By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Lemonade stands are a staple in summer’s heat. This weekend, groups of volunteers are selling lemonade throughout northwest Ohio and other parts of the nation to raise awareness and funds for Isaiah 117 House, an organization whose sole purpose is to support children being placed in foster care.
“We are working to bring an Isaiah 117 House to Lucas County to make the process easier for children who are removed from their homes and awaiting placement in foster care,” said Jessica Gibson, who helped organize a lemonade stand in Bowling Green’s Wooster Green on Saturday.
[Another Isaiah 117 House lemonade stand in Bowling Green is planned from 2-6 p.m. today (Sunday, July 14) near Madison Court and Simpson Garden.]
Often, there is a time-lapse of hours or days before a foster family is identified and available to bring a foster child into their home, Gibson said. The children might be taken to a Children’s Services office or a police station in the interim.
An Isaiah 117 House would be the respite location that provides a more home-like environment, “a more peaceful situation for these kids that have had these horrible experiences,” she said. “There, they can bathe, get their bellies full, play outside, and pick out clothes if they came with only the clothes on their backs.”
In addition to the love and support offered to the children, they also have the opportunity to choose a new backpack and fill it with items from clothing and shoes to blankets and toys.
“Foster families no longer must pick up foster children at three in the morning and make trips to the store for essentials such as toothbrushes and clothes,” she said.
Additionally, Isaiah 117 houses are meant to lighten the load of children’s services personnel.
Isaiah 117 House, which started in 2017 in Tennessee, is a faith-based movement named for Isaiah 1:17, the Bible verse that says: “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”
According to the organization’s website, “Every aspect of our ministry is designed to send a strong message to a child, who has just been removed from their home, that they are not alone and that they are loved.”
Currently, there are 48 homes in 11 states. The proposed house in Lucas County joins Montgomery County as the second Ohio location that is “raising awareness,” to encourage other counties and communities to follow suit.
The Lucas County site is in the early planning stages, trying to determine if land or a house might be donated or if the home will need to be purchased, Gibson explained. Once the house is open, an on-site caseworker and volunteers staff the home.
The lemonade fundraisers and awareness events “are an easy and quick way to raise funds and get the community and kids involved too,” she said.
During the four-hour event at Wooster Green on Saturday, they sold 50 lemonades, countless baked goods and raised $994. “The goal is to have a year’s worth of operating expenses ready before house opens,” Gibson said.
Sarah Deily of Maumee and her mother Jennifer Hartman of Dayton baked for eight hours on Friday to help provide sweets and treats for sale alongside the lemonade.
After attending a local expansion event for the proposed Lucas County house, Deily got involved with the Wood County event.
“We are called to care for the most vulnerable,” Deily said. “I love seeing the Lord’s hand in this project. It’s neat to see the churches and communities come together to help the children.”
Mitchell Arnwine lives in Bowling Green and works as a parole officer in Lucas County. He sees how children are impacted when they are removed from their homes and put into foster care. He and his wife, Shannon, and children Judah and Sienna, helped set up and staff the lemonade stand on Saturday.
“We can’t take in foster kids at this point, so this is one thing we can do,” Arnwine said. “We and our communities can step in and relieve the burden on the government and help these children who need our help.”
“There are so many stories that can be shared about people who have compassion and do what we are meant to do,” Gibson said. “This is something that needs to be done.”
She urged the community to “learn as much as you can about the organization and find where you can help.” There are many ways to support the project from making donations, buying merchandise and volunteering to becoming more aware and sharing information with family and friends.
The public can visit the Isaiah 117 House Lucas County OH website or Facebook page for local information or the Isaiah 117 House website for additional information about the organization. The next local expansion meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Monday (July 15) at Cedar Creek Church, 2150 S. Byrne St., Toledo.
