Food Drive Fills Boxes With Food, Hearts With Hope

On Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, an event was held at Flyers in Parma Heights in order to help the Parma Hts. Food Pantry increase the supply of food items which are required to allow people in our area meet their nutritional needs. Ann George, Founder and Director, was there, along with her husband Arnie, to coordinate the efforts of those who volunteered to help the good people from near and far that showed up with donations for this vital community asset. She was not disappointed. Ann says that more than 12 full boxes of food items were eventually collected that day, along with cash donations as well.

There were many people that came to Flyers to help and show support, including Parma Hts. Mayor Mike Byrne, and Fred Crowe Jr., who is frequently involved in many community improvement efforts in our area. Also on the scene to help were several students from Valley Forge High School; according to Ann, they were there from start to finish, and provided such a tremendous assistance to the drive that she made sure to call the High School to let them know just how much their efforts were appreciated. "These students spent an entire Saturday donating their time to this event, standing outside in the cold to carry in donations from people who drove up to drop off food items, and they even went as far as transporting all of the food to the pantry itself after the event had ended," declared Ann.

In a time when a lot of people are worried that our younger generation may not care to get involved with anything meaningful or socially redeeming, knowing that there are high school students out there doing things like this should put those worries to rest, I believe. Don't wait for another food drive to help the Parma Hts. Food Pantry -- they can use and would be glad to have any help or assistance that you may offer. If you find yourself in need of their assistance, the pantry is open on Mondays from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m., and on Wednesdays from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. They are located at 6285 Pearl Rd. in Parma Hts., and the phone number there is 440-842-6491. Ann George received the AARP Ohio Andrus Award for Community Service at a special AARP reception held in her honor at Parma  Heights Town Hall on October 18, 2011. She was recognized for having expanded the role of the non-profit organization from being just a food bank to include resume writing services, classes on interviewing skills, and the distribution of clothing, school supplies, and children's books. I think that most would agree that Parma Hts. is indeed fortunate to have someone like Ann George and her wonderful organization in our midst!