Love Center in hog heaven following fair donations

  • By Dave Mast
  • August 24, 2010
  • 285
                        
The Millersburg Love Center is quite well known now after many years of providing food and other household sundries to area families in need. As director of the Love Center, Mark Rohrer has become very adept at finding incredible value in the organization’s purchasing dollars, much of which comes through the Akron-Canton Food Center, where Rohrer purchases thousands of pounds of food at a minimal cost. But every year, the Love Center gets a boost from fair buyers who donate their Junior Fair livestock purchases to the Love Center, where they know that the meat they have purchased at the fair, whether it be beef, pork, lamb, chicken or even rabbit, will go to families in need. “We have been blessed by so many caring individuals and businesses who have given to us year after year from the animals they purchase at the fair,” said Rohrer. “I’m sure everyone who donates understands what an impact they are having in this community to area families, but we can never say enough how grateful we are that they think about us during fair time. It means a lot to the families that receive, and for that we are grateful.” This year in particular, the Love Center got an extra dose of gratefulness. Last year, they received a record 12 hogs from fair buyers. This year, buyers donated a whopping 18 hogs, shattering the former record. “We’re in hog heaven right now, thanks to everyone,” joked Rohrer. In addition to the hogs, they also received one steer, 27 chickens, the grand champion lamb, which they are sharing with the four turkeys and they even received a donation of a rabbit, a first for the center. “I told my wife (Dorothy) that even that can be a blessing, when God uses it how He sees fit,” Rohrer said. Rohrer said that when he attended the fair auction on Thursday for the hog portion of the junior livestock fair, he could only sit back in wonder and awe as people seemed to be bent on bidding just for the Love Center. He added that any time there are these kinds of blessings going on, the devil is sure to be lurking around the next corner, in anticipation of putting doubt back into people’s minds. That came in the form of the Love Center delivery truck breaking down the day after fair week. But even that story had a happy ending. “Our truck fuel pump broke when we were heading for a delivery, but God is good, and we made a quick phone call to Mast Trucking, and they said they had a truck near that area that was going to be empty, and they could get our delivery for us,” said Rohrer. “They’ve been amazing in how they have helped, as have so many other businesses who have helped keep our shelves stocked.” Never more so than this year’s fair donors, who have not only made the 4-H youth whom they purchased the animals from happy, but also will bless many other families in their generous giving.


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