Volunteers deliver 165 food boxes to area families

POTTSTOWN >> A little rain couldn’t dampen the holiday spirit of some eager volunteers early Friday morning.

Beginning as early as 4:30 a.m. with packing and organizing, Jim Frymoyer and a hoard of willing volunteers met at the Pottstown YMCA to pack up 165 boxes to be delivered to Pottstown area families in need.

Each box contained a turkey, ham and all the trimmings necessary for a perfect day of holiday meals.

“We’ve got the UAW Local 644 amalgamated, Dana, House of God of Pottstown, Karen Reed. We have the NAACP, we have the Launch church, it’s starting up in Pottstown. We have Nino’s pizza, which is myself and a good bunch of volunteers,” explained Jim Frymoyer.

Frymoyer said Dana Incorporated served as the corporate sponsor for the effort, donating about $5,500 by Frymoyer’s estimation, including the holiday party that took place last weekend and food boxes. Additionally, 150 turkeys from Costco and a $500 gift card from Costco were donated to buy vegetables for the boxes. Another $800 was donated to the cause by the NAACP as well as $500 from Chuck Gulati, owner of the Pottstown YMCA and Sunnybrook Ballroom. “It’s going real well today and I’m a sentimental guy, as you know,” said Frymoyer about the effort. “The first boxes we delivered, the people really need it. The kids said, ‘Look we’ve got cookies. We’ve got hot chocolate.’ Things they don’t really get all the time.”

Frymoyer said Friday that the

community effort is what helped this endeavor come together. Following last weekend, when the community coordinated to throw a holiday party for children at Sunnybrook Ballroom, volunteers kept the momentum going by showing up bright and early to load boxes with food and help deliver them to families in the area.

Among the volunteers was State Rep. for the 146th District, Joe Ciresi. Ciresi was participating for the first time and said he was blown away by the effort.

“It’s a beautiful day. It really is. It’s not about the weather, it’s about what’s going on here,” said Ciresi as the rain continued to come down. “It’s unbelievable to be at Jimmy’s event I was at last week, to see what he’s done for the children and now what they’re doing for the families. This is what the holidays are all about.”

MARIAN DENNIS — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Volunteers stood in front of the truck that held hundreds of food items that were to be packed and delivered to area families in need. The volunteers began working early Friday morning and had packed and delivered 16 boxes by 8:30 a.m.

MARIAN DENNIS — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Volunteers worked through the rain Friday morning to pack up boxes of food for families in need. The boxes were delivered to over 100 families in the area just in time for Christmas.