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Volunteers make holiday brighter
ASHTABULA — Dozens of county residents sacrificed part of their Thanksgiving to make a brighter holiday for those less fortunate.
Many churches, businesses and civic organizations reached out to help those in need.
It was greatly appreciated by many.
“For somebody who can’t afford to make it themselves it’s a blessing,” said Kandice Jaskiedwicz while holding her eight-week-old baby Joshua Rapoza.
For 25 years St. Peter’s Episcopal Church has been feeding the needy and those without any place to go on the holiday.
Diane Podgorny, a co-chairwoman of the annual event with Robert Ashley, said it started in another dark economic time that left many without jobs in the mid 1980s. “It’s like a re-run,” Podgorny said of the present situation facing area residents.
The church has continued the tradition every year but had a few less people attending this year as other area organizations served meals Thursday. She said numbers of people attending the event was down from last year.
GO Ministries has been serving Thanksgiving meals for 16 years on Cleveland Avenue in Ashtabula, said pastor John Salters who helps coordinate the event. He said the meal included the traditional Thanksgiving dinner which included turkey, stuffing, macaroni and cheese and a variety of pies.
Volunteers from churches throughout the county helped make the meal a reality, Salters said. He said they came from Kingsville Township, Geneva and Jefferson as well as numerous other churches in Ashtabula and surrounding communities to help serve about 200 people.
Several area restaurants remained open and served meals to their customers and several places had a special Thanksgiving buffet.
Travelers could be seen re-packing their vehicles for the next stage on their holiday adventure at hotels near the intersection of Interstate 90 and Route 45 in Austinburg Township.
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