Now that Joy Andrews’ daughter is away at college, her former bedroom has become a storage room for homemade bars of soap, lotions and lip balms.

The products are part of Andrews’ business, Duet Body Care, featuring all-natural products made in her kitchen and basement, usually during time off from her full-time job.

The business was indirectly inspired by Andrews’ mother, a five-year cancer survivor. While seeing an oncologist, her mother was told taking care of the body, by eating organic for example, is important.

“It just started me on this path of trying to introduce more organic and all-natural things into our lives and our family’s lives,” Andrews said.

Eventually, not only were they eating better, but Andrews said she started using better cleaning products to reduce chemicals used around the home. In her research, Andrews learned more about all-natural soap and body products.

“My interest in treating our bodies like we want to care for them, by reducing the amount of chemicals and bad stuff that we take in, has transformed into a hobby,” Andrews said.

Andrews said caring for others is just as important and she uses Duet Body Care to give back to her community.

“Along with this idea of putting good stuff in our bodies, I’ve always used cooking and things like that to show my love for people,” Andrews said.

“I’ve put a lot of care into cooking from scratch and providing my family with really wholesome ingredients.”

While making her own soap, friends would ask if Andrews would sell them some.

“I couldn’t get excited about just selling stuff,” she said. “But I could get excited about doing something for someone. … It’s in line with my whole philosophy, which is just putting my whole self into stuff that I make for other people so that they have the best I can offer.”

Because her mom volunteers for local nonprofit Food For Thought, Andrews could think of no better way to collaborate and give back.

“[My mom] always talks about how little people have. … Basic hygiene stuff, it’s just not available,” Andrews said. “That has really just resonated with me. … I guess it just kind of evolved.”

The collaboration between Duet Body Care and Food for Thought was officially launched Feb. 13. For each product sold, an equivalent product is donated to Food For Thought, a local social justice organization “dedicated to feeding the hungry and offering dignity … to anyone in need,” according to its website.

“Duet is a great example of what I would call a thoughtful company,” said Food for Thought’s Chief Thought Officer Sam Melden. “[Hygiene products] are endangered items in essence because food banks typically don’t carry them and SNAP benefits, or food stamps, don’t cover them. With cuts to food stamps and people constantly having to make choices, Duet steps in and says ‘Why don’t we make access to these items a little more available?’”

More than 100 products were donated the first week, Andrews said.

“I really liked the idea of being able to give to people something they wouldn’t be able to maybe get on their own,” she said. “It’s more than just buying soap. … [Service work] is something that my husband and I believe in anyway.”

A lot of research went into learning how to make the product.

“I bought books, I watched videos,” Andrews said. “I probably did research and educated myself for a couple of months before I tried my first batch, just to make sure I was comfortable with how to handle the ingredients and not get hurt.”

Her line of body care products can be purchased online at duetbodycare.com. Prices ranges from lip balm for $3, soap for $7 and lotion for $10. Shipping is free.

Nick Mariano “lives and dies” by his iPad. He got his first one five years ago and won’t be seen at meetings, in conferences or at the front office without it.

As principal of Toledo School for the Arts (TSA), he dreamed of bringing the technology to students.

Last March, Mariano got his wish. After working with board members and diverting textbook funds, he equipped every student and teacher with an Apple iPad.

The device can be found in the hands of students everywhere in the charter school, from hallways and classrooms to studios where dancers review their choreographed moves.

The iPads initially cut down on paperwork and put information at students’ fingertips, but this winter, they did what teachers and Mariano could not have predicted: They allowed students and teachers to stay connected during subzero temperatures and school cancellations caused by the level three snow emergencies.

“With this being one of the harshest winters on record that caused most schools a loss of valuable teaching time, it was the optimal year to bring new technology into the classroom,” Mariano said. “Despite the snow, TSA was able to keep the educational process moving forward even though students were not in the building.”

During the polar vortex in January, students logged onto the school’s website to watch videos and find assignments. They posted homework, held discussions and created videos.

The iPads allowed the school to make up two snow days, and their success with students was evident, Mariano said.

“The sophomore class was given a project and 95 percent of the students completed it online and submitted it on time while home on a snow day,” he said.

The TSA board of directors decided to invest $117,000 a year for three years to lease 700 iPads as part of their plan to transition the school away from textbooks to iPads for all of its students, board member Rob Koenig said in an email.

The iPads were paid for by redirecting the school’s annual $100,000 textbook budget, Koenig said.

The iPad initiative “revolutionized” the school’s curriculum, he said, and readied students for state achievement tests which will soon be administered by computer or iPad only.

“The iPad deployment went extremely well and the new technology positively impacted the learning environment at TSA beginning on the first day of school,” Koenig said. “The faculty and students embraced this change quickly and the effect has been more powerful than we could have hoped.”

Mariano said the iPads have been so successful that students no longer use the school’s computer labs.

On March 17, two computer labs were devoid of students who were instead gazing into their iPads from their classroom desk or carting the device between classes.

Students said the device cuts back on what they have to carry and overall creates an easier learning experience.

“[The iPad] is definitely a great tool and learning experience for me,” said senior Tyler Fowler, who was a first-time iPad user. “We have to do [homework] anyway, the iPad made it a little more bearable.”

The iPads are being used for simple tasks such as “read the next chapter” as well as more difficult assignments like creating videos, Fowler said. During a snow day, he used it to write a paper after watching a documentary on slavery.

“I really like [the iPad]. It keeps me organized,” said sophomore Drew Longmore, who got her first iPad for Christmas a couple of years ago. “I am the biggest paper-loser ever.”

Longmore used the iPad to videotape her mother modeling clothes as Longmore voiced-over the names of the clothes in Spanish.

“I’m tech-savvy so I was really happy [to get an iPad],” said junior Roan Martin.

“I love typing rather than writing and all resources are in the same place.”

Martin said the school is teaching responsible use of the iPad. Administrators restrict email use and students are not allowed to download any apps.

“For the most part, students are very responsible,” Mariano said.

Mariano will be part of a group that will speak May 6 at Bowling Green State University on how to continue lessons during calamity days. The iPads as a learning tool will be a major part of that discussion, he said.

Students at Maumee Valley Country Day School, a private school in South Toledo, also use iPads as part of their curriculum, said teacher Lisa Behnfeldt.

The school purchased the devices two years ago and has put them in the hands of learners as young as 2 ½ years old up to 12th-graders, Behnfeldt said, who teaches first and second grades.

Every student in the middle school has their own device they can take home with them and other students use the iPad during the school day.

“It’s been two years so initially it was using the apps more as a tutoring usage — more as support — but now that we’ve had a couple years under our belt we’re using it more as a creative tool. It’s finding apps, creating books or creating math solutions,” Behnfeldt said.

Faculty had training on different ways to use the iPad in the classroom, she said, and the devices are stored and available within 10 feet of every instructor.

“[The iPads] are so user friendly for kids,” Behnfeldt said. “They figure out how to use them.”

State Representative Barbara Sears is confident going into what could be her final election.

“I’ll work, and I’ll win,” Sears said of the challenges facing her in the coming months.

Sears is facing Tea Party activist Scott Allegrini in a May 6 primary election for Ohio House District 47, which includes many of Toledo’s north and west suburbs, as well as almost all of Fulton County.

Sears was first appointed to the position in 2008 to replace Mark Wagoner, who was appointed to state senate. She is currently serving her third term in office. She is the Majority Floor Leader.

Sears got her start in politics serving on Sylvania City Council alongside her father. She was also the co-owner of Noble and Sears, an employee benefits and financial planning firm. She currently works as the senior vice president of employee benefits at Roemer Insurance.

Given her background in insurance, Sears has spearheaded legislative projects concerning healthcare on the state floor. She was assigned to committees dealing with insurance, health and aging, and health and human services.

“I have, for the speaker, quarterbacked pretty much all things having to do with health insurance, workers compensation, and those issues,” Sears said. “Probably 80-90 percent of what I do down there is health-related, just because somebody’s got to take control over that area.”

Sears will need to draw upon her knowledge of healthcare during her upcoming election, as one of the hot-button issues of her race will be the topic she knows best.

As a Republican, Sears has drawn some criticism for her support of Medicaid expansion in Ohio, in accordance with the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as Obamacare. One of her harshest critics has been Allegrini.

“If you expect your representative to fight to keep Obamacare and its mandates out of Ohio, than you should vote for me.  If you support Obamacare and expanding the reach federal and state government into your healthcare, then you should vote for Barb Sears,” Allegrini said. “Healthcare is the most basic of personal liberties, and when she is so wrong on such a key issue, how many other issues will she be wrong on?  With the federal government so wildly out of control, the next few years will be more important than ever before, as the state governments may need to make stand against the overreach of those in [Washington] D.C.  We will need elected officials in Ohio that can see the big picture and know the importance of protecting Ohioans, and I will do that.”

Sears said she doesn’t agree with how her fellow conservatives are reacting to her position on Medicaid reform.

“The interesting thing is that prior to the Medicaid issue coming up, the conservative groups were inviting me into their functions and wanting to hear from me. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been called too conservative for the district I serve,” Sears said.

“From a fiscal standpoint, from a family values standpoint, and from a human capital standpoint, the Medicaid expansion makes sense. I get the fact that the expansion came with the Affordable Care Act,” Sears said. “I was part of the team that said we should not do a state exchange, and I think the feds are 100 percent wrong for doing what they did with the Affordable Care Act.”

Sears pointed to cost-cutting by reducing what she called “silos” of care in state-run institutions and incentivizing families to become employed and remain intact.

“Expanding Medicaid is just the right thing to do. Businesses, the Chamber of Commerce, Right to Life groups, all these groups are supportive of it for either the financial reason, the human capital reason, or quite frankly, the moral reason,” Sears said.

Sears said she believes she will win the May primary, and believes she has the support of the majority of her party.

“I don’t think the Republican Party thinks I’m not conservative enough. I think a fraction of the party thinks that. Scott’s a fine guy. He helped me campaign. He said he agrees with me 99 percent of the time, but that 99 percent isn’t enough,” Sears said. “I think that mainstream Republicans agree with me.”

Aside from the healthcare issues surrounding the campaign, Sears is looking forward to enjoying her remaining time in office.

“I love this. This is the most enjoyable thing in life for me. I learn about new things I’ve never been exposed to,” Sears said. “We live in a very diverse state. On any given day, I can start with health care reform and can end up talking about agriculture or scrap metal issues, and that’s all before lunch.”