Hats Off To Our Heroes: Rick Costanzo

This week's hero is Rick Costanzo, a volunteer with Helping Hands. During the pandemic, most support groups had to decrease the amount of times they could go out and help in the community. However, Rick and his team at Helping Hands doubled their efforts to provide the homeless of Cleveland with food, blankets, tents and other essentials.

This week's hero is Don Bloom, the head custodian at Akron Public Schools. When the pandemic began, Don not only took on the sole responsibility of cleaning the school to make it safe for students and staff, he also volunteered to pass out breakfast and lunch to kids in the neighborhood that needed help when the school was shut down.

This week's hero is Holly Miller, the Director of Nursing at Crawford Manor, who gave up her wedding day to care for her patients. Holly works primarily with the elderly in the nursing home and works all hours around the clock to care for them.

This week's hero is Cathy Davis, the Administrator for Northern Ohio Recovery Association. Cathy wears many hats and has helped manage to keep the food pantry open during the pandemic, despite the uptick in individuals needing assistance, whether it be from food, mental health or addiction. Cathy mentors the youth by teaching them job skills and helps court appointees reduce their fines by volunteering at NORA. Cathy does a little bit of it all to help those in need.

This week's hero is Nick Frank, a registered nurse at University Hospitals. When the pandemic began, Nick not only had to deal with COVID-19 at work, but also at home, when his 1.5 year old tested positive for the virus. After his recovery, his wife started showing symptoms and Nick stayed home to take care of the household while his wife recovered. Nick not only helped his family through COVID, but numerous others as well.

This week's hero is Alice Ramser, the Director & Treasurer of Audrey's Outreach. Alice helped transition from indoor food & supply donations to a drive-through to keep all participants safe during the pandemic. Alice, from all of us at the Browns, we thank you.

This week's hero is Chris Louis, a firefighter and paramedic for the Akron Fire Department. Every shift, Chris is put at risk when making house calls, but he and his team follow the necessary protocols to keep both them and their families safe. Chris, from all of us at the Browns, we thank you.

This week's hero is Kelsey Lesniak, a Clinical Research Specialist at University Hospitals. When the COIVD-19 pandemic began, Kelsey stepped up to the plate to lead two important clinical trials that helped obtain valuable data to help diagnose, treat and prevent COVID-19.

This week's hero is Eric Ohman, a former serviceman and current firefighter. every shift, Eric is put at risk when making house calls, but he and his team follow the necessary protocols to keep both them and their families safe.

This week's hero is This Week we recognize Annie Creatore, a registered nurse who didn't hesitate to help those in need, despite being In her first trimester with her second child. Annie, from all of us at the Browns, we thank you.

This week's Hats Off To Our Heroes winner is Kendalyn Mackay, a dialysis technician at Fresenius Kidney Care. Kendalyn has been working multiple 12 hour shift every week to help her patients who are more susceptible to COVID through weakened immune systems. Her work is simply saving lives.

Matt Keene has been selected for this week's Hats Off To Our Heroes award. Matt is an assistance manager at Applebee's. Since the pandemic began, Matt and his team wanted to help out in the community and have donated food to first responders, including police officers and fireman.