Upcoming event, August  28 , 2010 -

We are gearing up for our fourth annual Kids Fun Free Day/Book Bag Give-Away to be held at Tod Park in Girard on August  28 , 2010. Hours will be from 1 p.m. -  5 p.m.

Any child needing a book bag and supplies and/or a day filled with fun is welcome to attend!

Also, this Sept. 13, 2010 marks the 5th anniversary of Lena, Mason and Christian's Deaths. At the beginning of this event we will hold a vigil in their memories .

Spaghetti Dinner 2010 -

 Although we had the worst snowstorm of the year on the day of our spaghetti dinner , we were able to raise $ 5,330  !!

Thank you to all who helped to make our  4th annual spaghetti dinner a success despite the weather !! We had 61 baskets that were donated to raffle! The basket raffle is a big part of our fundraiser and we appreciate folks caring enough to donate one to help fund our case!

The AFL-CIO Union Counselors once again cooked up some yummy food and because we had leftovers this year, the Union Counselors were able to donate food to the Hospitality House in Youngstown to help feed hungry folks and families .

Donations by the Lena,Mason, Christian Fund , 2010

So far this year we were able to contribute money to help  a little girl from Niles with a serious illness  to be able  to visit Disneyland .

We were able to help a lady who is now raising her sister's children because she lost her sister to murder.She needed baby items .

We were able to contribute money for a fundraiser for a child who had tumors on their brain.

We were able to purchase new blankets for children whose families are living in shelters.This is our Bundle Up program.

We were able to purchase new coats for the Help Hotline Button Up program.

PAST  EVENT!! 2010! 

In loving memory of Lena Cross and our babies, Mason and Christian
to benefit the children of our community
Sponsored by Mahoning-Trumbull AFL-CIO Union Counselors and Cindy Michael and Family
Tickets donated by Third Ward Councilman Edward Stredney, Niles, Ohio
Saturday, February 6, 2010 • 11:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.

IBEW Local 573 Union Hall

4550 Research Highway, Warren, Ohio (Champion) Same road as TCTC,Kent State Trumbull Branch and Champion Fairhaven Workshop.

Donation $6.00 per person • Children 6 and under - FREE

Large selection of Basket Raffle and 50/50 Drawing

Donate online now! 

  Here:

-SPAGHETTI DINNER 2009

Thanks to all that either donated money, raffle baskets , time or all the above, to our third annual spaghetti dinner. With the help of friends, family, caring folks in our community ,  and the Mahoning-Trumbull AFL-CIO Union Counselors , we were able to raise $6,000 dollars this year!

I must admit that I was a bit worried about how much we would raise this year with the economy being what it is. With the economy being what it is , I am sure that we will get more requests for children in need.

DONATIONS BY THE LENA,MASON,CHRISTIAN FUND 2009 

I am happy to say that the folks in our community stepped up to the plate once again and enabled us to return a call for help for three kindergarten students that needed winter coats . I bought each a coat, hat, mittens, a package of socks and a new shirt for school.

Also since the spaghetti dinner, a school Nurse reached out looking for help for three children that were in dire need of new shoes for school. I was able to buy each a new pair of shoes, a package of socks and a new shirt for school.

I made up a children's toy basket to be donated to a Night at the Races in Newton Falls to benefit the program that searches for lost children in our community.

We distrubuted 290 book bags  and cooked up 950 hot dogs at our annual Kids Free Fun Day/Book Bag Give-Away held at Tod Park in Girard.

We donated money to Inspiring Minds to help youth stay in school and prepare for a career.

We were able to donate money to a little boy that was bit in the face by a dog.

We were able to donate a basket for a Police Officer's benefit .The Officer was injured in the line of duty and has small children.

We donated a basket for a fundraiser for a little girl with cerebral palsy. 

We purchased and gave toys to a little boy who was removed from his home due to physical abuse.

We donated water for a vigil held in memory of a slain child and provided food for the band that performed at the event.

We donated a basket for a fundraiser for a little boy that was injured at a sporting event.

We donated a basket for a fundraiser so that underprivileged children could join Tae Kwon Do classes.

We were able to purchase toys and distribute them to the Emmanuel House, Mahoning and Trumbull Missions along with the Mahoning-Trumbull Afl-CIO and Union Counselors for children at Christmas.

We purchased clothes ,shoes and socks for two children whose parent fell on hard times.

We also purchased toys for 14 different children from several different families for Christmas.

At the last minute before Christmas morning ,we donated a gift certificate to a mother whose children's christmas toys were stolen. 

We purchased clothes for the surviving children of a murder victim.

We purchased new coats for the Help Hotline Button Up Coat give-away.

We purchased new blankets for our Bundle Up Blanket program to be distrubuted to children in shelters. 

We did all of this in 2009 because you cared enough to donate to our fundraiser of 2009!! Thank you!!

We sincerely thank you all for your help and participation in lending a helping hand to the children that need one.

( Past Event ) On August 29, 2009 , we will hold our third annual Kids Free Fun Day/ Book Bag Give/Away at Tod Park in Girard , from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. We will provide a day full of  food and fun for the kids and give out book bags stuffed with school supplies. We hope to see you there!

(Past Event ) On Feb. 7, 2009 ,11 a.m. - 5 p.m.at 1265 North Main Street, Niles,Ohio , ( Steelworkers Hall) we will hold our third annual spaghetti dinner in loving memory of Lena,Mason and Christian.Tickets will be $6.00 dollars for adults, children five and under, free.Checks should be made payable to the Lena,Mason,Christian Memorial Fund and  can be mailed to Cindy Michael, 150 South Four Mile Run Road, Youngstown,Ohio 44515.Tickets will also be available at the door the day of this event.We will have baskets to raffle off and a 50/50 drawing.

We hope to see you there! It is your support that helps us to help the children in our community! 

(PAST EVENT) -Thanks to all who helped to make our second annual Kids Free Fun Day / Book Bag Give-Away( Summer 2008) a huge success! We served over 800 hot dogs, 400 sticks of cotton candy and 400 bags of popcorn!!

The kids enjoyed Jocko and Porgie the clown , a visit from Scrappy , a visit from the Girard Firefighters who arrived on their firetruck, making crafts at the craft table and face painting!!

We gave away 275 book bags and held a free raffle where the kids each got a surprise gift! 

The proceeds from our annual spaghetti dinner and contributions from the community helped to make this event a success! 

Special thanks to the following for their donations:

1. Mahoning -Trumbull AFL-CIO  and their Union Counselors

2. Community Services

3. United Way

4. Help Hotline

5. Girard Firefighters

6. Girard Dairy Queen

7. Fairhaven workshop - North Road employees 

8. Kidz Kastle Day Care

9.Small Smiles Dental Clinic

10. MacPherson Glass  Company 

11. ALL the volunteers who gave their time to this event 

12. Tribune Chronicle 

13. Mahoning Valley Scrappers 

14. McKinley Mutual Benefit Association 

 Sincerely,

Cindy Michael and family in conjunction with the Lena,Mason,Christian Memorial Fund 

( PAST EVENT) Please join us !! On August 30th ,  2008,from 1 - 5 p.m, at Tod Park in Girard, we will hold our second annual kids free fun day / book bag give-away.Join us in remembering our babies, Mason and Christian , and their mother, Lena. Also, if you know a child that could use a good start to school or just wants to have some good fun, bring them!

We will provide hot dogs and refreshments, popcorn , face painting,a craft table, free book bags crammed with school supplies, a free raffle to give away other goodies AND Jocko the clown and Porgie the clown will perform for us!! We will also be giving away free smoke detectors!

We hope to see you at this event.

( PAST HISTORY ) Since our second annual spaghetti dinner (2008) we have been able to

purchase gift certificates from Giant Eagle for two different families so that they could have Easter dinner.

We donated money to a little girl that needs a liver transplant. 

We donated a kids fun basket filled with toys for a benefit for a little girl who was badly burned.We also donated money to this cause. 

We were able to hold our second annual Kids Free FunDay/Book Bag Give -Away where we gave away  275 book bags. (Scroll down for all Christmas years.)

(PAST EVENT) Our second annual spaghetti dinner in loving memory of Lena,Mason and Christian was held on Feb. 9th, 2008.

This dinner was a great success! We raised $8,000 dollars this year!

We raffled off over 60 beautiful baskets,thanks to all that donated one to our cause.We had some folks who donated 3 and 4 baskets each!

We served a little over 800 yummy meatballs and 100 pounds of pasta!!

Thanks to all who came and donated to the cause of bringing a smile to a child's face! I am grateful to live in a community that is so giving and caring.

Special thanks goes to the AFL-CIO Union Counselors and Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 396! These are the folks who donated the spaghetti,meatballs and sauce,cooked it and served it!!

Our next event will be the second annual kids fun day/ book bag give-away.

The date for this will be announced and I hope it will be even bigger and better with more children having fun!! Because of YOU we are able to hold this day of fun and help prepare children for an exciting school year !

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for caring!!

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(CURRENT EVENT) I have wristbands that read, "Justice" on the top and on the bottom they read "lenamasonchristian.org" The wristbands are black with red lettering.

Donations for these wristbands are $2.00 each, with the monies collected going directly into the Lena, Mason, Christian Memorial fund.

Please e-mail me at cindyamichael@yahoo.com if you are interested in obtaining one of these wristbands to support our cause.

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( PAST EVENT) Thanks to all the folks in the community who joined us on Saturday, Sept.1,2007 at Tod Park in Girard, Ohio

In loving memory of Lena,Mason and Christian, we were able to distribute 140 bookbags containing school supplies.

It was truly a fun day for the children in our community judging by the smiles we saw! Their smiles warmed our hearts!

I can never say enough about the great,caring folks in our community. When we announced this free fun day for children to be paid for through our Lena,Mason,Christian Memorial fund,folks stepped up to donate items and their time.

To everyone who attended and to everyone who contributed in any way,we sincerely appreciate you! You helped to give the greatest gift that exists, a smile to a child's face.

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 (PAST EVENT) I have bumper stickers that I am putting in the stores in our area along with a letter asking folks to please join with us in our quest for justice for Lena and our babies as we approach Sept.13, the second anniversary of their unsolved murders in 2005.Please pick one up and apply it to your vehicle.Yours could be the one that makes the difference.

Thanks,Cindy

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( PAST EVENT) Thank you all for your support in regards to our first benefit spaghetti dinner on Feb. 3,2007 in loving memory of Lena,Mason and Christian to benefit the children in our community that are in need.

Temps were frigid,but your hearts were warm!We served 75 pounds of pasta,ran out of meatballs and bread,had to run out and get more!Sorry to those who had to wait for their food!

The generous outpouring from our community and beyond,helped us to raise a grand total of $5,147 dollars!!

Fifty-one raffle baskets were donated,with only six of those coming from businesses,the rest from caring friends and folks in our community!

A great,big,"Thank you!" to the Mahoning-Trumbull AFL-CIO Union Counselor's!! You are awesome! We would also like to thank our family and friends who pitched in to help during this event.Each and every person who contributed,whether it was buying tickets,donating money,washing tables,serving cake,mopping and sweeping floors,whatever your contribution,YOU helped to make this benefit a success!!Please know that you are appreciated!

If you know of a child who is need,please e-mail me.

cindyamichael@yahoo.com

This is something that we would like to keep moving forward with.

Upon reaching out,we have found many children ,right here in our own backyards,who are in need.

I will continue to post on here how,with your generous support,we have been able to bring rays of sunshine to children.

It would be so easy to allow the deep,dark anger and
hatred to consume our souls. We reach out so as not to
allow it.Each effort we make,each smile we can bring
to a child's face,wipes away another shred of
blackness and replaces it with rays of light and hope.
The children of our community deserve a
chance to be just what they are,children.

( PAST HISTORY ) Since the spaghetti dinner,( 2007) we have been able to help a family whose head of the household was between disability checks and paychecks due to a serious health condition.This household contained two children.

We also were able to help a family with three children who had lost all their belongings in a house fire.We purchased new clothing for the children and presented a gift certificate to cover some of the children's other needs.

We gave away 140 + bookbags at our Kid's Free Fun Day held at Tod Park in Girard on Sept.1,2007. We hope to make this an annual event.

We were able to help a family who are the victims of a triple homicide by purchasing groceries for the children. Two of the surviving children of this tragedy are being raised by a family member who has two children of her own. We also purchased a basketball hoop and some other outdoor toys to help to motivate them to go outside and play.

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On Oct.13,2007, we participated in the Children's Museum of Youngstown's Halloween Spooktacular.

Non- profit foundations for Children were invited to set up a table and participate. It was a lot of fun and there were a lot of children who attended! The Children's Museum did a great job providing fun and a safe setting for the Children!

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( PAST AND CURRENT CHRISTMAS ) Christmas, 2005,2006,2007,2008

Christmas of 2005, we were able to present the Warren
Family Mission with a $500.00 check to buy for
children who otherwise might not have new toys under
their trees on Christmas morning. Along with the
employees of Fairhaven,we were able to present many
toys to the Mission in honor of Lena,Mason and
Christian.

Christmas of 2006, we along with the Mahoning-Trumbull
AFL-CIO,we were able to present some 100 new toys to
the mission.We also donated a check in the sum of
$250.00 so that more new toys could be bought.

Upon hearing that the Mission was still in need,Joe and I
bought more toys, then delivered and helped to distribute
to those families in need.Joe is my Son and Father to the babies.

We also were able to obtain the names of 9 other
children in our community who were in need of toys and
clothing for Christmas.
We gave to all in honor and loving memory of
Lena,Mason and Christian.
To all that we were able to give to,we would like to
thank for helping us in our healing process.

Christmas of 2007, we decided to try something different this year and reach out to individual families who needed help this Christmas.

I spoke with the parents of 28 different children and learned what it was that they really wanted as presents under their Christmas trees. I learned their clothes sizes and their favorite colors and sports teams.Then my Daughter and I went shopping with each child's name in our minds.

I learned that their parents had been layed off from or lost their jobs,others had fallen into hard times due to other various reasons.

I usually don't meet the folks that I help through our fund because someone tells me of the needs, I get the ages and go shopping.My usual drop off point for the items purchased is Kidz Kastle Day Care in Girard. The owner there serves as the point person for the pick-up.

This year I shared tears and hugs with the parents of some of these children.

Although I could try to put into words how my heart was touched ,I would not fully be able to. It is just beyond words.

One family in particular really stood out.The Mother was only asking for clothes,and socks and pj's for her children.The youngest was only three years old.The Mahoning-Trumbull AFL-CIO Ex. Board and Delegates and Union Counselor's donated their toys from their Christmas parties for the children of this family. Three of the Union Counselor's went shopping on their own and bought some more toys and pj's.I went clothes shopping and purchased Giant Eagle gift cards so that they could enjoy a good Christmas dinner.There were seven children in this family and through circumstances this family found themselves in hard times this year.

 Christmas of 2008 , we helped 20 children to have a Merry Christmas.
 Again this year, we got to meet some of the families in person.Others helped me as they were the "drop off " folks.

I found that many more families needed help with the purchase of Christmas dinner in addition to toys and or clothes for their children this year.

 One family needed toys, a Christmas tree and decorations and help with Christmas dinner.The children were so excited to have a tree and pretty decorations to put on it! I know that they were even more excited on Christmas morning!

I want to thank Butch Taylor and Rabb Marinelli  from Plumbers and Pipefitters 396 , as they also pitched in even more towards food and gifts for this family with three children.

 We also bought twenty board games for preschoolers whose parent's incomes fall below the poverty level.

This year, once again with the Mahoning - Trumbull AFL-CIO body and the Union Counselors , we were able to donate approximately 150 toys to the Warren and Mahoning missions. 

We have committed to spending $400.00 dollars to purchase new coats for children in our community. Help Hotline will distribute the coats to children in need through their "Button Up " program.If you have a gently worn coat  that you would like to donate,please contact me.They will be taken to La France Cleaners where they will be dry cleaned for free.Coats will be collected until January 31,2009.

We initated a " Bundle Up " program this year and we have committed to spending $300.00 on brand new blankets for children living in shelters.They will be able to take their new blankets with them when they are able to leave the shelters.Help Hotline will distribute these blankets to those children in need.If you would like to donate a new blanket please contact me. Blankets will be collected until January 31,2009.

Keep the coats and blankets in mind each year as we, along with the Mahoning-Trumbull AFL-CIO Union Counselors , will participate in these programs each year in conjunction with Help Hotline.

A great big "Thank you! " to all that have donated to the Lena,Mason,Christian Fund.Without your help we could not have helped all the children that we have this past year.

( PAST EVENT) Plans are in place for our second annual spaghetti dinner ( 2008) held in conjunction with the Mahoning-Trumbull AFL-CIO Union Counselors.

It will be held on Feb. 9 , 2008, at the same location ,Steelworker's Hall ,1265 N. Main Street, Niles,Ohio.

The hours will be 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Cost of the tickets will be $6.00 dollars for adults,children six and under are free.Checks should be made payable to the LenaMasonChristian Memorial Fund.Checks can be mailed to 150 South Four Mile Run Road,Youngstown,Ohio,44515.Tickets will also be available at the door the day of the event.There will also be a 50/50 raffle and baskets to raffle off.

We hope to see you there!

All monies collected will go directly to the Lena,Mason,Christian Memorial Fund.

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