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The Erie United Methodist Alliance and All God’s Children Ministries are conducting a shoe collection drive beginning today and running through Sept. 30. All shoes collected will be donated to developing nations, where people can use them to start, maintain and grow businesses of their own to feed, clothe and house their families. While gently worn shoes are preferred, shoes will be accepted in all conditions.

In the United States alone, around 630 million pairs of shoes are thrown away every year. By donating some of those old shoes to EUMA and AGCM instead, less waste will end up in local landfills, and the shoes will make a difference in someone’s life. EUMA and AGCM receive a monetary fee for the shoes collected, which will go toward  helping local homeless and disabled persons.

Shoe donations can be made at the following locations: Rainbow Connection Thrift Store, 1516 Buffalo Road; Greg Thomas Floor Expression, 945 W. 12^th St.; Girard Area Industrial Authority, 227 Hathaway St. East, Girard; and at most United Methodist churches throughout  Erie and Crawford counties.

Individuals, businesses and organizations that would like to participate in the shoe drive or host a shoe collection box may contact Rev. Debbie Hills at (440) 812-4624 or by e-mail at deacon.dhills@gmail.com. For additional information, visit http://www.euma-erie.org/news-events/events/shoe-drive/.

Venango County Retired Senior Volunteer Program will hold a volunteer recruitment event on Tuesday, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the Drake Well Museum, 202 Museum Lane, Titusville.

RSVP is an organization of volunteers who give their time and expertise to help with numerous community needs. Volunteer opportunities include calling or visiting housebound senior citizens, assisting at blood drives, helping individuals file their taxes, acting as tour guides in local museums, driving seniors to out-of-county medical appointments and many others.

In exchange for bringing a nonperishable food item for donation to a local food pantry to Tuesday’s recruitment event, attendees will receive free admission to the museum.

Tours of the museum will be conducted by RSVP Advisory Council member and volunteer Dick Baker, who will discuss opportunities for seniors to volunteer in and around Venango County.

Call (814) 432-9723 or send an e-mail to rsvp@co.venango.pa.us if you plan to attend or for more information on volunteering with RSVP.

The Academy Theatre, 275 Chestnut St., Meadville, invites the community to a volunteer open house on Saturday, Feb. 23 from 10 a.m. to noon. There will be opportunities to tour the theatre, enjoy refreshments and meet current theater volunteers.

Attendees can enjoy a hot chocolate bar and other seasonal treats in the theater lobby and enter a free raffle for a $25 gift certificate to Mannino Italian Garden in Meadville and a pair of tickets to see “Legally Blonde” at the Academy Theatre in April.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of the theater, and without their efforts, the stage productions and special events would not be possible. To encourage more volunteers to join, the Academy’s Volunteer Committee is working to make signing up to volunteer easier than ever. Starting at the open house, volunteer forms will be available at the Academy Theatre during the regular box office hours of Tuesday through Friday, noon to 6 p.m., and during show times. Simply fill out your interests and the Volunteer Coordinator will contact you when opportunities arise. You can also find the form by visiting the theater’s website at www.academytheatre.org and clicking on the Support tab. Interested potential volunteers can also call the theater at (814) 337-8000.

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons

“There are so many shelters for dogs and cats,” said Regina Allman, President and Director of Hog Heaven Rescue Farm in Cochranton. These who says hoofed animals and their needs are often ignored when they need to be properly rescued.

Who they are:

Hog Heaven “rescues, rehabilitates, and fosters” seized or surrendered hoofed animals, like pigs, goats, cows, horses—occasionally even alpacas—eventually sending them to permanent homes.

Allman runs the Cochranton farm with her husband David, both of whom are retired police officers from Pittsburgh.

See Hog Heaven featured in Community Connection on GoCrawfordCounty.com.

Motivation:

“Animals are very forgiving. You can take them from the doorstep of death and teach them kindness and trust.”

She emphasizes the difficulties for unwanted animals that are not cats or dogs. “The pot-bellied pig was the throw away pet of 90’s,” said Allman, who has 47 rescued pigs on her 108 acre farm.

Allman tells a story of a pig brought to a shelter getting dropped into a cage with seven other large dogs.

“Pig are prey animals; being around dogs and cats is very stressful.

Looking for a unique gift? This year, the farm restarted a sponsorship program; people can gift sponsorships of an animal to friends and family a certain dollar amount per month. Hog Heaven will send a certificate, photograph of the animal, and newsletter to the new sponsor.

Allman says she hears from people all over eastern America wanting her to take their pigs, including Vermont, New Jersey, and Kentucky. “We get most of our calls from Pittsburgh,” she said.

Unable to sponsor or adopt?

Volunteering

Hog Heaven is always looking for volunteers.

“We assign chores to people’s ability,” she said.

Assignments can be as varied as scrapbooking, folding newsletters, cleaning out the barn, and feeding the animals.

Interested? Contact Regina Allman at 814-425-1850, or hogheaven1@windstream.net.

Find Hog Heaven online at www.hogheavenrescue.org.

–Ginny Tonkin

Play Santa for friends, family, and the community by supporting local charity, but make sure you check before you donate.

“There’s nothing better than an informed donor,” said Terry Wig of the Titusville Area United Way.

This week on www.GoCrawfordCounty.com, I wrote a column about donating to local charities in the name of a friend or family member as a great way to play Santa to both the giftee and the community.

However, what I found surprised me: “There are a lot of people who raise money for non-charitable purposes (pretending to be otherwise),” said Wig.

Donation scams pop up during the holidays and during times of natural distaster, when people are in the spirit of generous giving.

Here are a few ways to validate your donation, avoid scams, and support the charity:

1) Check online databases.

Pennsylvania tracks state charities on the Bureau of Charitable Organizations database.

GuideStar.org is a national site dedicated to tracking and publishing charity reports.

2) Call your local charities directly. 

By calling or visiting your local charity of choice directly, you ensure that you’ve made a personal connection with the organization and a real person is behind it. That’s not to say you can’t safely and securely donate online through programs like PayPal. However, by calling your local charity directly, they can direct you to the best (and most secure way) they’d like you do donate.

3) Donate as locally as possible.

“It’s easier to give closer to home. You know the people, you’re in their offices,” said Wig.

By donating to a local charity or the local office of a national one, you know those who are handling the funds.

For more on charity gifting, find the original post on GoCrawfordCounty.com, here.