Donor Spotlight

Donor Spotlight

Jo Ellen Diehl Yeary | Generosity rooted in pride, remembrance, dedication to home

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Southeast Ohio Hunger Fund

hunger
A major food bank out of food, pantries closing, and a long line of 700 cars waiting to get an emergency supply of food ….. in Ohio?

Welcome to Logan, Ohio. Sufficient food is something that many of us take for granted. If by noon on a given day you had been unable to eat, you would recognize your hunger as a problem. If by 7 p.m. you still had not eaten, you might even feel the situation to be serious. If you were forced to lay your hungry child down for bed, and had been unable to provide dinner for her or him, the hunger issue would have entered into the realm of personal crisis.

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Jeff and Helen Davidson, longtime Dublin, Ohio, residents, are both CPAs who worked in tax and financial management positions for years. They believe that nothing one accomplishes in the business world is as important as giving back to people who haven’t had the same opportunities in life that they had. In October of 2007, Jeff made a trip to Logan and witnessed a line of cars at the Smith Chapel UMC Food Pantry. As he spoke with many of the people patiently waiting for food, he recognized that he was witnessing the unfolding of a human tragedy. He was moved and humbled by all that he experienced and knew that he could never accept the fact that people here in Ohio are struggling to put food on their tables.

During his visit to Logan, he met Lora. Lora is a 64-year-old cancer survivor who couldn’t make it without the Smith Chapel Pantry. Her sole income consists of $631 a month. She gets by, but barely, and her diet consists largely of baloney, peanut butter and beans. She rarely gets a taste of good meat, milk or cereal. Lora is one person among many in similar situations here in Ohio.

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The Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeastern Ohio was empty. This major food bank serves 203 food pantries in some of the poorest 10 counties in Appalachian Ohio. Currently, food inventory is way down.

To help this crisis, a hunger challenge was commenced. The Southeast Ohio Hunger Fund was opened in December 2007, and an Angel Donors Fund matching grant of $25,000 was initiated. Since 2004, Jeff and Helen have collected more than 117,000 pounds of food through central Ohio food drives, donated over $200,000 to charity and raised more than $100,000 through various fundraisers.

If you would like to make a gift to the Southeast Ohio Hunger Fund, donate online now to help end hunger in Southeast Ohio, or mail donations to:

Southeastern Ohio Hunger Fund

Foundation for Appalachian Ohio P.O. Box 456
35 Public Square
Nelsonville, Ohio 45764
(Phone 740.753.1111)

Your generous support will help provide food to charitable feeding organizations throughout 10 counties in southeastern Ohio, including more than 200 food pantries, soup kitchens and congregate meal sites, ensuring that Appalachian Ohio families will no longer go hungry.