Mount Vernon Town Money Saver | August FOM 2022

Habitat for Humanity: Taking a Team Approach to Making a Difference

Knox County is a great place to live and raise a family, largely due to the wide variety of volunteer organizations we support. There are so many different avenues to make this a better place. As a volunteer on many Boards of Directors myself, it can be difficult to recruit volunteers. When I visited with Habitat for Humanity last week, meeting the need for volunteers to accomplish their goals got a little bit easier as they have grown and changed to meet this challenge with a three-pronged approach to helping people in the community.

If you have looked to purchase a house in central Ohio recently, it won’t be any surprise how hard it can be for a family starting out to afford a home. Even with two incomes, it can feel impossible to afford a home. Knox County has an organization that seeks out blighted or uninhabitable homes, tears them down, making them usable properties again. It is called a landbank, and organizations like Habitat for Humanity can purchase these properties reasonably. With their vol-

Help Build Strength and Stability

A decent home provides the strength, stability, and independence that families need. Habitat for Humanity’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

Habitat homeowners pay an affordable mortgage, receive financial education and help build their homes alongside volunteers. Your financial support will help families continue building with Habitat in your community and around the world.

Contact Keith at khughes@hfhknoxoh. org or call (740) 392-9214 to donate furniture or constuction items, to volunteer,or to apply for assistance.

unteers, small staff, and many generous donors and assisting businesses, they make develop on that property a new home that can be affordable for a family to own.

Partners in Rebuilding Neighborhoods

Keith Hughes is the local manager of Knox County’s ReStore, which heads up a fantastic resource for the community with the sole focus being raising money to build new homes, or improve existing homes for Knox County residents. People can donate money or building product to their warehouse at 13246 Wooster Rd, where they then price these products or buy other materials that can be purchased by the general public at a significantly discounted rate! I personally have been a big fan of ReStore for years as I rework my homes and recommend others to ReStore for lumber, light fixtures, windows, door, cabinets, furniture---just about anything you can imagine. And you know that the money you spend is then helping rebuild

families and communities. ReStore even sells new paint for projects, and accepts construction tools as donations! Assisting Keith at the store is Mary Jo Beaupre, who is one of only three employees, helping dozens of volunteers put these materials in people’s hands at very affordable prices!

The second partner in this duo of development is Terry Schultz, affiliate manager, who coordinates the building of the new homes. You can usually find him on-site, building a ramp to assist an elderly or handicapped individual, or building a new family home from the ground up! Dollars raised by ReStore go directly into building new family homes—and Terry oversees volunteers and other local organizations in building to make the dreams come true—of affordable homes in Knox County! Every aspect of the project is meant to rebuild communities by improving older homes, or building new and helping families rebuild lives.

www.hfhknoxoh.org

AUGUST 11–14

SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, @8:30PM

Lonesome Loser The Night Owls

LRB TOP 10 BILLBOARD HITS: Reminiscing

Cool Change Lady

It’s Back-to-School Time!

Vision Screening vs. Vision Examination

As summer winds down and kids, teachers and parents get ready to start the new school year, here are some tid bits and healthy hacks!

School vision screenings may help identify the presence of eye or vision problems; however, they cannot be used to diagnose an eye or vision problem. Comprehensive eye and vision examinations with an optometrist or ophthalmologist is important if a child is struggling in school or exhibiting any symptoms of a vision problem. An eye examination between 3 and 5 years of age is recommended.

APPLES

The tradition of giving apples to teachers originated in 16th century Denmark, where parents would often give teachers baskets of apples to pay for their children’s schooling.

Healthy Lunchbox Hacks

Pack more nutrition into school lunches with these tips:

• Look for 100% whole-wheat breads and wraps

• Add fresh produce like lettuce, tomato, shredded carrot, zucchini strips, sliced apple or pear slices to sandwiches

• Pack homemade leftovers like veggie soups or chili in a thermos, or swap lunch meats with last night’s grilled chicken

• Prep “dunkers” like apple or pear slices with yogurt or peanut butter, or pair sliced veggies with hummus, fresh salsa or bean dip

• Get kids involved in planning and prepping their lunches!

$688 average back-toschool spending per family in the U.S. NRF research show teenagers will contribute $37.64 toward this amount.

1858 the year Hymen L. Lipman patented the rst pencil with an attached eraser

The use of pencils in classrooms was controversial, as teachers thought the built-in erasers would cause students to be careless and make more mistakes. Before the invention of the rubber eraser, moist balls of bread were used to erase mistakes!

480,000 yellow school buses transport children to and from school in the U.S.

These buses carry 26 million students each day.

PIZZA

party

PIZZA .... we can’t get enough of it!

If you’re hosting an outdoor party and struggling for food ideas, you can’t go wrong with pizza. Whether you’ve got meat-eaters or veggie-eaters, you can make delicious pizzas for everyone’s tastebuds.

What The Toppings?

Can you name these common pizza toppings?

Pizza On The Grill

Preheat grill on high. Brush a square of foil with olive oil. Roll pizza dough onto foil, top with pizza sauce, cheeses and toppings. Pick up the edges of the foil and place directly on grill. Close grill and allow to cook for 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges begin to char. Remove from grill, transfer to a cutting board. Sprinkle with parmesan & pepper.

Easy Pesto Pizza

• 1 (12”) pre-baked pizza crust

• ½ cup pesto

• 1 ripe tomato, chopped

• 1 green bell pepper, chopped

• 1 (2 oz) can chopped black olives

• ½ small red onion, chopped

• 1 (4 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and sliced

• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 450°. Spread pesto on pizza crust. Top with tomatoes, bell peppers, olives, red onions, artichoke hearts and feta cheese. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Upcoming Auditions for Mount Vernon Players!