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Two ministries see merger as a blessing
By Sean Barron
BOARDMAN
For many entities, the word “merger” connotes downsizing and job loss, but for two longtime faith-based organizations, it is a blessing, their leaders say.
“We are blessed with our staff and their talents,” Mark Samuel, Neighborhood Ministries’ executive director, said during Friday evening’s 29th annual Heart Reach Ministries’ Fundraising Banquet, which included the unveiling of a merger between his organization and Heart Reach.
Heart Reach and Neighborhood ministries’ consolidation has created Heart Reach Neighborhood Ministries.
Heart Reach is a 29-year-old faith-based, nonprofit organization on Youngstown’s North Side that has worked to positively impact children’s lives in similar capacities to Neighborhood Ministries, Samuel said.
Neighborhood was founded in 1913 in Campbell to assist immigrants who came to the Mahoning Valley to work in the steel mills, he explained. The merger will expand the reach, scope and effectiveness of both, he noted.
About 400 people representing an estimated 130 churches and faith-based organizations attended the two-hour gala at Mr. Anthony’s Banquet Center, 7440 South Ave. The gathering, themed “Better Together,” also featured a video that offered testimonials of young people who grew up around drug activity and faced many other challenges and, thanks to the two organizations, were able to transform their lives and make positive choices.
“It is to better address the needs of and serve the public. We also will expand programs and services” and have more efficient administration capabilities, Samuel said in outlining the main purposes behind the merger, for which talks began last summer.
“This will help us be more efficient with what we’re doing. The more efficient, the more able to reach the children and families we’re trying to reach,” he added.
Samuel will be the new organization’s chief development officer; serving as chief executive officer will be Pastor Paris Yanno, who was Heart Reach Ministries’ executive director.
The event’s keynote speaker was Steve Fedyski of Scottsdale, Ariz., chief operating officer of Pure Flix Entertainment, a leading production and distribution company that provides faith-based and family-oriented content.
Fedyski, an entrepreneur who attended Baldwin Wallace University near Cleveland, told attendees he was happy to invest in Heart Reach Neighborhood Ministries largely because it maintains a vision and mission “that aligns with Christ.” In addition, the organizations’ leadership exemplifies generosity, humbleness and integrity, be continued.
Fedyski expounded on the banquet’s theme of inclusivity while stressing what he sees as the value of churches, individuals and organizations working with one another to achieve positive and more far-reaching results.
“God has called each and every one of us to do something special,” he added.