Despite the challenges a global pandemic brings, members of North Royalton’s service clubs continue to make an impact on their community and the agencies they help. Activities, regular meetings and fundraising events that raise thousands of dollars each year for scholarships and other worthy causes may have been canceled for most, but members’ desire to help and serve remains stronger than ever – and brings with it a renewed vigor for the New Year.
The North Royalton Lions Club has seen an increase in membership, said President Keith Gruber. After canceling their annual fundraisers, members came up with a new major fundraising event set in Independence.
“Traditional fundraisers, such as reverse raffles and golf outings, were not possible, so as an alternative the club hosted a fundraiser at Topgolf,” Gruber said in an email interview. “The Topgolf event was very successful and another outing is planned for May.”
Members of the Royalton Lions and Royalton Hills Lions Club members also provided “Letters to Santa” with a mailbox stationed at the North Royalton Fire Department on the City Green. The new service project was another success with dozens of letters answered and returned to local children. Members are looking ahead to plans for 2021.
“Hopefully, our scheduled golf outing at Pine Hills in July will be a go in 2021 along with our clambake,” said Vice President Dan Lester in an email interview. “The club will continue to support our North Royalton High School scholarship program of five scholarships with reduced amounts for each, due to lack of fundraising. We will also continue to support the Food Bank at Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church, which helps about 170 families in need.”
The Royalton Hills Lions Club has used its creativity to do activities remotely or virtually to provide service and raise money, said Jacky Grimm in an emailed interview.
“For example, we have held parades for residents of local nursing homes, have written seasonal cards for residents of local nursing homes, we collected empty pill bottles to send to poorer countries, and we have been able to support our local food bank financially and physically,” she wrote. “In 2020, we have been Zooming many meetings. For a short while, we were able to have our meetings in-person thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Valleaire Golf Club. They worked very hard to manage the distancing and safety required. We are finding ways to get together to continue to serve. We also continue to receive support from our local merchants and restaurants with their generous donations to our raffle events.”
Members are hopeful the club can return to their traditional projects in 2021.
As 2020 comes to a close, the North Royalton Alumni Association is taking a “wait and see approach” for plans and activities in 2021, said Corresponding Secretary Diana Skorepa.
“The North Royalton Alumni Association has been unable to hold fundraisers this year which has impacted our funds,” Skorepa wrote in an email interview. “We have been proud to award two $2,000 scholarships to graduating seniors in the past, but for 2021, we will be reducing the amount to one $1,000 scholarship, due to lack of funds. We normally experience a much higher rate of donations around the time of our annual banquet, but that had to be canceled, as well as our Wing Ding.”
Board members have been meeting virtually and posting updates to social media pages, along with staying in touch via email. Detailed plans and goals for 2021 will be developed “once we are free from the pandemic,” said President Nick Phillips. Their schedule has been cancelled since March.
“The ‘pause button’ placing all of our normal activities on hold until the end of the pandemic is only temporary,” Phillips said in an email interview. “When we are able to return to normal following COVID-19, so will the North Royalton Alumni Association return to a new and, hopefully, vigorous schedule and plan to make up for lost time. We have missed so many things in 2020. It will be such a pleasure to resume meetings and interact in-person with students and alumni members. We will have a lot to do, but that will be based on when the COVID-19 has moved on and we can resume our normal activities. As everything is on hold, just about all planning for 2021 remains on hold.”
Geneva Prince of the local Rotary Club chapter said service clubs can come back stronger in 2021.
“The virus has made a huge difference in many ways,” Prince said. “No fundraisers, so we can’t do projects. It has affected many members and their business. We hope for the best in the future.”
The North Royalton Garden Club continued its yearly activity of passing out poinsettias at local senior facilities, said President Pam Wetterau. It also gathered for two outdoor events in 2020 – the planting of a garden outside the children’s section of the North Royalton Branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library and the dedication of two new memorial markers at the Veterans Memorial site at North Royalton Cemetery. Meetings have been suspended since March.
“We have not held virtual meetings but have tried to stay in contact with emails and postcards,” Wetterau said. “We have postponed selecting officers for 2021. We have not thought about or planned for 2021. We will limp along hoping for the best for all of us.”
The North Royalton Historical Society was set back by the pandemic.
“The biggest impact on the museum this year was that the museum had to be closed. With no way to protect the museum, staff and visitors, there was a huge loss of visibility,” said Treasurer Georgia Viehbeck. “In addition to no visitors, we were not able to hold meetings and execute any of the projects we had anticipated doing.”
“Membership growth also stalled, and members have used this year to reflect and assess their goals and direction for 2021,” Viehbeck said. The North Royalton Historical Society will be electing new officers and trustees in 2021. It is seeking a president and secretary, among other positions.
Despite the hardships, the North Royalton Historical Society was able to award a graduating North Royalton High School senior with a scholarship and plans to do so again in 2021. It was also awarded a historical marker for the City Green.
Members plan to develop a virtual meeting format in 2021 with each meeting geared towards specific topics of interest to members and guests, Viehbeck noted. Any questions and suggestions for the North Royalton Historical Society can be sent to nrhsnow@gmail.com.
“We are looking for ideas to present to the community such as family history research, painting, ceramics, games people have played in the past, spinning wheel demonstrations, furniture refinishing, and repurposing items,” Viehbeck said. “Suggestions and presenters are welcome. The featured events will be scheduled as soon as we are able to hold gatherings safely. The meetings will be informative and fun. We will be working on an educational aspect that has been done occasionally with Royal View Elementary School in previous years. We would like to work with the schools in developing presentations or be available to students for research projects on an item, event, person, or business from the past.”
By SARA MACHO HILL
Contributing Writer