District honors local organizations

Painesville Schools got the opportunity to recognize three organizations that have made a difference in the district, through the Ohio School Boards Association.

OSBA honors organizations who play a key role in supporting their communities and local schools. And Painesville Schools selected Avery Dennison, Catalyst Ministries and Lubrizol.

Avery Dennison has been a significant partner with Harvey High School over the past eight years, according to the news release.

The exceptional success of Harvey’s Future Business Leaders of America program at the local, state, and national levels would not be possible without their extraordinary investment of time, treasure, and talent, it also states.

Avery employees, under the leadership of Pat Brown, met with students every other Wednesday for most of the school year to teach and mentor them. Through this mentoring, the students gained access to learning and skill development to which most students throughout the country do not have access. Avery Dennison also paid for most of the costs of the FBLA program, including the costs to attend the state and national conferences.

“We cannot thank Pat Brown and Avery Dennison enough for their unwavering dedication to our students” said Superintendent Josh Englehart. “While we do our best to express our appreciation at every little step along the way, we take this opportunity to provide them with our sincere, heartfelt gratitude for everything they do.”

The district also thanked Lubrizol, for their continued support. Lubrizol has provided tutoring for Painesville students since 1997, the release states.

“We take the opportunity to formally recognize Lubrizol for their sustained, significant support of our school district,” Englehart said. “These activities have provided students not only with essential career skills, but also important supportive relationships with knowledgeable and caring role models.”

Lubrizol has been a vital partner in Harvey High School’s ECITY entrepreneurial program. Mentors worked directly with students to produce a product for sale from research all the way through marketing. Lubrizol hosted the competition phase of this program for the past three years. Additionally, the human resources department helped students with resume writing and interviewing skills in conjunction with Youth Opportunities Unlimited.

Lubrizol also supported district programming financially in a variety of ways.

Additionally, Catalyst Ministries has been an integral partner in serving Painesville students for four years.

Catalyst volunteers invested nearly 1,700 hours working directly with students this past year. Neil Wilson and Patrick Cannon organized groups of volunteers to take on a widerange of activities which help better serve students.

“The people of Catalyst Ministries are not only a tremendous help to our schools, but they are also tremendous people,” said Englehart. “They help our kids with academic skills, but they have also made a positive impact on them. We express our sincere appreciation for the partnership and friendship we share with them, and look forward to many more years working together to serve our kids and community.”