Scholarships are awarded to Lake County high school students in need to attend college or private schools.  Scholarships are offered to students currently enrolled at Lake Catholic and Ursuline College for their current tuition.  In addition,  scholarships are also offered to graduating seniors at all Lake County pubic schools for the 2 or 4-year college or trade school of their choosing.  If you are interested in applying for a scholarship, contact your school guidance counselor.

Our layette is a loving boxed bundle of clothing, blankets and more for newborns. The layette bundles are assembled by our members and distributed to social service agencies and healthcare facilities.

Currently our Chapter prepares and distributes between 175-200 Layettes each year.  Each Layette contains onesies, socks, bibs, a sleep sack, sleep and play, crib sheet, washcloths, a crochet or knitted blanket and hat, a hooded bath towel, a book, a flannel blanket and information cards on parenting, shaken baby disorder, reading to an infant and our Chapter’s informative tri-fold.

There are approximately 4 assemblies of Layettes a year. Once Layettes are assembled and wrapped, they are distributed to Tripoint Hospital, Birthright, and WIC. Occasionally, when asked, we provide a Layette to a family in need from a community source. We are truly grateful for the many women who knit or crochet the small blankets and caps, or sew the flannel blankets for the Layettes. They certainly add a special loving touch to the Layettes. 

Camperships

Christ Child of the Western Reserve has been sending Lake county students to various camps over 30 years.

In 2023 our Chapter sent 63 children to 12 different camps. Some of these are residential, sleep-over camps and others are day camps. Those camps include:

• Camp Christopher
• Camp Sue Osborn
• Camp for Bereaved Children
• Footprints Center for Autism
• Camp Ho Mita Koda Type 1 Diabetes Camp
• Camp for abused children
• Willoughby Fine Arts
• 4-H Camp

This program has also supported camps such as:

• Caley Home Field Stone Farm Camp 
• Royal Family Kids
• Camp Red Oak Hospice
• New Avenues to Independence/Broadmoor
• Deepwood/YMCA
• Hiram House
  

Literacy

Christmas Giving

Christmas Giving services families of Lake County in need at Christmas time with food gift cards, books and gift cards to purchase gifts for the children in the family.  This confidential program works with the parishes in Lake County with the goal of helping more children have a joyful Christmas.

Clothing Committee

The Clothing Committee for the Christ Child Society of the Western Reserve helps children in need in Lake County. In 2023 we helped 486 children and spent over $33,000. We receive referrals from social workers, Head Start, and St. Vincent De Paul. We sometimes receive self-referrals but they must show need with Medicaid Cards and a Food Stamp Card.  If you are interested please call the Chapter number below to determine if you qualify.

It is very rewarding to see the smiles on the faces of mothers, fathers, and children when they get to select their own clothes. We have added diapers, winter coats, and winter boots to the list of necessities. 

We have served refugees, victims of fire, and abuse too. One example is an Afghan family who served as a translator for our army was helped by us. Their needs were very different because they wear modest long dresses with long sleeves. I suggested leggings to the teenage girls and they talked their mother into them for even her too! They wore them under their long skirts that weren’t quite long enough. 

Another example is of a mom who had lost all of her clothes and her children’s in a fire. Since this was a special case, we also helped the mom with some clothes. 

We also refer adults to Hope Chest in Painesville. Pregnant moms are referred to Birthright in Mentor. Clothing Committee is a very personally rewarding experience.  

Crates for Kids

Children starting out on their own after foster care are provided kitchen crates with dishes, pots and pans, utensils, etc. For Families Moving Forward we provide bedroom necessities such as blankets, sheets, pillows and lamps.

Day of Service

Each fall, the National Christ Child Society holds a Day of Caring to collect items for children in need.  Our chapter provides for the children of Lake County with items such as books, diapers, baby clothes, socks, toiletries, etc.

Parochial School of Religion (PSR)

Each fall, the CCSWR promotes the Lake Country parishes and their PSR programs with a monetary donation.  The parishes are given funds to offset the annual cost to run PSR.