LAKEWOOD, OH — Lakewood City Schools Superintendent Jeff Patterson announced at the Board's meeting on Monday that First Federal Lakewood has made a significant commitment of $692,000 to the Lakewood City Schools. The funds will go toward building an elevated indoor track for student and community use in the new Lakewood High School athletic wing, which is scheduled to open in Fall 2017.

In addition, the bank committed another $150,000 in matching funds if the school district can raise $450,000 from other donors. That additional money would go toward building a Community Recreation Facility at Lakewood High School. "As Lakewood's hometown bank for over 80 years, we're proud to support initiatives that make this a healthy and vibrant community," said Thomas J. Fraser, president and CEO of First Federal Lakewood, a mutual bank owned by its depositors.

Added Superintendent Jeff Patterson: "This proposal matches our 50-year vision of providing more opportunities to bring the community into our buildings. We are extremely grateful to be partnering with First Federal Lakewood on this shared mission." The indoor track is scheduled to be available to students and the community in October 2017.

The 7,000-square-foot Community Recreation Facility is contingent on raising additional funds. First Federal Lakewood will match $1 for every $3 raised up to $150,000. When ready, the facility will be built on top of the current weight room under construction at the northeast corner of the high school. The facility will include exercise machines, weights and space for exercise classes. The Community Recreation Facility will include facilities for education courses on such topics as financial wellness and literacy, entrepreneurship and prevention of elder abuse. The facility would be operated by the school district through its Community Recreation & Education Department and leadership for such courses would be provided by First Federal Lakewood.

"A specific area of focus for us is enhancing the financial literacy of our community members in all stages of their life – from saving for college or retirement, to starting a business or personal budgeting. Having a greater opportunity to provide ongoing education that will positively impact lives and our community was central to our support of this project," Fraser said.