(upbeat music) - Hey out there, Akronites.

Welcome once again to "Around Akron with Blue Green," and wow, do we have a hot episode ahead of us today?!

I'm gonna head to downtown Akron and learn all about hot roasted peanuts at The Peanut Shoppe.

I'm gonna meet up with the American Red Cross, and I'm gonna give some blood.

I'm gonna head over to A Walk in the Park Cafe and check out this amazing location.

Now to kick this show off today, I'm gonna head down to Kenmore Garfield High School and learn all about this amazing program that gives all students some help getting into school and then completing college as well.

Let's go see what Akron Promise is all about.

(upbeat music) - The modern promise movement really started in Kalamazoo in 2006, when an anonymous donor came up and called the superintendent and said, "We are going to pay for college for every student "that graduates from Kalamazoo High School "beginning next year."

That concept of removing the financial barriers was a fantastic new concept, but it didn't work very well because the students were unprepared.

And so what's happened is, over time, they've developed holistic whole child approach from birth through post-secondary achievement for education.

And so that expanded to first five and then 10 and then 50, and now hundreds of communities in the country provide these kind of opportunities in various forms, all tailored to their specific community, based on assets, local universities, community colleges, et cetera.

So I heard about that in 2006.

I've always been interested in education.

I know that education's been a doorway for my opportunity, and I started researching and decided that we needed something like that in Akron.

Created a Facebook page in 2013, incorporated in 2016, and left my IT employment at that time to try to full time evangelize to try to bring this program to Akron.

(upbeat music) - What we do isn't necessarily just education.

Though it's true that amongst the different local organizations we're sort of pegged as college prep, and yes, we do help students improve their SAT scores.

and we do work with them to teach them how to fill out their FAFSA and submit it, and other sorts of educationally-related tasks.

But at the same time, so much of what we do is so personal and really tailored to what a given student needs at a given time.

And it can vary quite a lot.

- Well, so that's a key thing about Akron Promise.

We're not here to run programs.

We're here to help the students navigate their way to the places where they can help.

We're here to help them find out, well, how do I get an internship?

I wanna work in retail, what do I need to do to be ready for that?

I want to become a lawyer.

What do I need to do there?

And so help really to provide just various pathways on things that the kids don't get in school.

(bright music) The Akron Promise name is very similar to LeBron James' program called I Promise.

What he's doing with his students is fantastic.

It's exactly the right things to do with students, coming around with supports around the family, making sure they have food, making sure that they have care for housing and employment and family dynamic.

But his mission is with the small segment of the students with Akron, and Akron Promise thinks that mission is required for 100% of the students in Akron, and that's what we're trying to do, is find a way to get the right support to each student.

(bright music) - Over the tenure of my time working for Akron Promise with Akron Promise, I've learned a lot what's going on in other cities and their promise organizations in Kalamazoo, in Buffalo, in New Haven, et cetera.

And in these programs, they're really able to bring this promise.

I mean, the idea of a promise, to me, is a very solemn thing.

And this promise to all of the children in their city, working not just with whatever college or university is local to their city, but even being able to garner scholarships for students throughout all the public institutions in their state.

So first and foremost, I guess, would be for us to have presence in all of the clusters of APS.

(upbeat music) Generally speaking there are a lot of supports for the really challenged students.

And then the creme de la creme of the students may sometimes need help with issues having to do with their families and whatnot, but academically they're gonna do great and they're gonna have a lot of opportunities.

But there's really this middle swath of students that often get overlooked, and we'd like every student in Akron to be served.

We'd like to really work with partnering with other similar organizations, 'cause there are a lot of organizations that do very similar things.

And I think it's not at all an either or.

It's a both and and situation.

We all need to work together.

We need to be organized and work together and find out what one group may be able to help better with for certain kids than others, and know how to direct and orient our students.

It's really about building the future of Akron and the community and raising our youth to be happy, functioning, fulfilled adults so that they can give back to the community.

(upbeat music) - Next up is a visually stunning place.

Yes, it's a cafe and yes, they serve food, both of which are wonderful, but this place is a place you're gonna wanna see with your own eyes.

It is amazing inside and they have a tree.

Let's go see what A Walk in the Park Cafe is all about.

(gentle music) - I've lived in Akron.

I've lived in Firestone Park for about, off and on, for about 10, 15 years now at this point.

And I've always loved the area, and we were actually looking to purchase a house down like just right on the other side of the library.

actually in Firestone Park.

And while we were thinking about it, we were walking through and we saw that this building was for rent.

This space was for rent.

And we said that'd be a good place for a restaurant.

There's not really anything over in this side of Firestone Park, as far as restaurants are concerned, and we just thought, let's name it A Walk in the Park.

And then my business partner, Kobe, he decided, he said, "First thing we're gonna do is put a tree "in the middle of the building."

And then from there it all took its shape after that.

(soothing music) Directly before us, it was a thrift store, and before that it was either a portrait studio and then a video store or vice versa, one of the two.

Like it has roots in the grocery store, all different kinds of things.

A couple doors... Actually right next door, back in the 1930s or '40s, there was the original Firestone Park YMCA.

So this building's been here for almost 100 years, if not 100 years, give or take a few.

(soothing music) It wasn't what you see here (laughs).

All of these floors were just like the old, like commercial carpet.

The bathrooms weren't here.

Like we have our movie screen over there.

That wasn't over there.

None of this countertop work or these walls were even here.

Basically it was almost like a shell.

So we had a good starting point, but there was a lot of upgrades that we had to do along the way, as far as plumbing, electrical, all that kind of stuff, just to make it into a restaurant- (frother drowns Jonas out) (soothing music) We do a lot of breakfast.

Our main focus is breakfast, but we do have lunch and some dinner options.

Breakfast, we have pancakes, biscuits and gravy, omelets, breakfast sandwiches, all different kinds of things like that.

Like on the weekends, it's hard to find a seat, but it's well worth the wait when you do because our breakfast is very good and we have it at a very affordable cost for everybody.

'Cause we focus on the community a lot here.

And if we made things too pricey, the community wouldn't come here and we wouldn't be able to survive, and they wouldn't have an option where they wouldn't have to travel 10, 15 minutes away to get breakfast.

(jovial music) We get our coffee from Pearl Coffee, which is over on main street.

They've been around for 100 years as well, but they've been our roaster since day one.

We do decaf, their house blend and their Cuban blend, and then we get their espresso beans from there as well.

So we do like lattes, cappuccinos and the nice mochas and things like that as well.

(jovial music) We're always changing with the seasons.

We're in the midst of butterflies are coming out.

The snow will be melting soon and that's coming down from the ceilings.

We do a lot of artistic things with the community.

We actually founded our nonprofit, Unlimited Imagination Foundation, which actually helps that we do art classes and we've done art therapy for people, all just trying to help like local artists grow and learn and engage in their craft.

While you're waiting for your food, you can actually paint here for five bucks for a small canvas.

And like all of the proceeds from any of the painting that you do and things like that go to our nonprofit as well.

That helps keep that going (indistinct).

(upbeat music) My business partner is very good on keeping like the look fresh and updated.

The nonprofit, we have people that help with decorating through that as well that help keep everything up to date.

And like all of our jungle and plants are gonna be going outside soon because it's not gonna be cold anymore.

And it's just constantly changing.

We do seasonal things as far as we didn't do St. Patrick's day this year 'cause we kind of forgot about it, but we're getting into Easter, then we're getting into spring.

4th of July is our bigger time just because that is our anniversary.

We started on July 3rd.

So we do a bigger celebration there.

And then we also do like, with the nonprofit, we do a farmer's market thing in August throughout the month of August on Sundays.

We do different events outside.

And then like along the side, we do all the different kinds of things.

There's never a dull moment here as far as activities are concerned, and it's constantly changing as far as the decorations.

Valentine's Day was a big, big one for us.

Everything was in red, hearts everywhere and things like that.

I'll have to remind, 'cause Easter's two weeks away, so he'll decorate probably for that and then we'll be on to 4th of July and all that.

(upbeat music) - Next up is something near and dear to my heart, giving blood.

I recommend you check out this story about the American Red Cross Northeastern Ohio, and learn what they're all about.

More importantly, please save a life.

Give blood today.

Let's go see what the American Red Cross is all about.

(tense music) - Every two seconds, someone in the US needs blood, and I don't think the community realizes that that need can only be met through volunteer blood donors.

This isn't something we can manufacture.

There's no way, despite all the medical advancements we've made, to manufacture blood.

So it really is the community coming together to support those in need.

And oftentimes I tell people, you don't know when it might be your family member or your friend who needs a blood transfusion, and we wanna ensure that is ready and on the shelf, and so those needs can be met immediately, that doctors are prepared.

And again, it's just a way that you can help those in need.

You may never meet them, but you're making a huge impact on them.

(uplifting music) American Red Cross was founded in 1881 by Clara Barton.

Clara was a nurse and she was working the battlefield, taking care of soldiers, and after that time just felt the need to continue her work, and so she continued working to help soldiers reunite with their family members after the war, which is something that we continue to do today with our service to the armed forces.

And then she was also involved in getting the blood services started and, of course, responding to disasters.

One of the first disasters that Clara responded to was actually the flooding in Pennsylvania that happened.

And so that began our long history of assisting those who deal with disasters.

So her legacy literally continues today in all of the services that we provide at the American Red Cross.

(gentle music) When you donate blood, you actually are giving three different components.

So one pint of blood is made up of platelets, red blood cells and plasma, and each of those products can be given to a different patient based on their need.

For example, red blood cells are what doctors will use in an emergency.

And many times doctors will keep red blood cells on hand in an emergency room to transfuse to a patient who comes in after a car accident or another tragedy.

Something like that.

Platelets are often used for those who are going through cancer treatments.

Platelets are actually the clotting component of our blood, and so often when someone is going through chemotherapy, their platelet counts will drop significantly.

And so they will need platelet transfusions after those treatments to bring those numbers back up and allow them to continue to go through all of those treatments.

And then plasma is often given to burn victims, but plasma can also be frozen for up to a year, so that's a product that we can use immediately, but we can also store if necessary.

If you are someone who's interested in giving platelets, that process is a bit different.

It happens in our donation centers and we actually have a couple different ones.

We have one in Cleveland and we have one in Akron.

And when you go in to do that, it takes a little bit longer, but what we do is we take out those platelets, but we give you back your red blood cells and your plasma.

You can also do that process with plasma as well, where we'll take out your plasma but give you back your platelets and your red blood cells.

And really, it just depends on your blood type.

It depends on you and what you want to give.

But all the information about those different types of donations and how you can give can be found at redcrossblood.org.

Of course, we always need donors just to give.

So if you wanna come out and you can give your one pint, that makes a huge difference as well.

(frenetic music) There's so many ways to be involved in the American Red Cross mission.

If for some reason you're not able to donate blood, we always need volunteers.

About 90% of the workforce of the Red Cross is volunteers.

They not only help us at blood drives by checking people in and making sure that everyone's going well and the process is good for them, they also help us drive blood.

They will pick it up at our Red Cross facilities and take it to hospitals.

Volunteers also work in our disaster action teams, which are groups of people that go out after some one has experienced a home fire to make sure that the family is okay and provide immediate assistance, including making sure they have a place to go that night.

And then we follow up with them for several weeks after to ensure that they have what they need and that we connect them with community resources that can help them.

All of these things are done by volunteers and they are a huge part of the work that we do.

So that's a role that we always need more, so we can encourage anyone who might be interested to visit our website and learn about that.

And of course, financial donations are always helpful to the American Red Cross.

Those financial donations are what allow us to provide assistance to people that have been involved in a disaster, that ensure that we are prepared for emergencies in our community, and that we can send people from our community to assist in emergencies that happen across the country.

The American Red Cross is always there to respond during disasters like wildfires, tornadoes, and hurricanes.

And thankfully, here in Northeast Ohio, we don't see that as much, but what we do have are amazing volunteers who give up their time to go and assist people that have been involved in those tragedies.

It's a really rewarding experience, and we're always looking for people who are willing to do that as well.

(dramatic music) One of the ways that we wanna make it convenient for people to give blood is through our Red Cross Blood Donor app.

We know that people are busy and donating blood takes about an hour, and so we wanna make it simple for you to sign up and to give.

And one way to do that is through the Red Cross Blood Donor app.

It is a free app.

You sign up, you can search for blood drives by your zip code.

You can actually make your appointment through the app.

What's great about the app, for me especially, is it will remind you when you're eligible.

So if you're like me and you can't remember what you did yesterday, much less what 56 days ago was, the app will let you know and reminds you and tell you to schedule an appointment.

Also it allow you to follow your blood journey.

So you'll be able to see that your blood is back with us at the Red Cross, that it's being tested, and that it's being sent out to a hospital.

So it's a really cool feature to see in real time how you're making a difference for those in need.

And again, for most of us, everything is on our phone.

So add saving a life to your phone app and it's a simple process.

(dramatic music) - Now to wrap this show up today, I'm headed to downtown Akron to a local gem, The Peanut Shoppe.

You can get fresh, hot roasted peanuts, as well as all different types of nuts there.

You can get chocolates there, you can get candies there, and the people are amazing!

Let's head to downtown Akron and see what The Peanut Shoppe is all about.

(bright music) - We all enjoy seeing the kids when they come in.

They love the candy and their eyes get really, really big when they see their favorite thing like candy corn or whatever.

And then some of the parents have told me that their little ones, they may not be able to talk too much, but they remember the sites of the buildings, the structures of the buildings when they're coming off the expressway, and the little kids will say, "Candy!"

And they know that they're near this Peanut Shop.

(bright music) The peanut shops all used to be run by Planters Peanuts back in the '30s, and they opened up hundreds of 'em all over the country, and they did their own roasting with the old peanut roasters.

And they also had high school employees, mostly boys, wear the Mr. Peanut costume outside on the sidewalk and hand out samples.

And then eventually Planters got out of this retail business.

And when they had opened up, had their own stores, as far as their manufacturing, the jars and the cans that you see in the stores today, We are not affiliated with Planters at all now.

We used to carry a lot of their items and things, but we've kind of got away from that.

And now there's like maybe up to 10 peanut shops left in this side of the country, and they're all individually owned.

And everybody's just trying to keep 'em going.

(upbeat music) When it was across the street at 176 South Main Street, it was right next to the Civic Theater, and I used to go in there when I was a child growing up in Akron here, and then also in the '70s I'd go when we'd go to the theater.

We'd go to over to The Peanut Shoppe and get nuts and candies before the shows.

My dad, and then Joe Lampasone before him, they worked very hard to keep this peanut shop going.

And back then they were very busy.

It was open seven days a week.

And so we're trying to keep it going now even though times have changed.

But we know things will get better downtown again.

It's just gonna take a while and everybody needs to be patient.

And I think it'll be very nice when it's all done.

(upbeat music) Back in the '80s it was a Cheers bar over there.

And originally it was the White Law Tavern back in the horse of buggy days.

But then it was Cheers over there in the '80s and then there was a business in between Cheers and us.

And you had the bus stop in front and you had lots and lots of foot traffic and people who pulled over and parked and came in the store.

(upbeat music) I worked for dad, and then when dad passed away in '98, suddenly we all put, all us girls, put our heads together to keep the store going.

And so everyone in the family's worked here, my sisters, my sister-in-law.

My granddaughter, Molly, she works here right now.

And my daughter used to work here.

Everyone has helped out and learned it.

(peanut machine whirring) Peanuts that are in the shell that we buy, our wholesaler is CJ Dannemiller in Norton.

And they come in the shell and they come in 50 pound bags.

And a lot of 'em come from all over the south, depending on where they get 'em from.

It could be the Carolinas or Virginia or Georgia.

And then the cashews and all that, they come in 50 pound cases and they come in raw.

They're dry.

We cook those and roast 'em.

Try to get 'em a medium color.

When you roast the peanut in the shell, this is a gas-run roaster and it takes about maybe 30 minutes.

And you can pull 'em like light.

People like 'em on the lighter side.

Then you can let 'em run a little bit longer and make 'em darker for some of the customers.

And then we also, up front there, we cook the cashews and the peanuts in peanut oil.

And that was always done here too, where they cooked all their own like pecans and almonds and that too.

We do that too.

But we have newer roasters today, the oil roasters, and they work very efficient.

And we make natural peanut butter out of the almonds, like almond butter or peanut butter or cashew butter.

Most of candies do come in already premade.

(bright music) We carry a lot of candies in here.

I've never counted, but there must be at least 100 different kinds of candies in the store.

And I think we have more candy now than we did 17 years ago when we moved over here, The dark chocolates are very popular.

And even in the nut varieties, we have honey roasted cashews, which is our number one seller, smoked almonds, and cinnamon almonds.

They all love those kind of things.

But the candies are lots of like the orange slices and the cherry slices.

The next generation have learned to like all that candy that their grandparents are talking.

(bright music) That generation before me, a lot of 'em are gone now.

And so I think about 'em and remember 'em, all the things that they used to say, and it has come true.

And now their next generation is coming in with their children, and I'm so thankful that the store is still here because these people have supported the store and kept us going all this time.

(bright music) - Thank you once again for watching this episode of "Around Akron with Blue Green."

Now if you have any questions or any comments, you can reach me at www.AroundAkronWithBlueGreen.co, or you can catch me on social media.

Oh, and one more thing.

If you have the time to volunteer or you're able to give blood, please, it's a chance to save a life, go donate your time or give blood today.

And thank you and have an amazing day.

We're headed to downtown Akron.

Ah!

(swirls tongue) Like I don't know how to pronounce Akron.

Ah!

(Blue mumbles a tune) (upbeat music)