In preparation for our 5k event in August I had the pleasure of meeting with Jamie Matzinger, marketing director at Indian Creek Zoo.
We talked about when Indian Creek Zoo started and how it stands out from other zoos in the area. If you’re looking for a quality zoo that prides itself on animal care as well as guest experience, look no further.
Welcome to Indian Creek Zoo
This 40-acre zoo houses over 80 species and over 400 animals in total, with most of them coming from zoo rescues and zoo organizations that Indian Creek Zoo is a part of.
Since 2014, families have visited this zoo to see their most beloved animals such as the giraffes, sloths, lemurs, black bears and zebras. However, those are not the only animals that reside there. People will find kangaroos, wolves, peacocks, camels, donkeys and so much more.
Out of their wide variety of animals, the critically endangered ones include the red ruffed lemurs and Bactrian camels. The most exotic include the giraffe and the Siberian Lynx.
Caring for every animal
Indian Creek Zoo’s first priority is making sure the animals are happy and safe. To achieve this, 20 to 30 employees are required including volunteers. Volunteers play such a big part at the zoo because they perform animal enrichments, which is where they make sure the animals are happy and healthy in their habitat.
Every animal has gotten its name from zoo owner Joe or from the public. One giraffe was named “Puzzles” because of all of his spots that looked like pieces to a puzzle. On the topic of Puzzles, during our meeting I asked Jamie if she had a funny story to share.
One time there were a couple visitors wearing safari gear (hats, sunglasses, and so forth). Puzzles yanked one of the visitor’s hats off! The owner, Joe, had to go in and get it.
A look at the year ahead
For 2021, families can look forward to more kid activities, like jumbo jumper pillows, as well as divulging in more food and snack options.
From April 1st to December 30th, this zoo’s motto is “get wildly close.” They take pride in families being able to experience what it’s like to have close encounters with some of the animals.
For example, visitors can get close to the sloths, feed them, pet them and take pictures with them. If sloths aren’t your thing, come out for a giraffe experience with Puzzles (preferably with a safari hat).
This year has also brought a new partnership between Indian Creek Zoo and Endurance Athletics. We’ll be hosting our 2nd Annual 5K for the Kids at this amazing facility, along with a family night at the zoo for those who don’t want to participate in the walk/run. We promise fun for every family member!
We are so excited to announce that Addie’s Closet Parties will be with us at our 2nd Annual Zoo 5k for the kids! Be on the lookout at Indian Creek Zoo for some of your favorite characters! To register and for more information on the race click the link here!
What is Addie’s Closet Parties?
This company is way more than just singing princesses at children’s birthday parties. Courtney Frost, the owner and founder, began this company in the midst of a global pandemic. Courtney and her team have never worked harder than this past year to make the company what it is today.
The company originally began as a clothing company for her daughter, Addie. They began to transition to event hosting, and in January 2020 they put out their first casting call for characters.
Their first event at Meijer in Monroe was such a big hit, they had to stay an extra hour because the line was wrapped around the building! After that, they began to focus efforts on their characters. Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, Courtney’s business continued to grow online throughout quarantine.
Courtney has never been more thankful for how everything turned out. She added that it was all possible through the help of her team.
“(My team) is truly amazing at what they do and all put in extra time to ensure every child is left with a special moment.”
Courtney Frost, founder of Addie’s Closet Parties
Character Overview
They offer over 30 characters to rent out at parties, and are continuously growing their character numbers. The characters will sing, dance, do live performances, and take pictures with the kids. Every kid at the party receives a picture and an autograph from their favorite character.
Along with the parties they also offer Zoom calls, which is a great COVID friendly option! Their most popular characters currently are Anna and the “Ice Queen.” Their newest character is the Dragon Princess, based on the new hit movie “Raya and the Last Dragon.”
Courtney strives to keep the characters up to date and fresh so she’s always updating costumes and wigs. Each character must go through extensive character training and follow strict character guidelines.
What Else Do They Offer?
You name it, they’ll probably have it! Along with the princesses, they offer a wide variety of other party needs. From bounce house rentals to party planning help, they have you covered for all party needs!
They also offer free character livestreams on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. For $5 the character will give a shoutout to whomever you want.
I sound like an infomercial but seriously, wait there’s more! You can rent things like snack carts, tents, and inflatable movie screens – all perfect for summer!
Right now they are offering tons of Easter specials. Check out their website here for more information on that!
Addie’s Wishes Foundation
Along with everything mentioned above, Addie’s Closet Parties started a new program this year called Addie’s Wishes Foundation. Basically, children with terminal illnesses can email in and their favorite characters will jump on a video call with them for free!
Courtney started this program because when her daughter Addie was born, the hospital messed up some paperwork and Addie had to be admitted to the NICU for a week. After that traumatic experience, Courtney wanted to give back. Their goal for 2021 is to do 100 calls to kids in need.
What Can You Expect in 2021?
They have so much planned for 2021! In April they will be at an indoor carnival with character meet and greets. They will be having their second annual Tea and Tiara’s – a princess tea party where everyone gets to use real china dish ware. They’ll have a Princess Ball in November, a Mermaid Workshop in the summer, and Santa Clause will be back in the winter.
They are always running promotions so check our their site for deals and more info here!
“We exist to help our athletes be better prepared for their season and create a union between parents and coaches. Through fundraising, helping hands, and shared talents, we strive to lift our children to reach their full potential on and off of the course.”
I had a phone meeting with the boys Cross Country coach Mr. Scott Earl to learn more about the Bedford Running Club and its community of athletes and families.
The “Mule Pack”
AP English and Literature teacher Scott Earl has been the cross-country boy’s coach since 2011. He shared with me the program’s long history; they made State seven times and several athletes have moved on to collegiate running programs.
The program this year has 30 boys and more than 30 girls who are on the Cross Country team – better known as the “Mule Pack.” The “Mule Pack” has seven athletes on the Varsity team and the rest are Junior Varsity.
The levels/division placements are determined by the athlete’s speed and time, not age or grade. Therefore, a freshman can be on the varsity team.
The program’s athletes may be able to put away their history books for the Summer but the team has a training calendar to follow all year long. Training is definitely important so that athletes keep improving and moving up both individually and as a team, making State and eventually Top 10.
Due to the pandemic the team face challenges like finding safe locations to run, the funding for uniforms, equipment replacement, and events.
Enter Tomahawk Archery, which has a running trail that is safe for the students to practice on.
Teaming up to help the club
By cohosting the Fools for Fitness 5K with Endurance Athletics, the Bedford Running Club community hopes to create an ongoing relationship and partnership between Tomahawk Archery and the Bedford High School’s athletic running program.
The 5K will also be an opportunity not only to volunteer their time but for the students to witness adult runners and how a healthy active lifestyle is a lifelong goal.
Mr. Earl ended our talk by recognizing that the “Mule Pack” has received a lot of support from the community and looks forward to giving back.
Join us on April 3rd to help support the Bedford Running Club, Tomahawk Archery, and Endurance Athletics by participating in our Fitness For Fools 5k! Get registered now!
Endurance Athletics is proud to announce that we just wrapped up our first ever coat drive! Our goal was to help the children in our own backyard struggling with even keeping warm through these cold winter months, and we believe it was a huge success.
Read on for more information on why we did it, how we did it, and how you can help too.
An opportunity to help
In 2020 Endurance Athletics partnered with Racing for Recovery to sponsor and facilitate a youth fitness program for the children of That Neighborhood Church (TNC), in downtown Toledo.
Two kids play a card game at That Neighborhood Church in downtown Toledo.
The children of TNC’s school program are fun, bright, and absolutely hilarious. But they are also located in one of the hardest hit areas of not just Ohio, but the whole country.
With median household incomes below $14,000, Toledo’s 43604 zip code fell under the top 10 poorest zip codes in the nation in 2017. More recent census data continues to show a bleak reality for Toledo residents with 52% of adults and a staggering 80% of children below the poverty level.
In 2017 Toledo ranked in the top 10 poorest cities in the U.S. for median income.
As families struggle through poverty, priorities can shift to base survival. Many kids in our program showed up in the harsh winter without coats, hats, or gloves.
This made it impossible to hold outdoor activities, leaving kids cooped up inside when the weather didn’t cooperate. And this was a regular problem according to TNC staff.
We knew we wanted to help.
How we held the coat drive
We found four businesses in the Toledo area that volunteered to be drop sites for coats, and we put regular cardboard boxes outside.
Special thanks given to those businesses: MPS Group, Cooley Canal Yacht Club, Cribs to Crayons, and Kroger in Lambertville.
The coats began to roll in! Over a three-week period, we collected items as the boxes filled.
And on January 9th, Endurance Athletics donated close to 100 coats, hoodies, hats, scarves, and gloves to That Neighborhood Church for distribution to the community.
Matt Hofbauer and Sarah Kegg of Endurance Athletics drop off coats to That Neighborhood Church after three weeks of collections.
The takeaway
This act of kindness left us so happy and humbled. It was inspiring to see the coats stack up each week, knowing they would benefit families in our own backyard. Now these kids can be warm, safe, and able to play outside in any weather.
We’re all aware of poverty, but it’s still shocking to see the impact first-hand, as we did during our work at TNC. To see this level of poverty right down the road was heart-breaking.
And it’s a strong reminder that opportunities to help can present themselves in all areas of our lives. One of Endurance Athletics’ key tenants is exercising a Big Heart. The time and effort it takes to help others is usually minimal and worth every second.
To those who donated and made this coat drive a success, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. To That Neighborhood Church, we salute you for the opportunities you provide these kids every week.
How you can help, too
Subscribe to our newsletter and find us on social media so you don’t miss an opportunity to give back. We’ll regularly feature opportunities right here in Northeast Ohio and Southeast Michigan.
There are many ways to get involved right now. If you made it this far and want to go further, reach out for volunteer opportunities or donation information.
We are always looking to expand our volunteer base and identify new ways we can help.
Many hands make light work. It is amazing what we can accomplish when we come together as a community.
Our site visit to an AMAZING charity in our own back yard!
Endurance Athletics is hosting another 5k on November 22nd, 2020 and we were searching for a beneficiary. With it being right around the corner from Thanksgiving it got me thinking about the holiday and how stressful this time can be, especially for those in need.
Food banks instantly jumped to mind, and I started looking around in the area. I eventually landed on SeaGate Food Bank and gave them a call. They offered a site visit and since I absolutely love getting out and meeting new people along with seeing what an organization is all about firsthand, I gladly took them up on it.
What I found there blew me away though. Without getting ahead of myself SeaGate Food Bank is a truly amazing operation, and I am so thrilled to have found them. So, what did I find there? Let’s find out!
We met with Cheri Dennis – Director of Community Engagement who is one of those people that you truly hope to run in to. She is so pleasant, and you can tell she genuinely loves what she does. Cheri was full of knowledge and while we were talking pre-facility tour in the main break room, she filled us in on some facts about SeaGate Food Bank.
SeaGate Food Bank was started by Alice Mosiniak when she saw a need in her local community to feed seniors that couldn’t provide for themselves. She got to work canvasing other neighbors, grocery stores, and markets for food and was distributing what she could to the community right out of her garage. By 1980 she had brought into existence Toledo Ohio’s first regional food collection and distribution center.
The food bank under normal conditions is ran by 11 staff members that are supported by over 4,500 volunteers that come from entire states away even as far out as Minnesota!
SeaGate Food Bank is the only independently operated food bank in Ohio and only 1 of 5 in the nation.
They have been serving the community for over 41 years and have been in their current building for about 30 of those years.
The food bank provides aid via their many programs and distribution network to over 120,000 people in need across 8 counties in South East Michigan and North West Ohio.
SeaGate Food Bank partners with over 400 local food pantries and organizations to help in the distribution of food and other essentials.
If those facts don’t blow you away, I don’t know what will, and this was all within the first 15 minutes of our meeting with them! She hadn’t even gotten into their various programs and direct community outreach! After the quick history lesson and the general awareness, we then hit the floor, and there was a TON to see.
The first thing I noticed on the tour was that there was National Guard all over the place. These guys and girls were out there in place of the regular volunteers to keep the operation running through Covid-19. HUGE SHOUT OUT to those men and women who were able to step in when they were needed right here in our community!
This was the first stop on the tour. This program provides supplemental food donations to families in need. These boxes go out and are meant to bridge the gap in the pantry. The boxes contain staple food items like pasta, canned food, peanut butter, juice, and milk.
The program ships out around 6,800 boxes per MONTH, and the distribution is done internally by SeaGate Food Bank and their fleet of vehicles.
The Senior Box Program like almost all of the programs is supported by volunteers, but this program offers a unique team building opportunity for organizations to sign up for. The program works like an assembly line, and the team works to package and prep for shipment all of the boxes of food. By working together the volunteers are able to get a large amount of these boxes packaged and ready for distribution.
The next place we went was the Eat Right Academy. This is where SeaGate Food Bank works with the local community to provide cooking classes. These classes are designed to teach the basics including:
How to use kitchen appliances (slow cookers, oven, etc…)
How to cook with what you have
Kitchen safety
How to shop smart
They even offer a mommy & me class and have classes that are designed for children so they can be safe in the kitchen. There is also a nursery available for people who wouldn’t be able to attend due to a childcare conflict.
One of the most amazing parts of this program is that the participants get to keep what they use in the classes. This includes the utensils, pots, pans, and even slowcookers!
The Food Bank has seen great success with this program including helping to teach a 46 year old woman from the streets that didn’t know how to use a measuring cup, and a girl that came back after 2 months of graduating the class to show the staff her very own canned pickles. She later went on to graduate from Owen’s Community College with a degree in Culinary Arts.
This was one of the coolest parts of the tour because I like to see intricate operations and well thought out plans. This garden was just awesome! The site is limited on space being in the city, however that didn’t stop them. When you can’t spread out just go up right?!
The garden was laid out to maximize space by going vertical. On top of that the watering is automated, and with the potted plants weeding is kept to a minimum. So far, they have gathered over 3,000 pounds of produce from the garden. The garden is self-sustaining through the sale of produce to local restaurants, and whatever they aren’t able to sell goes over to the Eat Right Academy for use in the cooking classes.
This is a mobile food pantry that SeaGate will send out with fresh produce to food desert areas. These are areas where the neighborhood doesn’t have access to nutritious and fresh produce.
The Gleaner’s Program is a coordinated effort with local farmers. When the farmers have an overabundance of produce and can’t harvest, they give the food bank a call. Once the Food Bank gets that call, they mobilize their volunteers to head out into the fields and harvest the available food. Once picked the food is brought back and put into the distribution network.
FIRST – Families In Recovery Sticking Together
FIRST is a program designed to help families that are recovering from substance abuse. Opiates are devastating families everywhere, and by working with the local treatment centers SeaGate can aid those that are actively seeking the road to recovery. Families can come and “grocery shop” free of charge for essential food, baby stuff, toiletries, etc… The program is open on Wednesdays with a referral from one of a handful of local treatment centers
The Rest of the Tour
After going over the various programs we took a tour of the warehouse that supports all these operations. The warehouse has 3 bays used for non-refrigerated food storage. This place is massive. They also have a packaging area that they can use to break down palletized and bulk packed food items. In addition to the warehouse bays they have a large cold storage area, and a huge walk-in freezer.
This was truly an amazing glimpse into their world. The scale of the operation really took me back. To be able to run so many well developed programs and coordinate 4,500 volunteers with only 11 staff members is just incredible. The people we met while on the tour including Rick and Mindy were awesome. You can tell when you’re on site that these people live and breath and love what they do.
I couldn’t be happier with our choice in beneficiary for our next 5k, and I really hope you support us and SeaGate Food Bank by participating!
If you are interested in registering for the 5k you can find the link HERE!
