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New local organization hosts breakfast with Santa fund-raiser
By Bruce Walton
BOARDMAN
Neighbors and strangers are banding together in a new charity organization with a first goal of hosting a Breakfast with Santa.
Poland residents Lisa Weimer, John Opritza, Lisa Folkwein and Renee Burnett have created Your Helping Friends, an organization to help raise funds for local individuals or groups in need.
The event will take place at Bethel Lutheran Church, 426 Crestview Drive in Boardman, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday. The church, of which Opritza is a member, brought the idea to Pastor Richard Kidd. Pastor Kidd thought the event was a great idea and immediately jumped on board.
“We want to reach out and be part of the community and not be so self-absorbed,” he said.
The group formed after members worked together in a fundraiser planning committee in October to help a community member in need at Poland Middle School. Opritza said more than 500 people attended the event and afterward, they kept in touch, each feeling compelled to continue the work.
“We felt so good from doing something so good for somebody else that we wanted to continue this, and that’s what we decided,” Wiemer said.
As a group, it seeks donations, not just monetary but also in the form of gifts, nonperishable food, unwrapped gifts, so that it can help as many as possible.
The event will feature pancakes and sausage, most served by Opritza’s Johnny O’s Great Events catering company, and families can have pictures taken with Santa. It also will have arts and crafts, ornament-making while waiting to see Santa. They aren’t sure how many will attend, but they hope to accommodate 300 people.
Weimer said the organization’s mission is to be a catalyst for positive change in the community, inspiring people to “pay it forward.” They also created a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/yourhelpingfriends/ where they organize events and stay connected with the community. The group hopes to become an official nonprofit organization and host biannual fundraising events starting next year for a selected cause or individual.
“We’re looking to help, not to handout,” Opritza said.