By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Wood Lane Residential Services is on track to improve curb appeal, fix driveways and complete other beautification projects on some of their homes thanks to a new partnership.
On Friday, officials from CSX, announced a grant of $5,000 to help Wood Lane Residential Services spruce the many of their 35 homes across the county.
With a terminal in Walbridge and an intermodal terminal in North Baltimore, CSX has a big presence in Wood County. “When Wood Lane Residential sought out opportunities for us to partner with them, it was a no-brainer for us to re-engage in the community,” said Rusty Orben, director of state relations for CSX.
“I grew up around here, so I’ve been familiar with Wood Lane my whole life. The services you provide here are remarkable,” he said.
With new leadership at CSX in the past year, Orben said there is a renewed focus on community service and engagement.
The company has developed its giving and volunteer programs to extend our service culture deeper into the communities within the 26-state network “We support communities through monetary and in-kind donations to nonprofit organizations and working with select service partners to help us extend our impact,” according to the CSX website.
The $5,000 grant, combined with a $2,500 grant from the City of Bowling Green, will help WLRS make improvements at its 35 residential homes.
“We are fortunate and blessed that we have such strong community support,” said Jessica Miller-Blakely, chief executive officer of WLRS. “The goals will be to focus on lawn and garden improvements, conditions of existing fences, ramps and decks, as well as driveway improvements.”
She added that the grant will be tied with community volunteer efforts to meet property revitalization goals and align with the city’s plans.
Ohio Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, thanked CSX for their commitment to the community through the grant to WLRS.
“I’ve worked with Rusty and CSX now for many years and really appreciate the good work of Wood Lane Residential, Jessica and the team here. You can see they are so interwoven into the community from all the support you provide,” Gavarone said.
“It’s really exciting to see the new challenges and the new opportunities that are ahead” with the CSX-WLRS partnership, she said. “I know what a difference it is going to make for the community.”
