Travis Frenchak, right, owner of the Hoagie Shop with Mary Pataky, director of Butler Meals on Wheels. For each hoagie sold Friday, $2 will be donated to Meals on Wheels, which is dealing with damage after a pipe bust in its offices.

The Butler Eagle is asking residents to enjoy a sandwich Friday while supporting a worthy cause.

The Eagle's publisher, Ron Vodenichar, planned to donate to Butler Meals on Wheels after learning of the burst pipe that caused a weeklong shutdown at the organization.

But Vodenichar's wife, Linda, came up with the idea for the couple to donate $1 per hoagie sold Friday at The Hoagie Shop's two locations up to $250.

The Butler Eagle will also participate in the impromptu fundraiser, which could earn Meals on Wheels a total of $500.

The Eagle will also set up boxes at The Hoagie Shop locations so those popping in for a sandwich can also donate some cash to Meals on Wheels, which is funded entirely by community support.

Donation boxes will also be available Friday at the Butler Eagle office on West Diamond Street, where customers and employees alike can drop in a few bills.

A burst pipe Sunday soaked the Meals on Wheels offices on East Jefferson Street with hot water, damaging everything including dry food, paper products, office supplies, furniture, printers and other electronics and the floor and walls.

That stopped deliveries to Meals on Wheels clients until Jan. 8.

Travis Frenchak, owner of The Hoagie Shop locations at the Point Plaza and Bon Aire shopping centers, provided 178 free hoagies to Meals on Wheels on Wednesday so that each of the organization's 89 clients received one hot and one cold hoagie.

A Slippery Rock donor provided Meals on Wheels with the money to include a bag each of chips and pretzels, a cup of applesauce and a cup of Jell-O with the hoagies, which could last many clients several days. Pataky already had enough single-serving milk cartons to provide the beverage for the meal.

In addition to planning the Friday fundraiser, Vodenichar also rounded up additional donations on Wednesday.

“I spent about 15 minutes on the phone texting my friends in the community and I already have commitments from 10 people totaling more than $2,000,” Vodenichar said Wednesday afternoon. “The great part of this is that one local company, The Hoagie Shop, inspired the rest of us to action and turned this into a positive.”

As of Thursday morning Vodenichar said people had pledged about $3,250.

Frenchak is fully behind the Friday fundraiser, and hopes lots of customers add a few bucks to the donation boxes in addition to enjoying a sandwich.

“Any donation to Meals on Wheels is a good thing and will help them out,” Frenchak said.

Mary Pataky, the director of Butler Meals on Wheels, was thrilled with the idea of the Vodenichars and the Eagle donating $1 per hoagie on Friday.

“People are wonderful in Butler,” Pataky said. “They really take care of each other.”

Vodenichar agreed.

“This is the real Butler community at its best,” he said.

The fundraiser will apply for any sandwich sold on Friday at The Hoagie Shop's two locations, which are open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.