Washington County helps 2000 Turkeys provide Thanksgiving dinner for families in need, raises $234,000
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Trinity North Elementary School student Parker Stewart, 6, right, raised $840 for 2000 Turkeys and won a kick-a-thon contest held at Kang’s Black Belt Academy in Canonsburg. With Stewart are Kang’s owner Jeff Rox, center, and 2000 Turkeys member David Rhome, left. In all, Kang’s donated $2,200 to the Turkey campaign.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Justin Ruth, center, and Mark McHugh, from Canonsburg Elks, visited WJPA Radio to donate $500 to the 2000 Turkeys campaign. With them is 2000 Turkeys member David Rhome.
Courtesy 2000 Turkeys
2000 Turkeys members, from left, Pete Povich, Laural Ziemba, Karen Mansfield, and David Rhome, thank the Washington County community for making it possible for our neighbors in need to have a Thanksgiving dinner. The 2022 campaign earned more than $234,000, thanks to the generosity of all who donated.
Jeff Duritza of Duritza Enterprises Inc., right, joins 2000 Turkeys members Pete Povich, front, and David Rhome, center, to make a donation to the 2000 Turkeys fund on behalf of the Durtiza family and Shop 'N Save stores.
Thank you, Washington County.
Today when you sit down with your family to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner, thousands of families in Washington County who are struggling to make ends meet will enjoy a Thanksgiving meal because of your donations to 2000 Turkeys.
So far, the 2000 Turkeys fundraiser has raised more than $234,000 to provide Thanksgiving dinners to more than 4,800 families in Washington County, in partnership with the Greater Washington County Food Bank’s Food Helpers, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, and City Mission’s Boxes of Love.
This year, the need was greater than ever. On the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, many families are struggling to make ends meet as inflation and rising costs pose enormous challenges.
The 2000 Turkeys committee – Canonsburg Mayor David Rhome, WJPA morning host Pete Povich, Range Resources Director of Public Affairs Laural Ziemba, and Observer-Reporter staff writer Karen Mansfield – thank Washington County’s individuals, families, businesses, organizations, and churches, who donated, lending our neighbors in need a hand up, not a handout.
We are amazed at – and grateful for – the generosity the Washington County community showed during this holiday season.
We also want to take a moment to remember and to thank 2000 Turkeys founders: Povich, the late Byron Smialek, the late Wayne Armstrong, and Grace Hopwood, who in 1984 decided to provide 2,000 Thanksgiving turkeys to families who were unemployed, many due to the decline of the steel industry in Washington County.
We marvel at how, since then, the grassroots campaign has continued to grow and to become a tradition for so many people in Washington County.
2000 Turkeys is only possible because of Washington Countians who care about their neighbors and this community – it’s evident in the hundreds and hundreds of donations that people send in (many with beautiful notes and letters included); by the number of volunteers who participate in the annual Range Resources fundraiser; by the schools and businesses that hold competitions to raise money for the campaign; and by the corporations that have bolstered 2000 Turkeys’ efforts.
The 2000 Turkeys committee, along with co-sponsors WJPA and the Observer-Reporter, want to say thank you.
And we want to wish all of you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.
Thank you to the following for their generous donations.
Trinity North Elementary School students and staff, $1,702
Rich and Diane Bednarski and grandchildren, in memory of loved ones, $25
Anonymous, $20
Anonymous, $2
Canonsburg Elks Club, $500
Joseph and Alicia Cessar, $50
Lena and Chris Potts, $100
Liberty Lumber Inc., $3,000
Kang’s Black Belt Academy, $2,200
Stephen and Katherine Rodgers, $25
Mary Ann Roberts, in memory of Kristopher Ritter, $25
Dana Stainbrook, $50
Mary Ellen Brosick, in memory of Nick, $25
John Petrus III and Phylis Hughes, $20
Lou Ann Nestor, $50
Douglas and Cathy Silbaugh, $100
Keith and Denise Rosmus, in memory of Andrew G. Kuchera and Edward and Betty Rosmus, $50
John Patten, $25
Debora and Paul Shoop, $25
Rodger, Cathy and Jeffrey Young, $100
Gerald Brna, $50
Eric and Rosemary Stackowicz, $50
Bob Griffin, in memory of Louise Waller, $100
William and Deborah Murdoch, $100
Ellen and Dean Hill, $100
Victoria and David Cushey, $50
R.A. and D.A. Folle, $25
Walter and Jeaneen C. Ritchey-Thieroff, $50
Ruth and Gregory Hurtkay, $30
Darline and Brian Rumbaugh, $75
James and Kathleen Zeremenko, $25
Donald and Karen Hanes, $100
Roberta Williams, $25
Dale and Jean Lyons, $200
Robert F. Schmidt, $100
Joe and Joyce Davey, in memory of Fernando and Rena Castelli, $50
New Hope Church Deacons, $50
Jim and Lori Naser, $50
Donald and Beverly Zofchak, $40
Patrick and Deborah Guyton, $50
George E. Toward, $50
William L. Backner, $10
Leigh Ann and Thomas Triebsch, $25
James and Lynn Soyer, $25
Danielle Kowcheck, in memory of Hugh and Esther Kowcheck, $25
Burch and Rosemarie Efaw, $25
Frank and Suzanne Lukich, $30
Lisa C. Hamilton, $20
Nick and Linda Ciappa, in memory of Bob and Marge Garrett, $50
Kent Martin and Christy Cimino Martin, in memory of Samuel Cimino, $25
Don and Joan Zielinski, $25
Phil and Janis Armstron, $100
Francis Cavalier, in memory of Vivian Cavalier, $200
Dana Shiller and Thomas Marshall, $50
Debra Wilkes, $30
Thomas and Terri Seiler, $50
John Walter and Jean P. McCullough, $25
Margaret Elaine Frazier, $50
Terrence and Pamela Kushner, $50
Michael and Rachel Klick, $100
Mark, Gaeta and Markie Copeland, $50
Bobbie Parker, in memory of Dwane Parker, $25
Mike and Marie Meeks, in memory of Tbone, who loved to eat, $50
Paul J. Gasper Sr. and Maryann Gasper, $30
Susan and Edward Conkle, $50
Christina and Piera Simms, $250
Anonymous, $100
Dave and Darlene Stotka, $100
Richard and Dorothea Hyk, in memory of Carolyn Quillen, $100
Jim and JoAnn Hockenberry, $100
Pamela Siegel, $600
St. Oscar Romero Catholic Men’s Club, $100
First Baptist Church of Burgettstown, $100
May’rz Inn, $100
Fraternal Order of Bears 83, $350
Caitlyn Burroughs, $50
American Legion Riders #639, $100
Anonymous, $235
B.P.O.E. 776 Governing Body, $500
Duritza Enterprises, $4,228
Drew and Arlene Danver, $100
Washington Area Senior Citizens Center, $100
Stuart and Joann Miller, $50
Marian and Joseph Kereki, $25
Anonymous, $5
Justin and Stephanie Domachowski, $50,000
Sam’s Pizza, David and Kim Rhome, Rege and Marti Passante, in memory of David and Shirley Rhome and in honor of all customers, $1,000
Nik and Mark DeRosa, $50
Michael and Janet Racko, $25
Anthony and Judith Weishner, $100
William Domick, $40
WJPA Radio, $1,000
Michael S. Siegel, $1,000
The Mendarinos, $50
Eugene Puchi, in memory of Puchi and Zimak families, $100
Dennis Frost and Kerry King, $100
Peggy Ball and Otis Spicer, $50
Mary Lou and Mary Ellen Frost, in memory of husband and father, George B. Frost, $50
Kristen and Scott Weiss, Phillip and Judith Litz, $25
William Boydston, $50
Richard and Patricia Morflak, $50
Eva S. Wiltrout, $100
Nancy Britt, $50
Rick and Kelly Reginelli, $20