub says.

SPARC Hope is currently working with Metro United Way to become part of their United Communities initiative, which their website describes as “a community-wide initiative to deploy an innovative shared technology platform to initiate and close referrals across many organizations.” Learn more at metrounitedway.org/program/ united-community.

Harrub is hopeful that this connection will make it easier for more single parents to find SPARC Hope. She also hopes it will help her more quickly and easily refer single

parents to other resources when necessary.

One other exciting partnership is SPARC Hope’s emerging collaboration with the Kentucky Career Center to provide career coaching to clients. This service is yet another way SPARC Hope will be able to help single parents achieve self-sufficiency.

Given the many changes that have occurred since MCRC was founded in 2003, the organization’s leaders decided to change their name and undergo a rebranding process in 2019. They feel the name SPARC

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graduated from college and gone on to become teachers and lawyers - single parents whose children’s lives have been transformed just as much as, if not more than, their parent’s lives. For SPARC Hope, that’s what it’s all about. As their tagline says, they’re “changing the future of Kentuckiana’s kids, one single parent at a time.”

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