Volunteers ‘Rock the Block’ in East Toledo, Saturday morning
The turnout for Saturday’s event was wonderful.
TOLEDO, Ohio — While many folks aren’t up early on a Saturday morning, many members of our community came together to volunteer for an important reason.
“Rock the Block is an event that we bring out to different communities, a few times a year, and this is our first time being in East Toledo, so we’re really excited about that.”
Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Michael McIntyre is understandably excited. All of these volunteers showed up to complete beautification projects in the neighborhood surrounding Navarre Park.
“We’re helping folks that probably couldn’t take on these repairs, or the spruce-up of their home, without our help. But on the other hand, some families and some of the homeowners will come out and they’ll be working right alongside us,” McIntyre explained.
The group also included employees of the Toledo Refining Company, which sponsored the event.
“This refinery’s been here for well over a hundred years, a part of this community. And we’re always looking for ways to help the community and be part of that community, and really to earn their respect and their trust — and this is a great way to do that,” said Mike Gudgeon, the refinery manager for Toledo Refining Company.
Whether it was weeding, trimming, or even raking, today’s event is just one part of the overall bettering of the neighborhood. So which block will be ‘rocked’ next?
“We’ve not done a ‘Rock the Block’ yet in Englewood, but that’ll be planned for the future. The Old South End, and the historic south area is another area,” McIntyre added. “We’ve got another one planned later this year in Birmingham neighborhood, right down the road, too. So we’re pretty excited about it.”
