On Saturday, October 22, eighteen community groups from around Montgomery engaged in Connect Montgomery’s Making a Difference Day by identifying a service project that appealed to the group, and then went out and made a difference.

Connect Montgomery’s Making a Difference Day Kick-Off Breakfast, sponsored by the Blue Ash Montgomery Rotary Club and held at Ascension Lutheran Church, was a great success. Suggested donations of $3.00 per person went to Operation Give Back. The Rotary Club raised $336 at this event for Operation Give Back. Groups gathered at this site, shared a meal, then went out and completed their service projects.

Individuals were also encouraged to attend this breakfast. When they signed in, they were given information on service projects in the community and how they could join the project groups on the day of service.

The Blue Ash Montgomery Rotary Club, Kindevelt #22 and the City of Montgomery collected and donated a combined $700 in food and monetary donations for Operation Give Back.

More information and photos are found on http://www.montgomeryohio.org/and www.connectmontgomery.org

Projects
• Ascension Lutheran Church - Ascension Lutheran Church, 7333 Pfeiffer Road, partnered with Connect Montgomery and the Blue Ash Montgomery Rotary Club to provide a location for the Kick-Off Breakfast. Congregation members and volunteers also provided needed light landscaping and clean up assistance to elderly members of the congregation and community. Sycamore Senior Center provided referrals for their volunteer activity.

• Blue Ash Montgomery Rotary Club - The Rotary Club sponsored the Kick-Off Breakfast at Ascension Lutheran Church. The Rotary Club also volunteered at Matthew 25 Ministries.

• Blue Ash Montgomery Symphony Orchestra - Conductor Micheal Chertock and members of the BAMSO Board and Guild entertained residents of the Montgomery Care Center, 7777 Cooper Road with songs by Gershwin, Chopin and other standards.

• City of Montgomery - In addition to partnering with Kindervelt #22 to collect canned food and gently used coats for local charities at the Pumpkin Walk, the City of Montgomery also donated wood chips to Twin Lakes for their North Campus. Moeller High School students filled in the pathways with the wood chips.

• EH Greene Intermediate School and PTO - The EH Greene Intermediate School students, families and PTO operated a book drive and collected over 2500 children and adult books to disperse to area agencies.

• American Heritage Girls Troop #25- The Heritage Girls, partnering with the City of Montgomery and Montgomery Woods Neighborhood, collected debris and other yard waste in Dulle Park, 10530 Deerfield Road. Older Heritage Girls’ members and their parents stained the Dulle Park walking bridge and park benches.

• Kindervelt #22 - Kindervelt #22 partnered with the City of Montgomery to collect canned food items and gently used coats for local charities. Donations were collected at the Pumpkin Walk in Pioneer Park, 10505 Deerfield Road, on Saturday, October 22. Kindevelt #22 also managed the sign in tables at the Blue Ash/Montgomery Rotary Club Kick-Off Breakfast.

• Moeller High School - Moeller High School was pleased to partner with Twin Lakes Senior Living Community and the City of Montgomery. The students filled in Twin Lakes’ North Campus paths with wood chips.

• Montgomery Chamber of Commerce – The Chamber of Commerce distributed thank you goodie bags at the Kick-Off Breakfast thanking residents for giving back.

• Montgomery Citizens’ Leadership Academy Class of 2011 - The MCLA Class of 2011 continued their Adopt a Spot clean-up activities at the entrance ramp to Montgomery Road from the Cross County Highway.

• Montgomery Farmers’ Market - The Montgomery Farmers’ Market volunteers and vendors partnered with Montgomery Elementary students, teachers, parents and PTO members to clean up and winterize the Montgomery Elementary Discovery Garden, 9609 Montgomery Road.

• Montgomery Kiwanis - The Kiwanis Club of Montgomery partnered with the City of Montgomery to stain the Swaim Park Walking Bridge. Swaim Park is located at the corner of Cooper and Zig Zag Roads.

• Montgomery Masons – The Montgomery Masons collaborated with the Sycamore Senior Center to provide light handyman and yard work assistance to elderly community residents.

• Montgomery Moms – The Montgomery Moms collaborated with Twin Lakes Senior Living Community, 9840 Montgomery Road, to make sandwiches for the Lord’s Pantry and bake cookies and decorate cards and packages to send to the troops.

• Montgomery Woods Neighborhood - Montgomery Woods neighbors, with the help of the Heritage Girls, stained the Dulle Park Walking Bridge and park benches. Dulle Park is located at 10530 Deerfield Road. Families with young children were able to pick up sticks and yard debris.

• Northeast Community Challenge Coalition (NECC) - NECC collected toiletries and school supplies for Operation Give Back at their annual Red Ribbon Breakfast on Monday, October 17.

• Sycamore Junior High School - Teachers, students and families of Sycamore Junior High School chose to give back to the community in three ways: planting bulbs at Winton Woods Academy (their sister school); collecting canned food for Operation Give Back; and providing yard care and maintenance service for older adults living close to Sycamore Junior High School. Sycamore Senior Center also provided the Junior High with referrals of clients who needed assistance.

• Twin Lakes Senior Living Community - Twin Lakes, 9840 Montgomery Road, partnered with the Montgomery Moms to prepare sandwiches for the Lord’s Pantry and bake cookies and decorate cards and packages for the troops. Moeller High School partnered with Twin Lakes to place wood chips on their North Campus pathways. The wood chips were donated by the City of Montgomery from this fall’s bulk yard waste collections.