Efforts help raise $5K for charity Wheels
BUTLER TWP — Customers were sandwiched together for much of Friday at both Hoagie Shop stores in the township.
Many came with empty stomachs and full hearts.
“It's important to support the community,” said Megan Erickson of Butler Township. “It's time Butler bands together and does something for others.”
It was that kind of community spirit and kindness that made a grassroots fundraising event such a success — the total raised could hit $5,000.
It all started Dec. 31 with a burst pipe that flooded the Meals on Wheels' Butler office on East Jefferson Street with hot water, damaging everything including floor, walls, dry food, paper products, office supplies, furniture, printers and other electronics.
The setback stopped deliveries to Meals on Wheels clients until Monday.
Enter Travis Frenchak, owner of The Hoagie Shop, and Butler Eagle publisher Ron Vodenichar and his wife, Linda, who all stepped up in a show of community stewardship and goodwill.
Frenchak, whose sandwich stores are at the Point Plaza and Bon Aire shopping centers, provided 178 free hoagies to Meals on Wheels on Jan. 3 so that each of the agency's 89 clients received one hot and one cold hoagie.
The Vodenichars, in turn, came up with a fundraising idea.
The Butler Eagle set up donation boxes at The Hoagie Shop locations to allow customers the chance to ante up cash or checks to Meals on Wheels. Donation boxes were also available at the Butler Eagle office on West Diamond Street.
But that wasn't all. The Vodenichars put their money where their mouth is — pledging to donate $1 per hoagie sold Friday at both Hoagie Shop stores, up to $250. The newspaper also pledged $1 per hoagie up to $250.
The efforts opened hearts — and wallets. The public showed its hunger to give.
In all, 731 hoagies were sold Friday.
The demand was so great, in fact, that Frenchak ran out of buns and some meats, causing him to close his stores that night up to two hours early.
“The result was unexpected,” he said of the turnout. “I thought it was overwhelming. I didn't anticipate it.
“It means a lot to have the support of the community, for what we did.”
The Hoagie Shop at Point Plaza was so busy at the lunchtime hour that not all the customers could fit in the door. Because of the double-digit wind chill factor, many left but vowed to return later in the day.
Erickson said when she learned of the Meals on Wheels fundraiser, she decided to stop in the Point Plaza shop and use her gift certificate “to get a hoagie and help hungry people.”
She said she knows how it feels to wonder where the next meal will come from, and she wanted to support the clients who receive food from Meals on Wheels.
“I think Butler is generally a caring community,” Erickson said.
Kris West of Butler Township came to support the fundraiser because both her parents deliver Meals on Wheels one day a week and her roommate's mother receives the meals.
West was thrilled with the turnout on Friday, especially in the frigid weather.“It shows not everything here is bad,” she said. “The community comes together when there is a problem to show love.”Christian Snow of Butler had read about the burst pipe at Meals on Wheels, but was unaware of the Eagle fundraiser.“It says Butler tries to help the community,” he said. “Meals on Wheels does something most people would like to do but don't have the time or means to do it.”Kriss Simmons of Summit Township was planning on hitting a different restaurant for lunch on Friday, then remembered the fundraiser.“It's pretty nice what they did the other day, donating all those hoagies,” Simmons said. “I kind of wanted to give something back to help them out.”He was also delighted to see the steady stream of customers even though lunchtime was over.“It shows how the people of Butler County are,” Simmons said. “We pull together, no matter what happens.”Tammy Hartle of Butler Township has worked at The Hoagie Shop for more than 30 years.She guessed that business increased about 60 percent on Friday thanks to the fundraiser and folks looking for a way to thank Frenchak for donating the hoagies on Wednesday.She said one anonymous donor gave $500 for Meals on Wheels.“It's just great,” Hartle said of the busy day on Friday. “What a lot of good people.”Ron Vodenichar, too, was touched by the response.“We are pleased and proud of the way the community stepped up and answered the call on this opportunity,” he said. “Travis and his staff worked their tails off all day serving customers until the supplies ran out. And our readers showed their appreciation for The Hoagie Shop's generosity.”He reported that donation boxes at the hoagie stores took in just under $1,700. Donations collected at the Butler Eagle tallied about $1,900.But factoring in all additional pledges, Vodenichar expected the grand total to hit $5,000.“My wife, Linda, and I are thrilled that so many of our friends pitched in to support Butler Meals on Wheels and the shut-ins they serve,” he said. “This was a great way to start the new year in our city.”
