VAN WERT, Ohio – One of the most meaningful things you can do in life to help a child is to become a foster parent. Last week, The Marsh Foundation honored several families who’ve done just that. The annual Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner was held at The Marsh Hotel in downtown Van Wert. May is Foster Care Appreciation Month.
Several new families were acknowledged for joining The Marsh foster care team. In addition, three families received their new licenses for the very first time. The Fryer family was also recognized for their years of service. After seven years of fostering, Brad and Shana are retiring this summer. Their dedication and service is very much appreciated.
Time was also spent honoring Faye Lepper, a dedicated and loved foster mother who passed away unexpectedly in a car accident in January. Her son Paul was in attendance and was presented with a plaque in memory of his mother who served more t
han 60 children in her home during her time with The Marsh.
“Our foster parents are much appreciated for their hard work and the care that they provide every day for our children,” said Laura Beckett-Avery, foster care supervisor. “As our foster care division continues to grow, foster parents are badly needed to provide children in need with wonderful families.”
The Marsh Foundation in Van Wert offers a continuum of care that includes a Foster Care Program. Last year, more than 100 children were turned away from our program because of a lack of foster homes. The Marsh believes that all children have the right to love, protection and to be cared for a by a committed family. If you have an interest in becoming a foster parent, please call 419.238.KIDS for more information or visit www.marshfoundation.org/helpkids.
All foster parents go through extensive training before a child is placed and are required to undergo continuing training to maintain their license. Foster parents can be married couples or single individuals.
Consultants are assigned to each foster parent and are available 24 hours, seven days a week. They help create the youth’s treatment plan, offer support and are available in crisis situations. Foster parents are substantially reimbursed for costs associated with caring for a foster child.
The Marsh Foundation is a not-for-profit children’s services agency that provides behavioral treatment in a variety of settings. Services include group homes, foster care, an intensive treatment program and independent living. Located in Van Wert, Ohio, the organization’s group homes are licensed for up to 30 children ages 7 – 17, offers an on-campus school for grades 2 – 12 and provides a variety of clinical services to group home residents, foster care children and community members.
###
Photo Caption 1: Brad and Shana Fryer were presented a plaque by Marsh Foster Care Employees Elizabeth Pleasnick (left) and Laura Beckett-Avery (far right) in honor of their many years of service to the program.
Photo Caption 2: Executive Director Kimberly Mullins presented Paul Lepper with a plaque in honor of his mother Faye who served The Marsh foster care program for many years before her untimely death in January.
VAN WERT, Ohio – The youth at The Marsh Foundation had a very exciting week leading up to Easter and a festive celebration on Easter Sunday.
In art class, Mrs. Hoying introduced projects relating to the holiday. All of the youth made both Easter baskets and Pysanky eggs. The baskets were crafted out of string they put around an inflated balloon and hardened with sugar water to keep its shape. The eggs came along with a history lesson. The pysanky, or Ukrainian Easter egg, are an ancient tradition of decorating eggs with wax. The tradition is said to have started before written language when the beautiful eggs were decorated with symbols.
Again this year, Easter Sunday was highlighted by an egg hunt sponsored by the Shirley Haight family. In the 1940s Shirley Haight came to live at The Marsh. For the fourth straight 
year, her daughters and grandson have given back to the campus at Easter time. The family provided eggs, baskets and gifts for all of the youth on campus. Although Haight passed away in 1988, her family has made a tradition out of donating. It was a memorable day and enjoyed tremendously by Marsh Foundation youth.
Serving children and families since 1922, The Marsh Foundation is a not-for-profit children’s services agency that provides behavioral treatment in a variety of settings. Services include group homes, treatment and family foster care, an intensive treatment program and independent living. Located in Van Wert, Ohio, the organization’s group homes are licensed for up to 30 children ages 7 – 17, offers an on-campus school for grades 2 – 12 and provides a variety of clinical services to group home residents, foster children and community members.
The mission of The Marsh Foundation is to inspire hope, to teach and to care for children and families. For more information about The Marsh, visit www.marshfoundation.org.
###
Photo captions
- A Marsh youth decorates her Pysanky egg in art class.
- A Marsh youth reaches for an egg during the Easter egg hunt on campus.
VAN WERT, Ohio – The Marsh Foundation ‘Marsh Grown’ garden program will be holding their annual spring plant sale on Saturday, May 10 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. in The Marsh Foundation greenhouse. Preorders are being taken through April 18. All proceeds will go to the campus youth garden program. The historic Marsh Homestead will also be open for public tours the day of the sale.
For sale will be:
- Petunia quarts;
- hanging petunia baskets;
- one quart size annuals;
- one quart size perennials; and
- additional plants/vegetables will be available the day of the sale.
The Marsh Grown youth garden program is dedicated to helping young people develop a sense of land stewardship and learn the importance of healthy food. Participants are taught valuable gardening skills throughout the season. In addition, the program serves as a catalyst for youth to develop important job skills for future employment. Throughout the summer, the garden crew grows vegetables and sells them at the farmer’s market for income.
Participants in the Marsh Grown garden crew are youth who are a part of The Marsh Foundation’s Independent Living Group. They are all 15 ½ years of age or older and are working on skills that will help them be successful adults. The garden program is an opportunity for them to interact with peers and adults, develop quality job skills and learn how to grow healthy food.
Ron Bagley, former Marsh Director and current Marsh Foundation Historian, will be giving public tours of the Marsh Family Homestead. Tours are open to anyone interested in learning more about the history of The Marsh Foundation and seeing the home where George, Hilinda and Katie lived. Tours are free and will be provided on a first come, first served basis. The tours will occur at noon, 1 and 2 p.m. and will last approximately 30 minutes. The home itself was completed in 1865 and has been a visual icon in Van Wert ever since. The interior has been preserved to look much like it did when the Marsh family occupied it in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
For more information, please contact activities coordinator, Sherry Grone at 419.238.1695 ext. 270 or via e-mail at
The Marsh Foundation is a not-for-profit children’s services agency that provides behavioral treatment in a variety of settings. Services include group homes, family foster care, an intensive treatment program and independent living. Located in Van Wert, Ohio, the organization’s group homes are licensed for up to 30 children ages 7 – 17, offers an on-campus school for grades 2 – 12 and provides a variety of clinical services to group home residents, foster care children and community members.
###
VAN WERT, Ohio – For the past several years, the youth at The Marsh Foundation have completed service projects during their spring break that revolve around the theme of the homeless and the hungry. This year, they did the same and even added a short trip to the Appalachian area of Kentucky.
Activities coordinator Sherry Grone and CSP worker Christina Flinn coordinated a project with the Appalachia Service Project organization in Chavies, Kentucky. Two youth traveled to Kentucky and were able to help a retired police officer make repairs to his residence.
According to Grone, the trip was a successful one. “We traveled to a new location in hopes of sharing another corner of the world with our students, to help them grow and learn more about their own abilities and the world around them,” she said. “They learned the value of hard work and staying on task even when you’re physically tired; and they gained valuable perspective on the struggles we all face in life.”
The groups that stayed back completed several projects locally. Two groups visited the Lima Rescue Mission, serving and cleaning up a meal there. Another group packed senior boxes at the West Ohio Food Bank and served the Friday night meal at the Bread & Bowl at the Van Wert First United Methodist Church.
George, Hilinda and Katie Marsh left a strong legacy by being compassionate and helping the less fortunate in the Van Wert community. Hilinda, especially, left behind writings that were very spiritual in nature. In her funeral memorial it was quoted, “Many were the days when she went about in her well-provisioned carriage, helping the sick and needy, in the very joy of her Master who went about doing good. In the church [she was] a humble and conscientious follower of the Christ; a leader for years in the Ladies’ Society of the church. Our sense of loss is deep; we shall ever hold her services in grateful remembrance.” The Marsh Foundation continues to build on and carry out that legacy and this is the inspiration behind these service projects.
Serving children and families since 1922, The Marsh Foundation is a not-for-profit children’s services agency that provides behavioral treatment in a variety of settings. Services include group homes, treatment and family foster care, an intensive treatment program and independent living. Located in Van Wert, Ohio, the organization’s group homes are licensed for up to 30 children ages 7 – 17, offers an on-campus school for grades 2 – 12 and provides a variety of clinical services to group home residents, foster children and community members.
The mission of The Marsh Foundation is to inspire hope, to teach and to care for children and families. For more information about The Marsh, visit www.marshfoundation.org.
VAN WERT, Ohio – The Van Wert Community Club stepped up and donated stockings filled with gifts for all 50 of the youth in group home and foster care at The Marsh Foundation. The generous donation is making the holiday a little more special for many.
The stockings included things like slippers, toys, candy and movie passes for the children. Club members Leilonnee Taylor and Deb Pearson were on hand to deliver the items to The Marsh last week. “The Marsh does so much for the community and we see the kids out in the community giving back, so we wanted to be able to do something for them,” said Taylor, the organization’s current president.
Dawn Berryman, marketing and public relations specialist, noted that the gifts are being kept until Christmas morning for the youth. “These stockings and gifts will put a lot of smiles on the kids’ faces on Christmas morning, we’re sure of it,” she said. “We really appreciate everything that the club does for the community and especially this very kind donation.”
The Van Wert Community Club very active. They are a non-profit service organization made up of volunteers who donate their time to support activities, fellowship, and goodwill in Van Wert and the surrounding area. Their mission is to benefit the citizens of Van Wert, Ohio and those from surrounding areas by sponsoring various public work projects, organizing public events, making charitable donations and other activities that benefit the public. You can learn more about the Van Wert Community Club by visiting their website at www.vwcclub.org.
Serving children and families since 1922, The Marsh Foundation is a not-for-profit children’s services agency that provides behavioral treatment in a variety of settings. Services include group homes, treatment and family foster care, an intensive treatment program and independent living. Located in Van Wert, Ohio, the organization’s group homes are licensed for up to 30 children ages 7 – 17, offers an on-campus school for grades 2 – 12 and provides a variety of clinical services to group home residents, foster children and community members.
The mission of The Marsh Foundation is to inspire hope, to teach and to care for children and families. For more information about The Marsh, visit www.marshfoundation.org.
###
Photo caption: (L to R) Leilonnee Taylor and Deb Pearson with the Van Wert Community Club were at The Marsh Foundation last week to drop off stocking donations for the 50 children in care.
VAN WERT, Ohio – For the second year in a row, Project Believe has helped to make Christmas a little brighter for youth at The Marsh Foundation. The organization, which originated four years ago, has continued to grow and now delivers hundreds of presents to children in Ohio.
Tammie Rafferty, the group’s founder, was inspired to help others by her own daughter’s circumstances a few years ago. Then, gifts were wrapped and sorted in her living room. This year, more than 100 volunteers gathered at a local school gymnasium to sort and wrap.
Gifts include things like pajamas, slippers, blankets, socks, gloves, books and other goodies. Each group home also received a bag of items like games and puzzles to share among the house.
“Donations like this mean a lot to our kids,” said Dawn Berryman, marketing and public relations specialist. “Christmas is often a difficult time for those missing family and organizations such as Project Believe help to ease that. We are so excited to have established a relationship with such a generous and thoughtful organization.”
You can learn more about Project Believe by visiting their website at www.projectbelive.net. Or, you can contact Rafferty directly at .
Serving children and families since 1922, The Marsh Foundation is a not-for-profit children’s services agency that provides behavioral treatment in a variety of settings. Services include group homes, treatment and family foster care, an intensive treatment program and independent living. Located in Van Wert, Ohio, the organization’s group homes are licensed for up to 30 children ages 7 – 17, offers an on-campus school for grades 2 – 12 and provides a variety of clinical services to group home residents, foster children and community members.
The mission of The Marsh Foundation is to inspire hope, to teach and to care for children and families. For more information about The Marsh, visit www.marshfoundation.org.
###
Photo caption: (L to R) Minda Springer, Tammie Rafferty and Matt Wunderlin (far right) from Project Believe present Christmas presents for Marsh Foundation youth to Dawn Berryman, marketing and public relations specialist at The Marsh Foundation.
[caption id="attachment_429" align="alignright" width="160"]
Gary L. Clay[/caption]
VAN WERT, Ohio – The Third District Court of Appeals has named Gary L. Clay as the newest member of The Marsh Foundation Board of Trustees. When he takes office on January 1, Clay will be the 18th Trustee to serve on the board since it was established in 1922. He is replacing retiring Trustee Gerald Thatcher, who has served as a Trustee since July of 2002.
Clay brings a wealth of experiences to his new position and said he is excited about the opportunity to serve The Marsh. He will join Bob Gamble and Gary Corcoran who are currently on the board. “I’m really excited about this because I think it is a great opportunity to make an impact on young people’s lives,” Clay said. “I know kids at The Marsh have had their struggles but giving them the opportunity to succeed is what I think is really important. I’m going to do the best I can to help The Marsh in any way,” he added.
Clay is a lifelong resident of Van Wert who graduated from Bluffton College with a double major in accounting and business administration. He is currently the president of Van Wert Federal Savings Bank and is a member of the bank’s board of directors. He is the secretary of the Van Wert County Hospital Board of Trustees, the vice-president of the Business Development Corporation Board and also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Van Wert County Foundation, Huntington University President’s Advisory Board and the Van Wert City tax abatement committee.
In the past, Clay has served as president of the Van Wert Chamber of Commerce and the Van Wert Sertoma Club, as well as the boards of the United Way, Junior Achievement, Van Wert Historical Society, Habitat for Humanity, Crime Stoppers, Family Caring Center, Pregnancy Life Center, Van Wert County Extension Advisory Board and Van Wert Band Parents. He is also an active member of Trinity United Methodist Church.
Gary and his wife Melissa have 4 children, Erica Clay, Lydia Mendenhall, Laura Scott and Andrew Clay. They also have five grandchildren; all of whom reside in the Van Wert area.
Serving children and families since 1922, The Marsh Foundation is a not-for-profit children’s services agency that provides behavioral treatment in a variety of settings. Services include group homes, treatment and family foster care, an intensive treatment program and independent living. Located in Van Wert, Ohio, the organization’s group homes are licensed for up to 30 children ages 7 – 17, offers an on-campus school for grades 2 – 12 and provides a variety of clinical services to group home residents, foster children and community members.
The mission of The Marsh Foundation is to inspire hope, to teach and to care for children and families. For more information about The Marsh, visit www.marshfoundation.org.
###
Wanted: Energetic foster parents responsible for providing support and care for at-risk youth in a family setting. Partially furnished, spacious apartment with minimal rental expenses provided. Complete, extensive training and supportive 24-hour on-call consultation also provided. Substantial reimbursement available. Experience with the Teaching Family Model a plus. Please send letter of interest to Director of Residential Services, PO Box 150, Van Wert, Ohio 45891.
You can see photos of the house here. Feel free to call 419.238.1695 ext. 360 for more information to to set up a tour.
You can also download the informational flyer here.
VAN WERT, Ohio – Youth at The Marsh Foundation are once again selling poinsettias for the holiday season. All proceeds from the sale will go to the campus’ Marsh Grown gardening program. The plants make beautiful decorations and/or holiday gifts.
There are three sizes available. The multi-bloom plants are available in 4.5 inches for $3.50, 6.5 inches for $8 and 8.5 inches for $15. The 4.5” plant is available in red, white or pink. The 6.5” and 8.5” plants are available in red, burgundy, marble (pink and cream) or jingle bells (red with white speckles). All proceeds will go to the Marsh Grown program for The Marsh Foundation youth. Orders must be placed before Friday, November 15 and can be picked up on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. during the greenhouse holiday open house.
To order, complete an order form found online. Or, call Sherry Grone at 419.238.1695 ext. 270 to place your order.
Serving children and families since 1922, The Marsh Foundation is a not-for-profit children’s services agency that provides behavioral treatment in a variety of settings. Services include group homes, treatment and family foster care, an intensive treatment program and independent living. Located in Van Wert, Ohio, the organization’s group homes are licensed for up to a total of 30 children ages 7 – 17, offers an on-campus school for grades 2 – 12 and provides a variety of clinical services to group home residents, foster children and community members.
The mission of The Marsh Foundation is to inspire hope, to teach and to care for children and families. For more information about The Marsh, visit www.marshfoundation.org.
###
VAN WERT, Ohio – Gerald Thatcher has served as a Marsh Foundation Trustee since July of 2002. After more than 11 years of service, his retirement will be official on Dec. 31.
Thatcher indicated that it has been an honor and a rewarding experience to serve as Trustee. Thatcher’s ties to The Marsh are deep. His father was employed by The Marsh for more than 50 years and often as a boy, Gerald would come and help on the farm. “I’m sure my parents would be very pleased that I was able to serve as a Trustee,” he said.
Thatcher said he is proud of his time as Trustee and is excited about the growth that has been seen and what is in store for the future. “It has given me tremendous satisfaction to be able to help children in need. He also credits the other Trustees and Marsh staff. “We have a great team,” he said.
“I have the highest respect for all of the people who give of themselves daily to help these kids in need; sometimes I don’t know how they do it,” he acknowledged. “I love to hear stories of the kids who have left and are doing well – those are the most rewarding moments.”
Thatcher will be missed by the entire Marsh Foundation family. Kim Mullins, executive director of child and family services has especially appreciated Thatcher’s dedication. “It has been a pleasure serving as director under Mr. Thatcher. I’ve appreciated his leadership and support very much,” she said. “His wisdom has guided us through many challenging situations and his contributions have been numerous. He will be greatly missed.”
Thatcher has decided that it is time to reduce his many responsibilities. He and his wife Esther have plans to travel and spend more time with their family.
Serving children and families since 1922, The Marsh Foundation is a not-for-profit children’s services agency that provides behavioral treatment in a variety of settings. Services include group homes, treatment and family foster care, an intensive treatment program and independent living. Located in Van Wert, Ohio, the organization’s group homes are licensed for up to 30 children ages 7 – 17, offers an on-campus school for grades 2 – 12 and provides a variety of clinical services to group home residents, foster children and community members.
The mission of The Marsh Foundation is to inspire hope, to teach and to care for children and families. For more information about The Marsh, visit www.marshfoundation.org.
###
Photo caption: Mr. Gerald Thatcher.