One small donation, a 'huge' impact for those in need

By Brian Questel
December 1, 2010
267

120610 VanWieRotaryfollowup Promo: Impact of Van Wie/Rotary collaboration immense One small donation, an 'huge' impact for those in need By Brian Questel Its quaint in so many ways: Small children dropping small cans of food into a small collection bin. That small act, though, is absolutely huge in the eyes of Jon Rose and Lydia Stahl. And in a time of huge need, those small gestures add up in a major way. People-to-People Ministries, which has been aiding struggling families in Wayne County for three decades, has been the beneficiary of the Al Van Wie/Rotary Classic food drive since 1995-96. It is a relationship that has been growing yearly and helping plug a major hole in the social network infrastructure. Over the years as its built to be what it is, its become absolutely fabulous, said Stahl, who is director of People-to-People. I remember the first couple years it was good. The magnitude of it now – the school involvement, the community involvement, the college involvement – is amazing. It fills the pantry. We still have a few items that will need to be put in but this food will keep the pantry going until March or perhaps longer. It amazing the cases of food we get and what is donated. Thats the wonderful impact of it and what this event can generate. Between them and some of our churches, its amazing what it does. Were still seeing 300-350 families a month in our food pantry. It fluctuates depending on the month, but thats the number for the last couple years. Thats the outreach that Van Wie, the long-time College of Wooster basketball coach, was hoping for when he was approached to attach his name to the early season tournament, said Rotarian and classic co-chair Jon Rose. I ran away from the college, but I always had a connection because both of my parents graduated from there and dad was an athlete, so it was easy to get interested, said Rose, who is a Wittenberg graduate. And, I do think it is important anything we do strengthen the town of Wooster and the College of Woosters relationship. And then you tie in the kids. I think we have a great school affiliation and we dont limit it to Wooster. That comes across in the school collection. Schools are turning this into a fun event, especially the ones who have been so successful. Its a couple weeks of fun competition and (the schools) talk to the kids what its about. Theyre helping others, especially at the holiday time. Theyre learning to give at an early age, kindergarteners through sixth-graders, so there is a nice connection. That was especially apparent this year, beginning with the increased numbers in the kids clinic, youth coaches participation and then the donations in the schools. The kids clinic has grown, said Rose. Its a great tie-in to the college and community. I get a kick watching the College of Wooster players work with the little guys and girls. Thats a positive for them, too. So many guys in Steves program go on to teach and coach and this gives them a look at that. What amazed Rose this year was the outpouring of support from the schools. There was a lot of Northwestern, Loudonville and Smithville – a lot of different colors came in Sunday, said Rose, who noted that the food collection had set records each of the past two years. This year topped (2009) by 200 or 300 items, he said, pushing the number of canned good to nearly 23,000 items. We were down one night of basketball, so the increase at the schools offset just one night of basketball (instead of two). Schools out-performed what they did last year, and they did better at the clinic because more kids and coaches showed up too. Franklin and Shreve elementary schools led the way, and the amazement was apparent in Roses voice. Im to the point Im ready to call one of the Cleveland TV stations and have them go down to Franklin and see that school building and 168 kids, who brought in 4,000 food items. said Rose. Think about that for a minute. You come back from Buehlers with 30 cans and its heavy so there is some physical effort. That school is unbelievable. After its over, Bob Johns, who is a Rotarian, donates a skating party to the top two schools. They load up a couple school buses and go in. Thats a huge deal. They dont go to Disney – they go to Acres of Fun. That is a worthy little reward, one that helps make the holidays a little easier for some of their peers across the county as it, let alone the country, tries to fight out of the current economic malaise. Im still seeing some of the same families, but were also seeing new families, said Stahl, who became director of People-to-People in 1997. I started in 1996 in a different position ... and that was our biggest year ever. I think my first year was a $1 million ministry. That incorporates food and clothing, as well as financially which includes helping people with rent, prescriptions or utilities. Then it leveled off. The last two years weve maintained that million dollars, so were back at that level, she added. In 1996, that was the welfare reform where people were off food stamps and they took away benefits Now were seeing different faces and different types of situations -- people have lost their jobs, their unemployment has run out, they have medical emergencies or they are on fixed incomes. Rose pointed out that this is a major project for the Rotary and praised the efforts of co-chair Chad Boreman, who helps coordinate the initial contacts with the schools and the Rotarian teams that go out to 17 schools throughout the county. We do the three different events – the clinic, the game and the schools -- and we do fine there, said Rose. We also sell raffle tickets, which becomes a cash donation to People-to-People. That cash allows them to buy what they need to fill-in. Its become what it is and people look forward to it, added Rose. Its not automatic, though. We still have to have people work it. Without it, though, Stahl knows life would be very different for her organization, no matter how well it does with a dollar. Our board runs on volunteers and they run tight ship, said Stahl. Our operating costs are 5 percent -- 95 cents of every dollar goes back into the community and its been like that ever since I got here. It averages 5 percent because we only have two full-time and two part-time staff, and the rest are volunteers so were not paying wages. The best-run agencies dont run like that. Were a one-stop agency. Were a food pantry, we help financially, we help with back-to-school (clothing), she added. Together with other agencies like Salvation Army, Catholic Charities and the Red Cross were all different, but put together we make a wonderful impact in the community. The impact of what Rotary does puts food on hundreds of tables for weeks and months to come. It helps the community to see the needs and see people do care. It teaches kids bringing a can of food to a basketball clinic or school or a game is about volunteerism. Thats looking at bigger picture. It impacts us, but goes way further for kids to learn at an early age to volunteer and give. It amazes me how its grown and what Rotary does.

One small donation, a 'huge' impact for those in need

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