Bridging Communities: Home to Home Students Visit MLK Jr. Mural and Tolhouse

Last Thursday, students from Home to Home made stops at Glenwood Lutheran, the site of the new MLK Jr. mural, and Tolhouse, a community hub of culture, music, innovation, and networking. Although a private club, Tolhouse is the home of Lucille’s Jazz Bar and the Earth Café, both open to the public.

At Glenwood Lutheran, students heard about the Change Wall, a collaborative mural project created by Pastor Chris Hanley, artist and muralist Dean Davis, and John Eikost, Toledo Arts Commission Board member. They hope the mural will be an inspiration to the greater Toledo community to live out Dr. King’s legacy. The mural was inspired by the words of Amanda Gorman and the illustrations from Loren Long from the book Change Sings. Although still unfinished, the Change Wall is nearly complete and can be viewed from the church’s parking lot off Glenwood Avenue near the Toledo Art Museum.

Students spent the rest of the evening with Will Lucas, founder of Tolhouse, and Reverend John Jones from Hope Toledo.  Their messages to students were filled with important insights about how to make a positive impact in the community through compassion, creativity, innovation, collaboration, and vision.

Special thanks to Will Lucas, Reverend John Jones, Pastor Chris Hanley, John Eikost, and Dean Davis for taking the time out of their busy schedules to speak to students from Scott and Ottawa Hills. Thanks to the staff at Tolhouse house for their incredible hospitality and generosity.

Home to Home is a partnership between Scott High School and Ottawa Hills High School that strives to establish connections. The mission of the partnership is to gather the Scott High School and the Ottawa Hills High School communities in intentional, safe, and honest platforms focused on fostering relationships, developing leadership, and strengthening understanding.

We extend our sincerest gratitude to Pete Kadens, whose visionary outlook has inspired us to build bridges, forge connections, open doors, and establish Home to Home.