Memorial funds assist people who need help

The foundation wants to honor the policeman’s
memory with acts of
kindness.

CANFIELD — The Magnuson Foundation, formed last year after the city’s assistant police chief died in a skydiving accident, has had a busy year raising money in his memory.

Now, the foundation wants people to mark Nov. 16 on their calendars and plan to attend its second annual fund-raising dinner dance.

The evening will begin at 6:30 with a social hour at the Georgetown, 5945 South Ave., Boardman. It will include an auction and a raffle. Tickets are $40.

Proceeds will go toward scholarships in criminal justice at Youngstown State University and “random acts of kindness” for people in need in the community.

Annette Paskevitch helped form the foundation after Magnuson, 52, died in April 2006.

Magnuson was a well-known figure in law enforcement throughout the Mahoning Valley, but Paskevitch knew him as her karate teacher at Ohio Valley Martial Arts on U.S. Route 224.

She said she came up with the idea to continue Magnuson’s “random acts of kindness” as he came across people in need, and the foundation was born.

The foundation raised more than $14,000 last year, Paskevitch said.

She said the money was used for four YSU scholarships and to give people food at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The foundation teamed with the Knights of Columbus and Canfield Lions Club to collect and distribute food to more than 1,150 people in the Valley, she said. It also passed out turkeys and hams to the Rescue Mission, Salvation Army and the Greenford Reach program.

The foundation also donated money to Operation Smile, a medical services organization that gives free surgeries in several countries to children with cleft palates and cleft lips.

It also donated money to several families in the area who needed help, Paskevitch said.

Paskevitch said the foundation is also active in local schools by encouraging students to perform a random act of kindness, then pass on cards that say “You’ve been Magnu-tized.” The person passing on a card puts his or her initials on the back. The person who receives the card is asked, in turn, to perform an act of kindness and pass the card on.

The foundation is also sponsoring an art contest for students in Western Reserve, Canfield, Austintown and Boardman school districts. The Butler Institute of American Art will provide the judge. Three winners from each district will receive savings bonds.

For more information about the dinner, call Paskevitch at (330) 507-8130 or Shelly Colucci at (330) 883-1872.

Tickets are available at Ron Haus Motors on U.S. Route 224 in Canfield.