Living The Big Give!
If you weren’t in church for the Return of The Big Give, you can isten to our joyful celebration and hear about some of the many talents people demonstrated. Or just read about them below!
- Forest Hill Thunder Run 5-K Run ~ July 18th
Jim Roosa and Jed Koops presented the inaugural Forest Hill Thunder 5-K Run for their Big Give gift. Contestants ran as individuals or part of a 3-person relay team. Awards were given for Age group, relay and best costume along with free T-Shirts for first 100 entrants.
- An original watercolor “house portrait” of your home or that special someone’s home
These beautifully framed and matted watercolor paintings were created by Chantal Miller and Joan Kandare.
- College Planning
Rosanna Sprague, educational consultant and owner of College Planning Partners, LLC offered one hour of introductory college planning for only $25.00 including how to create a list of appropriate colleges, make smart college visits, understand the difference between the SAT and ACT, which to take and when, and more. (www.collegeplanningpartners.com)
- Anne & David Hunter’s Big Give Garage Sale
With all proceeds going to the Big Give, and any leftover items going to charity, Anne & Dave Hunter’s Big Give Garage Sale was a big success.
- Family Music Workshops
Early childhood music specialist Lisa Huisman Koops, Ph.D. offered a very special musical experience for families to learn how to play musically with their children. Families participated in music activities and took home a Family Music Kit to continue the learning at home. Grace Uhle assisted with this event.
- Baklava!
Chris Bell created and sold handmade, layer-by-buttery-layer, traditional Middle Eastern baklava. Nom, nom, nom….
- Proceeds from Teaching Continuing Education Class
An anonymous donor considered how God had blessed her with the gifts of education and teaching skills and found an exciting way to share her talents with the Big Give by dedicating the income from a CSU class she taught to the Big Give.
- Pine Cone Wreath Project Opportunity!
Diana Woodbridge organized a group project to make pine cone wreaths from pine cones donated by Mary Ann Pogue. Members and friends of Forest Hill came together to help wire the cones onto the wreath frames and then shared in the profits, which were donated to the Big Give.
- 40″ Toshiba Flat Screen HDTV Raffle!
Jason Hidek and several others combined their $50 gifts and purchased a 40″ Toshiba flat screen HDTV to raffle off at the Big Give Festival.
- Parents Night Out Offered! Friday evening, May 15th
Jeannine Gury, Scott Peters and Brooke Marcy supervised children ages 5-10 for a Parent’s Night Out in the church’s Youth Room, providing play, a pizza dinner and a movie.
- Indians Tickets Raffle - Win Four Tickets!
Liz and Emily Wollaeger raffled off chances to win four tickets for the Cleveland Indians v. Cincinnati Reds game Sunday, June 28.
- Big Give Festival Bake Sale!
Val Flechtner and others fed the masses at the Big Give Festival with a Bake Sale. 
- Historical Hot Fudge Sauce
Kris Fay cooked up batch after batch of fellow member Verna Bidelman’s outrageously delicious Hot Fudge Sauce, all of which sold out almost as soon as she made them!
- VerbalEyes songs for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, etc.
For $10 a song, our own Jane Kowall of VerbalEyes fame wrote personalized songs for special occasions - sort of a roast made of musical notes. Jane chose only well-known tunes to make it easy for party guests to describe and delight the honoree in song.
- Homemade Cut-Out Sugar Cookies made from scratch.
Fresh-baked from scratch, hand-decorated, and beautifully gift-wrapped cookies were available after worship on Sundays thanks to Carolyn Charles and Dick Obermanns.
Tricia Dykers-Koenig offered the perfect gift for book-loving Presbyterians. For the price of a book plus a freewill donation, Tricia arranged to have various Presbyterian authors autograph copies of whichever book the buyer chose.
- Unique Handmade Birdfeeders
Ted Woodbridge made great birdfeeders to draw cardinals, warblers, woodpeckers and more to your yard. Each came with instructions on how to hang it so it would be squirrel proof.
- Michigan or Ohio State blankets
Purchasers could vote for their favorite team by purchasing a fringed fleece team blanket crafted by FHC members, Diana Woodbridge and Chessie Bleick. Diana made and sold blankets for the University of Michigan while Chessie’s blankets showed her support for the Ohio State University. Additional orders can be emailed to Diana (Michigan) or Chessie (OSU).
- List of 50 Big Give Idea
Peg Weissbrod sold sheets of 50 great Big Give ideas: things to make, services to provide, activities to offer.
- Bake Sale
Delicious goodies were sold in Fellowship Hall after worship on April 26–all baked by Victoria Taylor as her Big Give project.
- A Dinner to Benefit Forest Hill Church’s Big Give
Traci Ext and Loren Toplitz served a Greek-themed dinner at their Cleveland Heights home: a tzatziki appetizer, followed by a plentiful Greek salad and a vegetarian Greek pasta main dish with Traci’s special, made-from-scratch sauce, and Loren’s signature crepes for dessert. Suggested donation was $20 per person, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Big Give. As one recent critic noted, “What Ext/Toplitz lacks in space and seating capacity, they more than make up for in flavor and enthusiasm!”
- Baked Goods from the Pathway’s “Creation Inn”
Kathryn Eloff used part of her $50 to purchase ingredients for the Pathways classes to use to create delicious baked goods for sale after worship. They were delicious and they went fast!