Category: Stories

Ongoing Support from Hartzell UMC and Madeira HS Key Club

NEEDS is grateful for the support we receive from our faithful partners. Regular donations from churches, schools, and other organizations help us to maintain pantry supplies throughout the year. Recently, pantry coordinator Maureen shared two great examples. The first was a large donation from Hartzell United Methodist Church:

“What a surprise to have a full carload of nonperishable food and personal care items show up in our drive-through last week! Just who was our benefactor? We found out that the generous members of Hartzell United Methodist Church had collected many of the items on the ‘wish list’ we send out to our member churches. Thank you so much for the wonderful donation, and most of all, for your ongoing support!”

Another terrific donation arrived thanks to the Madeira High School Key Club:

“Julie Leugers, advisor to the Madeira High School Key Club, contacted NEEDS recently to let us know that her students and their families were holding yet ANOTHER drive to benefit our food pantry. What wonderful supporters they have become in our efforts to meet the emergency needs of our neighbors!

Julie and her fellow teacher, Kim, arrived Monday April 18 with two full vehicles of donated food and personal care items. Club members and their families couldn’t have picked a better time to donate. Summer has always been a long dry spell for those who donate to the pantry. Schools are out, and members of local companies and churches are on vacation. But the emergency needs of our neighbors don’t take a holiday. Every donation helps us to stock the pantry for the summer months ahead.”

A big thank you to Hartzell UMC and Madeira HS Key Club for their reliable support!

Local Comey & Shepherd Branch Donates to NEEDS

Pantry coordinator Maureen shared this story about local realtors helping to stock our neighbors’ homes with much-needed food:

“Three well-heeled, professional women pulled into our NEEDS drive-through recently – all members of a Comey & Shepherd realtors branch. Cindy Flynn, Sue Miller, and Sue Wahl brought their office’s carload of donations personally.

The 10-pound bags of rice they brought alone were amazing! They’ll be perfect for the larger families of six to ten that we serve. And all of the other items will go far in stocking our shelves for the long summer months ahead. With schools closed and members of local churches and companies on vacations, few people donate to us during the warmer months.”

The best part? Comey & Shepherd will be holding another office food drive later this summer – and their goal is to double what they brought in this time!

March Impact

As prices rise, requests for food and emergency assistance go up too. In fact, the past month saw the pantry serving 150% of our usual number of clients! Here are this month’s totals:

During the month of March, the NEEDS pantry provided food to 123 families – for a total of 435 people!

NEEDS also provided emergency financial assistance to 10 families, distributing $3676.78 to cover rent and utilities.

Current Pantry Needs

If you would like to help stock the NEEDS pantry with food and toiletries, please check out the list of most-needed items below.

Donations can be dropped off during NEEDS’ open hours (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00-1:00). Thank you!

Canned Food:
Baked beans
Refried beans
Pineapple
Salmon

Other Non-Perishable Food:
Pasta sauce
Pasta side dishes (such as Knorr and Pasta-Roni mixes)
Boxed cereal

Home and Personal Care:
Paper towels
Laundry detergent

Madeira Elementary Students Help NEEDS – Again!

Here’s a heartwarming story from NEEDS pantry coordinator Maureen:

“Madeira Elementary School students and their families are among the NEEDS pantry’s biggest supporters. After holding a very successful drive for the pantry in fall 2021, they did it again in March 2022.

Heading up the effort were teachers Katie Naegeli and Sunday Bernicke. When NEEDS volunteers arrived on March 25 to pick up the drive’s proceeds, they had very little work to do. The school’s student leaders carried all but the heaviest boxes to the cars, excited and proud of their efforts. Donations filled four SUVs.

Madeira Elementary School students are learning early that ‘it takes a village’ to meet the emergency needs of our less fortunate neighbors.”

Huge Donation from Pet Supplies Plus

Pantry coordinator Maureen recently shared this good news:

“It started with a short phone call from the manager of the Pet Supplies Plus store in Independence, Kentucky. She asked if the NEEDS pantry was still interested in pet food and supplies for its clients, saying that she had quite a lot on hand. Of course we were interested! And we said we’d be down to pick it up within an hour or two.

The manager and her staff wheeled cartload after cartload of items out of their storage area, and loaded them into our waiting SUV. They filled not only the cargo area, but the floor wells and the front seats. Best of all, they promised to call with more! For our clients – who struggle to feed themselves, let alone their pets – that’s a golden promise!”

Thank you, Pet Supplies Plus!

Reminder: The Piggest Raffle Ever!

Interested in supporting NEEDS…and winning cash? The Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon’s Piggest Raffle Ever is the perfect opportunity!

Now through April 30, you can purchase raffle tickets for $5 each – with 100% of your donation going directly to NEEDS! On May 1, the Flying Pig will draw a winner of $5000 cash. The winner’s charity will also receive $5000! While everyone is welcome to celebrate Flying Pig race weekend, you do not need to be present in order to win.

Entering the raffle is easy! Just visit http://piggestraffleever.com/ and select NEEDS from the drop-down list of charities. Then choose your number of tickets and click “Adopt.”

If you are a runner, you can also support NEEDS when you register for a Flying Pig race event. For more information about registration discounts and other perks, visit our Facebook page.

NEEDS is so excited to participate in the Piggest Raffle Ever. Thank you for your support!

Current Pantry Needs

If you would like to help stock the NEEDS pantry with food and toiletries, please check out the list of most-needed items below.

Donations can be dropped off during NEEDS’ open hours (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00-1:00). Thank you!

Canned Food:
Pineapple
Mixed vegetables
Diced tomatoes
Chili
Salmon

Other Non-Perishable Food:
Instant oatmeal assortment packs
Snack items

Home and Personal Care:
Body wash (we run out of this very quickly!)
Shaving cream
Laundry detergent

February Impact

Here are the totals for the past month:

During the month of February, the NEEDS pantry provided food to 96 families – for a total of 333 people!

NEEDS also provided emergency financial assistance to eight families, distributing $3500 to cover rent and utilities.

A Month of Generosity

February may be a short month, but it’s been packed with activity for NEEDS volunteers and donors!

Early in the month, Logan Symson of Amberley Village (pictured above) organized a food drive to support the NEEDS pantry. Despite rough weather, the drive was a success – and Logan hopes to organize additional drives in the future!

Later, NEEDS volunteers presented funds from the Student Assistance Drive to Maple Dale Elementary. School officials will use these funds to make sure students have warm winter clothing.


Of course, many of us will remember February 2022 as the month the Cincinnati Bengals made it to the Super Bowl. To our excitement, several local organizations – Twin Lakes Retirement Community, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Youth, and Madeira Silverwood Presbyterian Church – celebrated by holding “Souper Bowl” drives to benefit the NEEDS pantry. Though the Bengals fell short of a win, NEEDS was a winner this month!

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