Toledo Free Thanksgiving Meals--2015

The listing is (finally) up, and here it is. 

If your hometown has a 211, try calling, for look up the listings of "Thanksgiving meals." 

Tracking Down Free School Supplies in Toledo, 2015

It's that time of year, when people in need of school supplies for their kids but short on cash look for programs. The problem is that some programs are pretty sporadic or one-time. Worst of all, if you Google it (which is probably how you ended up here), you will get old stories from the local online newspaper, with a current date at the top! What to do?

You can call your local church or Salvation Army office to see if they know of a church or charity that is running a school supply program. Better yet, try your local 211 number or website.  If you can, search under "free school supplies" it's a United Way subject heading--and you will find a listing of organizations known to UW as givers in this particular field. For instance, I did this in the Toledo 211 website, and it lead to this link.  Or, if you are in Detroit or southeast Michigan, try Julie's List's rundown on free/cheap supplies, including computers.

More Stuff on Christmas Gifts for Needy in Northwest Ohio, Monroe County

The Toledo Blade had a roundup of Christmas assistance programs for the Toledo area.   In Toledo, the Salvation Army will be taking applications from 9 a.m. till 11 a.m. and from 1 p.m. till 3 p.m. all this week for a food box and toys. This is the last week!  It will be at their offices on 620 N. Erie in Toledo.

In Monroe County, the Salvatation Army will take applications through November 23 at the Monroe office 815 E. First Street, (734-241-0440) and their Temperance office at 7200 Lewis Avenue (734-241-7182).  In Bowling Green, the Salvation Army will begin taking applications on October 31st at 1045 N. Main from 9 a.m. to noon, and 1 p.m. 4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.  For more information and possible sign-ups, call 211, the human services emergency number at United Way. 

Communities and Their Promise to Educate Their Kids

Several cities now offer public school graduates in their community the chance to attend college without the burden of tuition or debt.  One of the pioneers is Kalamazoo,Michigan.  Starting in 2005, kids who attended Kalamazoo Public Schools could get tuition paid for 65-100% of costs to Michigan public colleges and universities, depending on how long (one to thirteen years) that they attended Kalamazoo Public Schools, regardless of GPS.  It’s funded entirely by private donations.

Now the city of Detroit is following suit.  In 2009, it was first offered to graduates of Cody High School, and expanded the following year to graduates of Cass Tech, Central, Cody, Douglass, Pershing and Trombly High Schools.  For the classes of 2011-2014, it has been extended to all graduates.  Seniors must apply early in their senior year.

In Toledo, the UT Guarantee holds the offer of tuition guarantees at the University of Toledo for all Toledo Public School graduates who are Pell-grant eligible and have GPA of 3.0 or better.  Recently, the university extended that offer to public school students across Ohio and in Monroe County, Michigan, just north of Toledo. 

Universities and communities in other parts of the country have such programs, too.  Georgia Tech has the G Wayne Clough Promise Program, in which incoming freshmen from anywhere in Georgia can receive aid from the scholarship program and other sources to create a debt-free scholarship to attend that school.

In Denver, the Denver Scholarship Foundation has a program for Denver High School students who have attended the schools for the last 3 consecutive years, have at least a 2.0 GPA, and demonstrated financial need.  In Long Beach, California, a partnership between that school district, Long Beach Community College and California State University has resulted in, among other things, a free first year attendance for Long Beach High School grads at LBCC for their first year.