Faces of Mayfield Heights: Residents Making a Difference

Ceclia Paponetti

For Cecelia Paponetti, volunteering is a family affair. Whether it’s signing up for the decorating committee, helping out with fundraising campaigns or doing arts and crafts for volunteer efforts, Paponetti’s husband, children and extended family can often be found supporting her as she leads the charge on giving back to the community. 

“It all started in the mid ’90s, when we started a volunteer group to raise funds to build Oakville Park,” says Paponetti. “We held garage sales, pancake breakfasts and pasta dinners, sold bricks for the memorial walkway and received private donations. The park was dedicated in 1997. I then served on the Parks & Recreation Commission for several years, where I introduced the annual Taste of Italy dinner.”

Family is a crucial aspect of Paponetti’s community impact. In fact, the idea of “family” is what brought her to Mayfield Heights 50 years ago. Chasing “old-school” dreams of buying a house and raising children with her husband, Paponetti chose to call Mayfield Heights home in large part because of the stellar schools. “It’s a family-oriented community, and there are some phenomenal teachers here,” she says. 

Raising her kids in Mayfield Heights also allowed her to be involved in school events. One of her favorite memories is helping with the after prom. She chaired the committee that threw the after-party for the duration of her children’s school years.

Now, as a part-time cook for the city, Paponetti makes her mark on a variety of events, most recently the Taste of Italy on Valentine’s Day, which served over 200 patrons. Up next is an event with the police department, and she continues her luncheons for senior citizens.

One of her newest initiatives is a children’s cooking class in which she teaches kids ages eight to 14 culinary skills.

“It’s a vibrant city,” Paponetti says of Mayfield Heights. “We want to put on programs that offer a wide array of interests.” 

Jeremy King

It didn’t take long for Jeremy King to realize he didn’t need to reinvent the wheel when it came to giving back to the Mayfield Heights community. After moving to the city in the fall of 2019 with his family to open Story Church, the entire world’s idea of community was rocked by the onset of COVID-19.

“At our church, we exist to connect with and love our neighbors,” King says. “As soon as we were gaining momentum, everything got put on pause.”

While the bulk of the shutdown had Story Church and its members focused on helping the community by collecting food donations, as things slowly returned to normal, King discovered that Mayfield Heights already had strong systems in place to meet the needs of neighbors. “That’s what I love about Mayfield Heights,” King says. “So rather than creating spaces to draw people to us, now I’m saying, ‘Let’s partner, get behind and join what’s already happening.’”

The Parks and Recreation Department has been a solid partnership for Story Church. King has served on planning committees for events such as the Holiday Fest in December, where Story Church sponsored a kids’ craft table. 

Story Church also assists with the city’s Summer Unity Days and the local food pantry. 

“I’ve really recognized the importance of building relationships and trust with the leaders of this city,” King shares. “They know that Story Church can step in to help with whatever need the city has.”

In his personal life, King embodies the same values of connection and neighborly love that he promotes through Story Church. When he and his family first moved here, he and his wife would walk up and down their street introducing themselves. This led to a block party tradition that continues today and brings the neighborhood’s families together. 

“I’m trying to gather people and encourage them to serve one another,” King says. “Ever since we moved here, our primary goal has been to create our own family within this community.”