Camperships

Christ Child of the Western Reserve has been sending Lake county students to various camps over 30 years. In 2026 our Chapter sent 44 children to 5 different camps. Some of these are residential, sleep-over camps and others are day camps. Those camps include:

• Camp Christopher
• Camp Sue Osborn
• Together We Can, Children's Bereavement Camp
• Camp Ho Mita Koda Type 1 Diabetes Camp
• Royal Family Kids

This program has also supported camps such as:

• Caley Home Field Stone Farm Camp 
• Footprints Center for Autism
•  4-H Camp
• Hiram House
• Willoughby Fine Arts
• 4-H Camp
  

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.

Hygiene Bags

Hygiene bag distribution started as a 2023/2024 pilot program with Painesville City School District as the recipient. Painesville was chosen due to the amount of financial need possessed by the majority of their students. This program supplied 175 drawstring bags filled with full size hygiene products to all fifth graders in the district. Each bag contained full size products including: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, scrubby, lotion, deodorant, personal Kleenex, toothbrush, toothpaste, Chapstick, comb, and a note about personal hygiene. These bags allowed the students to have the necessary tools to learn about taking care of themselves and their personal hygiene. This first distribution was 176 bags. The second distribution was 208 bags.

In 2025, the program expanded to all Lake County middle schools. Those that chose to participate received approximately 400 bags distributed in the spring and 400 again in the fall. We also found the need to provide sanitary pads and we gladly provided 68 cases to participating schools.

In the Spring of 2026, 360 bags were distributed. These bags contained shampoo/conditioner, soap, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb and a personal hygiene instruction note. Two large cases of sanitary pads were also provided to each participating schools.

Layettes

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. 

Literacy

The Literacy Committee has a goal of encouraging children of Lake County to read, to create a love of reading, stimulate the imagination, and spark a desire to learn. We distribute gently used books to organizations such as WIC (women, infants & children), Ivy Women's Center ( a pregnancy clinic) and Birthright (an organization that helps clothe & feed children of Lake County) and Caley House for resident children ages 7 to 18.  We have distributed 1085 new and gently used books so far this year.

Literacy has also started a pilot program in which we supply schools with “Treasure Chests” filled with books for first graders. The teacher sets the criteria for the students such as birthdays, helping the teacher, being kind to another student, etc. The student then gets the key to the treasure chest and selects a book of their choice to take home. We currently have one school that has 2 treasure chests for both first grades. We have just purchased an additional 2 treasure chests for another school who has agreed to participate in this program. We are hoping to get additional schools on board for this program.

We currently have 6 readers to go into our schools and read to the children, in addition we have tutors who can tutor a child based on the schools needs.

The Literacy Committee has also completed two projects in 2024. The spring project included a sand bucket filled with sand toys and a book. This project was prepared for Mentor Co-Op preschool for 31 students. For our fall project, the committee has made fleece blankets with a book attached for 32 children. We are also planning a Halloween project and a Christmas project that will include a book for the children.

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.

The CCSWR scholarship program had humble beginnings.

It began in 1991, the Helen Dineen scholarship was established at Ursuline College. It was to serve students at the graduate level who majored in some type of children’s studies.   In 1997, a scholarship was added at Lake Catholic High School with $1,000 awarded to a student in need. After a few years, it was decided to make the Lake Catholic scholarship an ongoing endowment with multiple students receiving a scholarship, as was the Helen Dineen scholarship. To date, $165,000 has been awarded to over 70 students since 2006.

The  Mary Virginia Merrick Scholarship program for Lake Country public high school students was established in 2023. One graduating senior from each public high school is chosen by a staff members of their respective school to receive the MVM scholarship . There is no GPA requirement for this scholarship. The students must be going to a 2 or 4 year college, trade school or police/fire academy.  Applicants are required to submit an essay describing what it means to be a servant-leader and how they have demonstrated that leadership in their school/community. In 2023, the first scholarships of $500 Mary Virginia Merrick were awarded to 10 students from 11 eligible schools. In 2024, Auburn Career Center and Northern Career Institute were added, making this scholarship available to 13 graduating seniors. Through the hard work and generosity of our chapter,  this scholarship award increased to $1,200 per student.  As of June 2025,  our chapter has awarded total of $30,400 in scholarships, in the name of our chapter and our founder, Mary Virginia Merrick, to graduating seniors from Lake County Public High Schools.  High School seniors should contact their school guidance counselor to apply.

Vision Screening

The Christ Child of the Western Reserve chapter has provided free vision screening for Lake County preschool children ages 3 - 5 (see animal frame occluder glasses on right) since 2000.  Our members receive training from Prevent Blindness Ohio to perform the 5' LEA test using occluder glasses.  On average, we screen 1,000 children every school year, visit at least 25 preschools, perform over 30 individual sessions that require 400 or more volunteer hours from the 58 members on this committee.  Children may have vision problems that are not recognizable and can lead to permanent vision loss if not detected and treated at an early age. Our chapter is dedicated to this program and providing this vital service to the preschool children of Lake County.