Shoveling Snow Bonds Lakewood Community, Helps Those In Need

LAKEWOOD, OH — Winter in northern Ohio offers a few constants: freezing temperatures, people surfing Lake Erie somehow, and plenty of snow. It's the latter that requires a community to sometimes come together to help one another and make the sidewalks more passable.

Lakewood requires all property owners to clear snow from the sidewalks around their home. Snowfall must be cleared from those paths within 24 hours of the storm stopping. That can be a problem for older residents and people with medical challenges.

That's why LakewoodAlive runs its volunteer snow shoveling program. The purpose of the program is simple — aid anyone who might need help clearing snow from their driveway and sidewalks.

Lauren Brocone is one of the program's volunteers. She clears snow from three neighboring driveways and sidewalks using noting but a shovel and the occasional muscle of a friend.

"I feel good after all that. It helps that person. To know they don't have to worry about that, I'm not worried about the physical challenges. I haven't felt any dread. We had fun yesterday to do that," she said Monday after another burst of snow left a few inches in Lakewood.

It takes her about one hour to get through all three properties she's been assigned. If there's more snow, it can take more time. In fact, when Lakewood got nearly 15 inches of snow on Jan. 17, Brocone knew it might be a more arduous lift.

"At first, I thought, "Oh boy, here we go. That's a lot of snow," she told Patch. But less than two hours later, she had dug out three neighbors and made the community work walkable.

Sandy Feicht and her husband also joined the program to give back to their community. They attended several LakewoodAlive workshops and wanted to pay back both the organization and their neighbors. Now they help clear the sidewalks and driveway of a neighbor through the program.

Now Feicht is so committed to helping, she's startled the homeowner of the property she helps clear. After a light snow, and after clearing her own property, Feicht marched over and shoveled her assigned neighbor's driveway. The homeowner saw Feicht, came out and asked what she was doing there, wasn't there barely any snow on the ground?

Feicht told her, "Anytime I shovel my driveway, I'll shovel yours."

"It's rewarding for us to get out there. It's a nice workout. And you feel like you're helping. You pay back the community," she told Patch.

Both Feicht and Brocone praised LakewoodAlive for both making volunteering easy and pressure free. They both praised the program organizers for being transparent and communicative. All the volunteers know where they need to go and when, they told Patch.

LakewoodAlive is currently accepting new shoveling volunteers, but the program is maxed out on homes and driveways getting help this season.

"We are so happy to help in this effort of neighbors helping neighbors however, we have reached our capacity this season. We are accepting the names, addresses, and contact information of additional neighbors-in-need to keep for next year's snow season," a LakewoodAlive spokesperson told Patch.