The funds, dispersed over the next three years, will provide a camp experience for school’s sixth graders.

Mr. Yenrick said it is important to show students what lies beyond their east side neighborhood. 

“They [students at Oakdale] don't get out of Oakdale,” Mr. Yenrick said. He recounted an episode where the youngsters were headed across the Martin Luther King, Jr., Bridge, and caught a glimpse of the large screen at Promenade Park. The youths were in awe of the screen, but it showed Mr. Yenrick that the students had never been to downtown Toledo or even crossed into West Toledo. 

Without programs like the one provided through the grant it seemed unlikely to Mr. Yenrick that the youngsters would experience nature, he said, adding “They don't know what it's like to ride horses or have a campfire.”

In 2021, the school began accepting donations, so the students at Oakdale could go to Camp Storer in Michigan.

By coincidence, Mr. Yenrick was at a volleyball match, supporting his daughter’s sport, and came across Josh Hillabrand doing likewise. Mr. Yenrick asked Mr. Hillabrand if he’d like to make a donation to the camp fund, and Mr. Hillabrand became invested in Oakdale. 

The owner of construction company Hillabrand & Sons ended up donating about $2,000, which allowed youths to keep going to camp. 

“Growing up my dad was poor,” Mr. Hillabrand said. So he empathized with many of those attending Oakdale, and is still supporting the school. 

With the foundation taking on a primary cost for camp, Mr. Hillabrand is hoping to supplement the needs of the students in some other way. 

“The foundation is really young, and we are really evolving and looking for partners that want to grow with us,” Kate Blake, the board president of the John Henry Eldred Jr. Foundation, said. There are three main avenues the foundation is looking to invest: housing stability, food security and youth education. 

Last year the foundation gave away $1.5 million, and it’s hoping to contribute $2 million this year. 

“We are currently in the midst of accepting grant applications until April 9th,” Ms. Blake said, encouraging anyone with a vision for a better community to apply. The grants are for up to $25,000, and she expects there will be somewhere around 40 grant recipients this year. 

For more information contact the John Henry Eldred Jr. Foundation at jhefoundation.org.