Good Neighbors, Inc. The purpose of Good Neighbors is to help families and individuals in times of crisis and need with clothing, emergency food and support. Good Neighbors E-Newsletter #5 June 30, 2017 Volunteers Thanks to Jenny Siebert, Mary and Mark Pallone for ​planting flowers around our Central Office and Food Center. Lew and JoAnna Meeker, Don and Joan Lastocy are leaving Good Neighbors. We are grateful for their service and dedication. Community Support Thank you to the Goodyear Employees for painting, cleaning and organizing our Goodyear Heights Food Center and Central Office. Thank you to Citizen Green Electronics and Repairs for their continued support. For a second year, they are having a school supplies ​donation drive to benefit all of the Good Neighbors Units. Unit Activities Goodyear Heights Community Outreach and Food Center​ George Camilletti is the Food Center Chairman, he has ​been volunteering at Good Neighbors for more than 13 years. The Cub Scouts Pack # 3037 and Boy Scout Troop # 77 donated more than 750 pounds of food to benefit our food center. Walsh Jesuit High School donated more than 2,500 cans of food and 28 schools held food drives to benefit our food center. Our Council President Valerie Straw has been coordinating the food drives. IBH volunteers help unload thousands of pounds of food every month. Recently, they helped unload more than 9,500 pounds of food in one morning. Bill Sudduth, Mike Letta, Roger Reynolds, Jenny Siebert, Mark and Mary Pallone haul and unload thousands of pounds of food from the Akron Canton Food Bank and other grocery stores to our food center every week. Many other food center volunteers are always there to help unload the trucks and stock the shelves. We were blessed to have Archbishop Hoban High School Volunteers helping at our Food Center during the month of June. Last March, we had a Archbishop Hoban High School Student volunteer at our food center. She sent us a copy of the essay that she wrote about her experience. "My sophomore year of high school, at Hoban, I chose to participate in a different kind of volunteering for my service hours. Throughout the summer months, I worked at a place in Akron called Good Neighbors, Inc. This particular food bank operates mainly on donations, church members, and kids like me. My first job was to help all the volunteers get ready for the day by stocking shelves. Once people in need came in the door, I would pick up a sheet that specified how much food their family needed. In a sense, it was like grocery shopping, but instead of grocery shopping for yourself, it was for the hungry. After I would gather all the essentials, I met the person at a little window to greet them and give them their food. Each day we would feed 50 to 100 families. This has been my favorite and most rewarding service so far, fulfilling Jesus's work. The entire experience was based on Christ's poverty. The families we were feeding relied on the food given to them each month. Whatever their circumstances, ranging from one single adult to a single mother with five kids, they were in need of food. Many of these people were just trying to get by. Luckily, the volunteers who come in almost every day or every week, make the poor's lives a little better. I saw the sacrifices those volunteers made through their work. They sacrificed their time to be there, for those in need. Keep in mind, they are also all retired and older, so they could be treating themselves, but they care more about carrying out God's work. Just like Jesus taught us to be like him, the volunteers and I followed his word. Jesus said to cloth the naked, shelter the homeless, visit those in prison, and feed the poor. I directly gave an abundance of food to those who needed it most, right in our community. Along with serving the poor, a type of healing process occurs. Being a friendly face in a cruel world reminds the people that there is hope. That smile back or thank you shows that they believe in hope, too. This exchange of hope shows God's love is present through the world and his people. The care I gave to complete strangers showed the love I have for people struggling. All of the amazing qualities of working with the vulnerable have made me a better person on the inside. This experience personally showed me a side of life that I'm not used to. I have been blessed with the life I have, never worrying where my next meal would come from. Some people, whether it be neighbors, friends, or your own family may not have those basic needs covered. For me, this encounter gave me an insight on how other people are living. You never think that you will ever be homeless or starving, but I'm sure the people at that food bank never thought they would be either. I learned to love the life I was given and be grateful for the wonderful opportunities I have surrounding me. Anything can happen in a split second, whether it be a good or bad fortune. Right now, all I can do is make someone's bad time, a not so bad time with God's saving work." Cuyahoga Falls Good Neighbors Kim Gaug and Linda Pearson are the Cuyahoga Falls Good Neighbors Chairmen. The Cuyahoga Falls Unit has been helping families and individuals in their community since 1968. Their annual school drive will take place the first week in August. They are in need of college and wide ruled theme books, back packs, new socks and underwear size 5 and up. Donations can be dropped off on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00 am - 2:00 pm. ​Ellet Good Neighbors The Ellet Good Neighbors has been serving families in the Ellet and Lakemore area for 50 years. They help individuals and families in their community with groceries, clothing, school supplies and Christmas items. Chairman Ella Krinjeck has been volunteering for 50 years. Green Good Neighbors Green Good Neighbors has purchased a new shed for after hours donation drop-offs. Patricia Stiles has been researching the history of their unit. She discovered that their first meeting was February of 1968 at Greensburg United Methodist Church. At that meeting, they discussed how they would set up the Green Good Neighbors Unit. Their first officers were: Chairman Mrs. Faye Alderson, Vice Chairman Mrs. Ray Lubbers, Secretary Mrs. Dale Oblinger, Treasurer Mrs. Dawn Hartley. There were four churches in the community that sponsored the unit and they were housed in a closet for storing and used a Sunday School room for their distribution. At the beginning, they distributed clothing only. Now they distribute groceries, clothing, school supplies and have a Christmas giving program. Green Good Neighbors is officially 49 years old and still located in Greensburg United Methodist Church. Dorothy Cormany and Patricia Stiles are the Green Good Neighbors Chairmen. Dorothy began volunteering at Good Neighbors in 1993 and Patricia in 2003. Spicer Good Neighbors Kathryn Burkins is the Spicer Good Neighbors Chairman. She has been volunteering at Good Neighbors since 1994. Lee Wallach has been volunteering at Good Neighbors since 1979. They are currently looking for a place to relocate, that is on the ground level. Their unit will be closed the first two weeks in July and will reopen on July 19. ​Superior Good Neighbors Lee Thomas and Wilma McMasters are the Superior Good Neighbors Chairmen. Wilma has been volunteering at Good Neighbors for more than 40 years and Lee has been volunteering for 30 years. They both volunteer at our Goodyear Heights Food Center, too. They have seen an increase in the families and individuals that they serve. They are hoping to paint their unit in the near future. They would appreciate any assistance with purchasing the supplies and painting. ​Tallmadge Good Neighbors Tallmadge Good Neighbors was recently highlighted in the Tallmadge Today newspaper. Chairman Candy Lorkowski stated that the Tallmadge Unit was established in 1966 through the Tallmadge Social Action Council, which was composed of two members from each of the five Tallmadge churches. Their first unit was housed at 31 Wright Road. Mr. and Mrs. Larry Kovalcik and Mrs. Robert Schroyer were the first Tallmadge Good Neighbors Chairmen. In 1968, their unit was moved to 855 Southeast Avenue. In 1989, they moved to the Baptist Church on North Munroe Road, then to Osceola in the SACS building, then to West Avenue. In 1999, they moved to their current location at 74 Community Drive. Other unit chairmen were Mrs. Lou Meyers, Mrs. John Kline, Mrs. Fox and Marji McCaulley. Since 1989, Candy Lorkowski has served as the Tallmadge Good Neighbors Chairman. For 14 years, Candy served as the Good Neighbors Council President. Their dedicated volunteers are Jo Berry who started volunteering in 1970, JoAnna Meeker who started in 1977, Lew Meeker started volunteering with his wife in 1985, Tom and Candy Lorkowski in 1984, Gerry Merk in 1995, Colleen Martin and Dolores Wilmoth in 2002 and Sandy Zickafoose in 2008. In 2014, Tallmadge Good Neighbors received the Bishop Anthony Pilla Leadership Award from the Catholic Commission of Summit County. Good Neighbors, Inc. has met the Better Business Bureau's ​20 Standards for Charity Accountability. For more information about Good Neighbors, our locations and hours, please visit our website at good-neighbors.org. Thank You For Your Help And Support! ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌   ‌