Stuff the Cruiser
HARRISVILLE — The ice-cold wind and flurries Saturday didn't stop the people of northern Butler County from turning out for the less fortunate among them.
Cars steadily rolled into the borough building's parking lot on Main Street between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to fill a Harrisville Police Department SUV with nonperishable food, dog food, hygiene products and more.
The cruiser, piloted by Chief Alan Heller, was then driven to the Feed My Sheep Food Cupboard in Slippery Rock.
By 1 p.m., the cruiser's cargo area and back seat had been filled.
Amey Strohecker of Slippery Rock Township and her daughter, Morgan Murdock of Harrisville, brought bags of items for the event and chatted with Heller in the freezing wind.
“There are people who are hungry,” Strohecker said of her donating to the Stuff the Cruiser event. “There are people who need help right now and don't have any means to get food.”
Murdock said her mother is “always giving.” She agrees that some need a little extra help, especially in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic.“People don't think about what others are going through,” she said. “Especially right now, when things are so out of whack.”Sylvia Ray of Harrisville brought her granddaughter, Harper Van Doorne, 4, who hefted a bag of dog food into Heller's cruiser.Ray, who volunteers as a social member of the Harrisville Volunteer Fire Company, said food donation boxes were set up at various sites in the borough to collect for Feed My Sheep.“It's very important in these hard times,” she said. “People are struggling.”Diane Lowrey of Barkeyville also made homemade masks for the police department and other organizations throughout the state when the pandemic began one year ago.She praised Heller and the police department for holding the first Stuff the Cruiser event despite the frigid temperatures.“I think they're wonderful,” Lowrey said of Heller and his officers. “They really help the community.”
Tonja White of Harrisville deposited bags of food into the back of Heller's cruiser, which was becoming full at about 11 a.m.She bought her selections after perusing the Feed My Sheep wish list online.“I came to support the local community,” said the lifelong resident of northern Butler County. “I've had to use the food bank myself in the past.”White was not surprised that the turnout was excellent.“We're a very close-knit community,” she said. “We always have been.”Another man handed two boxes of macaroni and cheese to Heller from his truck window, saying he had gone to the store to get it for his children.Seeing the sign along Main Street, he decided to hand over the gooey pasta meal to Heller.“We need to help our community as much as possible,” Heller said. “Next year, it'll be bigger and better.”
Mayor Gary Hughes and all six borough council members arrived in the morning to bring items for Feed My Sheep and help set up at the event.“I think Harrisville comes through whenever anyone is in need, and not only the borough, but the surrounding area,” Hughes said. “Everyone steps up to the plate without even batting an eye.”He said the huge collection box in his nearby ice cream shop garnered hundreds of items for the food cupboard.“It got filled up to overflowing three times,” Hughes said. “We delivered 14 or 15 cases of canned goods to Feed My Sheep.”He said many customers gave monetary donations.
“One woman came in with a blank check in her hand and said 'Who do I make it out to?'” Hughes recalled. “She donated $100.”Hughes, whose goal is to see the borough and fire company work in collaboration for the good of Harrisville, was thrilled with the amount of food and other products collected for the food cupboard.“I couldn't be any happier,” he said. “The support from the community was overwhelming.”Those who did not attend Saturday's event can send donations to Feed My Sheep Food Cupboard, 324 N. Main St., Slippery Rock, PA 16057.Feed My Sheep distributes food to residents of the Slippery Rock Area School District, which covers Slippery Rock, Harrisville, Portersville, Prospect and West Liberty boroughs, plus Brady, Worth, Muddy Creek, Mercer, Slippery Rock and Franklin townships.
