Thankful For…Generous Neighbors

If you've ever bought a barbecue chicken dinner that came in a Styrofoam container, an arm's length of raffle tickets at a church hall or a night's worth of food, beer and entertainment for $20, chances are, you did so for a good cause.

Benefit events are scheduled seemingly every weekend in the coal region: pig roasts, poker runs, Chinese auctions, bingos, 5K runs, gun raffles - you name it. There's a Turkey Trot 5K Walk/Run this morning to benefit Shamokin Rotary, and a dinner and music benefit Saturday at Brady Fire Company to benefit Gary Kehler, a local man suffering from multiple health issues.

The success of such events varies, but it's clear these events have become a vital way to raise cash fast, and that cash is coming from the pockets of folks from a largely depressed area.

Maybe the pockets in the local area aren't so big, but residents' hearts sure can be.

"When there are families in need, our town always seems to come together," said Tami Sessions, of Shamokin.

Her son, 16-year-old Matthew, was born with cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair. Sessions and her family are working to raise money - upwards of $60,000 - toward the purchase of a handicapped van with a chair lift. Matthew has become too large for Sessions to lift in and out of a vehicle, and she says the van is now a necessity.

Sessions' sister, Tina Wilk, organized a $15 night in September at the Rescue Fire Company in Shamokin. Nearly $6,000 was raised, and a fund in Matthew's name at Susquehanna Bank, Independence Street, Shamokin, is approaching $10,000, she said.

Sessions said she was overwhelmed by the community response, both by the number of donations area businesses and others made to the Chinese auction and by the number of people who turned out for the event.

"It kind of humbled me to know that our community comes together. I didn't know a lot of the people that were there," she said. "To know people care about him, it's just amazing."

Memorial golf

Peggy Delorso's own heart was broken when her son, Michael Spade Jr., committed suicide in 2012 when he was an 18-year-old freshman at Coastal Carolina University. Michael had been abusing prescription medication and marijuana leading up to his suicide, his mother said. He was attending the university on a golf scholarship. He had a passion for the game, something Delorso credits to his father, Michael Sr. He also had a soft spot for the Shamokin and Coal Township areas, a hometown he was fond of.

When a memorial golf tournament was held in his memory in May, eight months after his death, Delorso was still too devastated to play much of a role in organizing the event.

She didn't have to. Friends and family were in full control, organizing the event at Knoebels Three Ponds Golf Course, where Michael had worked about three years. More than 200 people showed up on a rainy day to golf, some for the first time. About $8,000 was raised. To date, the Michael R. Spade Jr. Memorial Golf Fund at M&T Bank has $11,000, Delorso said.

"I was just overwhelmed with the outpouring of how much people just really cared about my son and the impact he had made. What a positive thing it is to feel that after such a tragedy," said Delorso, of Coal Township.

His father felt much the same. "It's still shocking to me now. ... Hopefully something good can come out of it," Michael Spade Sr. said.

Both Delorso and Spade hope the event will be held annually, not just to raise funds for a yet-to-be determined cause - perhaps something involving kids and sports, likely Michael's favorites of golf and basketball - but also to raise awareness of drug abuse and suicide.

"I think the drug thing right now is so overwhelming and disgusting and horrible. It's happening to such great families around here," she said.

'Awesome' people

Lower Northumberland County is no stranger to devastating fires. There are many each year.

Seth Ian Thompson lost almost everything when his home was among four properties on West Girard Street in Atlas destroyed by fire on Oct. 1. Ten days later in the Boydtown section of Coal Township, neighbors Robert Wheary and Antoinette Scicchitano saw their adjacent homes go up in flames, too.

All three had insurance to some degree.

Thompson said his insurance would cover the cleanup of the fire debris and some contents, but not much else. Friends felt he was in need and organized a trio of benefits at Jakes, Dorko's and the Elks, all in Mount Carmel.

Thompson said he was a bit apprehensive about having a benefit held for him, not to mention three benefits. "I had a hard time with it at first," he said.

He saw a lot of the same faces at the events, and each one was "awesome."

"A lot of people care. Now I know how many people actually care and would help it a bad situation," Thompson said.

He's staying with friends in Locust Gap where he'll have Thanksgiving dinner today. His experience reinforced his own desire to go out of his own way to "pay it forward."

"I'm really grateful to have a lot of good people that I know, and the ones that didn't know me who helped," he said.

Wheary was just as grateful for a joint benefit held for him and Scicchitano Nov. 23 at Shamokin's Knights of Columbus. Approximately $3,500 was raised.

"The turnout was more than I ever expected," he said. "You couldn't even move back there."

"We say this town comes together," Wheary said.

Help from 1,300 miles away

There are occasions when locals' goodwill extends beyond the borders of Northumberland County, far beyond.

Jessica Mirarchi, of Kulpmont, was 1,300 miles away when deadly tornadoes touched down in Moore, Okla. Count her among the many across the country who was shaken by the news of 23 deaths, hundreds of injuries and millions of dollars in damages.

"I have two kids, and it's like, what would I do if I lost everything?" she said.

Mirarchi initiated a toy and clothing drive, and Kulpmont'sEast End Fire Company allowed her to store the donated goods there. Residents turned out to give what they could. A Geisinger employee brought 20 bags of toys donated by fellow hospital employees.

"I couldn't have done it without (the donors). My four bags wouldn't have been enough," Mirarchi said.

A box truck was stuffed full of donations but, ultimately, she had no way to get them to Oklahoma. Instead, the goods were sold to USAgain for $1,000, which she donated in a single check to the Danville area chapter of the American Red Cross. The money was expressly donated to assist the tornado victims.

She said the monetary donation proved more useful than the toy and clothing donations because many victims had no place to put the goods.

"$1,000 is a lot of water, a lot of food, a lot of diapers," Mirarchi said.