The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
United Way honors family
United Way of Greater Lorain County presented Ross Builders with a one-of-a-kind award.
United Way of Greater Lorain County presented Ross Builders with a one-ofa-kind award to commemorate the completion of a joint wheelchair ramp built for a local family in October.
As an additional token of gratitude, United Way announced its plans to rename the Volunteer Engagement Hub in the agency’s downtown Lorain office to honor the Ross family, according to a news release.
The wheelchair ramp build was a partnership between United Way, Ross Builders, HandsOn Northeast Ohio, Invacare Corporation and The Home Depot.
During the October build, Ross Builders donated three days of services with a handful of skilled contractors overseeing the project’s construction, the release said.
Genevieve Plas, 11, of Carlisle Township, created a small-scale model of the house and wheelchair ramp out of Popsicle sticks to present to the Ross volunteers as a lasting recognition of their community support.
The project continued a long-standing relationship between United Way and the Ross Family, the release said.
Stephen J. Ross, founder and president of Ross Builders, who passed away in October, orchestrated an inkind gift to United Way’s capital campaign for the design-build of their new office in Lorain in 2017, according to the release.
Ross’ sons Steve and Nick
“The Ross family has been so great to us; we really wanted to do something to genuinely show our gratitude.”
— Bill Harper, executive director of United Way of Greater Lorain County
have also been involved with United Way, through Steve’s assistance to the agency in their search for a new office location and Nick’s oversight of the building’s renovation.
“The Ross family has been so great to us; we really wanted to do something to genuinely show our gratitude,” said Bill Harper, executive director of United Way of Greater Lorain County. “Steve was such a kind man who left his mark on our community, and his sons Steve and Nick have both been instrumental in helping us as we’ve moved into our new headquarters in downtown Lorain.”
Ross Builders has been family owned and operated since 1964 and has maintained an office in North Ridgeville since 1971.
The Volunteer Engagement Hub is located in the warehouse attached to United Way’s Lorain headquarters, 642 Broadway, and serves as the center of the agency’s volunteer activities.
The space houses supplies for volunteer projects including ladders, wood and paint, and has space to hold collections and sorting projects, according to the release.
The warehouse’s garage door additionally gives the agency flexibility to accommodate large deliveries of supplies and other project materials.
Recent opportunities hosted in the Volunteer Engagement Hub have included a stocking stuffing social, book sorting and literacy kit assemblies.