Help to Others Celebrates 20 Years: Benefit Bash Honors H2O’s Service to Community

Help to Others (H2O) celebrates 20 years of service to the Northeast Ohio community with a night of fun, festivities, and philanthropy at the H2O Tributary Bash, Saturday, February 23, 2013, 7 to 11 pm, at the Lake Erie Screw Factory, 13000 Athens Avenue in Lakewood. A special VIP event will take place 5:30 to 7 pm in a smaller, more intimate setting of the Screw Factory.  

Held at the Screw Factory—the coolest venue in town—the party will embody the theme, “Drops of Kindness. Ripples of Change.” and capture H20’s legacy of affecting powerful change by helping others through volunteerism. The main event includes fabulous food and drinks, a live and silent auction, and musical entertainment by Lakewood High School Four Seasons string quartet and DJ Tom Leatherman. Auction items include two round trip airline tickets to anywhere in the U.S., brunch for 10 and tour of the Cavalier’s practice facility Cleveland Clinic Courts, a private airplane ride, four tickets to Warhorse at PlayhouseSquare, and a wine and cheese party on the deck of a beautiful lakefront home. Robin Swoboda of WKYC Channel 3 is the special guest. 

The VIP event features musical entertainment by SLAP Jazz Trio, an open bar featuring a signature drink, beer, and wine, and bountiful hors d’oeuvres. Gregg Korney, executive chef at Georgetown will give a gourmet cooking demonstration. He will be assisted by high school students from Ranger Catering, a culinary program of the West Shore Career-Tech District. 

“Whether it’s raking an elderly resident’s yard, assembling food bags at the Cleveland Food Bank, or collecting school supplies to clean, organize, and redistribute to children in need throughout the Lakewood School District, H20 volunteers make a difference in our community,” says Celia Dorsch, honorary chairperson of the big event. “Thousands of alumni continue to engage in volunteer efforts wherever they've chosen to call home—Ohio, far off states, or on the other side of the world—and credit their career paths to early experiences in H2O. This bash is to celebrate the organization’s 20^th anniversary, raise awareness about the good work of H20, and secure funds to ensure the long-term sustainability of the program, which makes our community a special place to live.” 

Tickets for the main event are $50. A very limited number of $100 VIP tickets are available. Sponsorship opportunities, starting at the $100 level, are also available. For more information, to purchase tickets, or to sponsor the event, visit www.thelakewoodfoundation.org/H2O/ or call 216.529.6870. 

This event is made possible with the generous support of Hinkley Lighting, Lakewood Alumni Foundation, and Northcoast Litho, and with additional funding from Adobe Living, Cox Communications, Erie deSign, Geiger’s Clothing & Sports, KeyBank, Lakewood Arts Festival, Lakewood Congregational Church, Lakewood Presbyterian Church, and Martindale Electric.

H2O is a service learning organization for middle school and high school students in Lakewood. A collaborative effort between the Department of Human Services/Youth and Lakewood City Schools, this program is dedicated to strengthening and enriching the region by engaging its young people as community builders. In 2011, 333 high school volunteers logged 3,682 hours of service, 222 middle school volunteers logged 899 hours, and 198 middle summer campers logged 3,960 hours of service for 60 community events and more than 40 non-profits in the Cleveland area.