More than 20 volunteers from six rental companies and two Cleveland-area organizations joined forces to take part in the inaugural project of the Community Impact Program, a combined effort of the ARA Foundation and The Toro Company Foundation.
The group of volunteers revitalized a pollinator garden, created new landscaping beds and refurbished the baseball infield at the Broadway Club of the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Ohio. The volunteers and equipment used for the project came from:
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Bobcat of Cleveland – Leppo Rents, North Ridgeville, Ohio
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Event Source, Cleveland
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General Rent-All, Massillon, Ohio
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Handy Rents, Eastlake, Ohio
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Miller’s Party Rental Center, Akron, Ohio
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Sun Rental Center, Mentor, Ohio
The ARA of Ohio helped support the event and provided lunch.
This joint program involves both foundations partnering with local nonprofit organizations to coordinate community service projects across the country. Four such projects are planned for this year — all involving the collaboration of American Rental Association (ARA) members, ARA state associations, and Toro and Ditch Witch representatives in each of the select locations who will source donations and volunteers to work on the projects.
Scott Pevey, senior manager, marketing, Ditch Witch, Perry, Okla., and ARA Associate Member director, presented the original idea to both foundations because he saw this “as a unique opportunity that aligned with the missions of both foundations,” he says.
“Both are nonprofit associations that will be helping other local nonprofit organizations by conducting community enhancement events in each of the 10 ARA regions over the next two years. And both associations are very much alike as they share very similar missions, values and cultures. Another important ingredient in this partnership is the people at the ARA, The Toro Co. and Ditch Witch. Everyone involved at each organization cares about serving the communities in which they live, work and raise their families. The Community Impact Program will leverage the talents and resources of these two groups to engage rental members and promote the rental industry through important community-enhancement projects,” he says.
As soon as she heard the idea, Marcy Johnson, ARA Foundation executive director, thought it would be a perfect fit.
“It just seemed to make a lot of sense. Together we can make an even bigger impact on the local communities in which these projects occur,” she says.
Judson McNeil, president, The Toro Company Foundation, agrees. “One of the things that was so exciting about the ARA Foundation and the Toro Company Foundation coming together is that we were going to be able to bring together the assets of who we are as organizations as well as members of ARA and The Toro Co. This project would provide local visibility of members and, ultimately, leave a lasting connection with the nonprofits that we work with,” she says.
The Broadway Club of the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Ohio was identified as an excellent opportunity because it serves so many in the community — an average daily attendance of nearly 800 youth, ages 6-18. It offers robust outdoor and horticulture programs for the youth to engage with and experience nature through a variety of hands-on, interactive and fun program opportunities. It also has a baseball field that is ready to be put in full use after being enhanced with the proper equipment from the rental industry and volunteer assistance by those who offer that equipment for rent.
“Because of the pandemic, the Boys & Girls Club had been pretty much shut down last year. It needed some TLC to get it back up and running. That is exactly what we did,” Johnson says.
The baseball field was the first project to be tackled. “We worked with a contractor on that because it is too big a project for us to do in a day. The contractor did the prep work before we got there. We helped refurbish the field, spread the dirt, grade the infield and work on the outfield. We also worked on the children’s garden and cleaned up some of the landscaping around the building, which the kids will maintain going forward,” Johnson says.
This project “had a need for our compact utility loaders and stand-on skid steers,” McNeil says. “We brought in some units to do grading, leveling and cultivating. We had people operating the equipment as well as push wheelbarrows and dig holes for plantings.”
ARA of Ohio board members immediately got involved with this project as “it seemed like a good fit for our state association and for each of us individually. It offered great exposure for something that is in line with what our members offer: quality equipment and knowledgeable people,” says Dan Fielitz, president, General Rent-All, Massillon, Ohio, and ARA of Ohio president.
The project also allowed those in the area to see how rental equipment can be utilized to help the community. “One of the main themes we have at General Rent-All is ‘Our role is to HELP.’ This was a great chance to demonstrate our members' familiarity, knowledge and experience with what we carry every day at our local rental yards and show how our equipment can make a positive difference in the lives of our customers and the entire community,” he says.