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Community Joins Forces For Charity

By Staff | Dec 28, 2011

Volunteers of all ages work together to load bags filled with all the holiday meal trimmings for needy families in Wetzel County.

With this year’s Esther Crumbley food drive, Wetzel County fed roughly 425 families in need. At the collection event on Dec. 22 Klug Hall was packed with mounds of food and presents, along with mittens, hats, and scarves, as volunteers assembled down a line to put together holiday food bags.

The following morning volunteers arrived to continue spreading good will as they helped families retrieve bags of foods filled with all the holiday fixins’ including a ham, bag of potatoes, noodles, stuffing, fresh fruit, canned goods, pies, rolls, and more.

Along with generous donations from the community, the New Martinsville Ministerial Association was aided by around 60 volunteers each at its collection night and morning distribution. Over $10,000 was raised for the event which was enough to cover all items needed for the drive.

Additionally, anonymous donors generously gave winter clothing items, toys, food, and even Christmas trees.

RadioShack in New Martinsville donated a U-Haul truck to haul and store food from fellow contributor Witschey’s Food and Pharmacy to Klug Hall. Also, as in past years, McDonald’s in New Martinsville donated food for the volunteers. Other organizations who contributed to the food drive were Chesapeake Energy and FFA.

Volunteers Myrtle Heck and Judy Pastilong assemble bags of butter and rolls to accompany the holiday meal items collected for the Esther Crumbley Food Drive.

Ephram Wade, chairman for the New Martinsville Ministerial Association Esther Crumbley Fund board of directors, thanks everyone who contributed to this year’s drive.

The event was a huge success as always and it was so wonderful to see the community take in the true holiday spirit.

Planning for next year’s drive will be underway in no time at all.

For anyone interested in helping plan next year’s event, contact a member of the New Martinsville Ministerial Association or call Joe or Barbara Powell at 304-455-2058.

Roughly 60 volunteers from the community gathered at Klug Hall Dec. 22 to organize food items in preparation for the next morning’s food drive. (Photos by Miranda Stokes)