It’s always exciting to see the youngest members of our community helping to serve those in need! Pantry coordinators Janie and Maureen shared this letter to Mitchell McEnaney, who organized a food drive in his neighborhood to benefit NEEDS:

“You are amazing! Once again you collected food for the NEEDS pantry at the holidays. This was your biggest donation, as it filled your mother’s car. We are so impressed at the effort you put into making this successful. You told us that you create a Canned Food Drive flyer, place it in your neighbors’ mailboxes, and then go back to collect the donations and deliver to the pantry. It is so impressive that you are serving needy families in your area at such a young age.

You are a great example to all of us. The NEEDS volunteers and the neighbors we serve thank you.”

Pantry coordinator Maureen shared this story of a high school student’s hard work and commitment to NEEDS:

“Logan Symson first contacted NEEDS in January 2022, asking if she could launch a monthly Foodshare program in her Amberley neighborhood to benefit the NEEDS pantry. She was a high school junior looking for a way to serve her neighbors in need. Her program started small, but has grown into a strong and steady support for the pantry.

At first, Logan relied on her neighbors to decide what to contribute. But her marketing grew more savvy and she soon asked each month for a list of our most needed items. As her junior year moved into her senior year, she involved her sister Hannah in her efforts — ensuring that when she herself left for college her efforts to support NEEDS would not end.

Logan really knocked it out of the park with her December 2023 delivery, which included so many of the things the pantry needed most. While her Foodshare program is an ongoing support, Logan is living proof to all of our NEEDS volunteers that members of the younger generation are willing and able to continue our own efforts. Thank you, Logan!”

NEEDS’ pantry coordinators shared this note to Becky Lockwood and her women’s group at Kenwood Baptist Church, who gave a thoughtful Christmas gift to NEEDS:

“On behalf of everyone here at North East Emergency Distribution Services (NEEDS), we’d like to thank you for your Bible study group’s surprise donation of diapers and paper goods. It was really touching to learn that members decided to give to NEEDS rather than one another at their holiday meeting.

Our pantry flies through our supply of toilet paper and paper towels, as nearly every family receives both. We never seem to have enough! And diapers are most appreciated as they are expensive for us to purchase on our own but essential to many families that we serve.

Again, our thanks and our best wishes to you all for a blessed and happy holiday season!”

NEEDS was founded over 40 years ago by the late Marysue Dickmann of Blue Ash Presbyterian Church. Since then, NEEDS has provided food and emergency financial assistance to thousands of families – a wonderful legacy!

Blue Ash Presbyterian Church recently merged with Montgomery Presbyterian Church to form Evergreen Presbyterian Church. As Blue Ash PC prepared to sell their building, they gave careful thought and prayer to how they could best use the proceeds to support their mission partners, including NEEDS. This month, they surprised NEEDS with an incredibly generous check that will enable us to meet the needs of our neighbors at a time when many families are truly struggling.

Several years ago, Marysue shared the story of how NEEDS came to be:

“It started out of my garage as a Christmas sharing of outgrown toys and clothing, mostly from our own three kids. Little by little neighbors heard about it and wanted to participate. At the time, I was the director of First Step Nursery School, and there were lots of children who had very little that were in the program. My position as director gave me access to needs of the community. When I couldn’t do it alone, I asked our church to help, and they often did.

The single incident that got me to find a better way was when a young teenaged girl who had a baby was thrown out of her house. She was too young to receive WIC (a government-sponsored program for women, infants, and children). I was appalled and could see no reason why anyone living in our community of plenty could not have their basic needs met. At the same time, I knew our church could not handle all of this alone.

At that time there was a ministerial association of ministers from the Northeast area. Don Leckrone, our pastor, was able to introduce me to the member ministers of the group. He was most supportive of me and my efforts. I tried to point out the advantages to the area ministers of one group handling the people asking churches for assistance, thereby eliminating duplicate services. Each group would contribute to the pantry with volunteers and donations. From my garage we moved the food into a neighbor’s empty basement until their home was sold. Next the City of Blue Ash gave us a cupboard to work out of. For awhile we were housed in the Hazelwood Civic Center. We would meet clients at the pantry and would serve on call. As we grew, that was no longer possible, and Kenwood Baptist Church offered us space to receive calls, meet clients, keep records, and distribute food.”

NEEDS would not exist without the generosity of our member organizations, donors, and volunteers. We are so grateful for this gift from Blue Ash Presbyterian Church and for their decades of commitment to NEEDS!

Each year, NEEDS looks forward to the St. Xavier High School food drive, which helps to replenish the pantry shelves for the busy holiday season. This year’s drive was so successful that our pantry coordinators said it took an army of volunteers to put everything away!

They shared this letter to the families and faculty who participated in the drive:

“Thank you AGAIN for another successful food drive! We are honored each year to be one of the beneficiaries of this outstanding event. It was so impressive to see the enthusiasm and involvement of all the students as they filled our truck with load after load of food.    

As grocery prices remain high, families are struggling. This year the NEEDS pantry will serve 2000 families, which is double the number we served two years ago. It is challenging to keep up with the demand.   

This is one of the biggest donations we receive. Please thank all the students, their parents and your staff who work so hard to make this a success. It’s great to see these young men involved in community service. It instills a giving spirit that carries on, as evidenced by St. X alum Tom Young ’57 who helps pick up and deliver the goods to our pantry every year.  

Please know that you are truly making a difference in the lives of many of our neighbors. The NEEDS volunteers and the families we serve thank you.”

Our pantry coordinators shared this note to the families and faculty of Indian Hill High School:

“Thank you so much for collecting food for the NEEDS pantry. You did a great job of donating the items we needed the most – especially all the paper goods! We’d like to thank Michelle Shafer for coordinating the effort.  

As grocery prices remain high, families are struggling. This year the NEEDS pantry will serve 2000 families, which is double the number we served two years ago! We are being challenged to keep up with the demand. We rely on donations from schools, churches and businesses to meet the need. Please know that the food you collected will benefit our less fortunate neighbors in the community where you live. 

The NEEDS volunteers and the families we serve thank you! We look forward to continuing our partnership next year.”