Columbia/Hellam/Wrightsville
townlively.com
FEBRUARY 24, 2021
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXII • NO 2
Wrightsville River Rat Plunge Will Benefit Special Olympics BY CATHY MOLITORIS
When the pandemic prevented Special Olympics Pennsylvania from holding its annual Polar Plunge, residents of Wrightsville took matters into their own hands. Thanks to a team effort, the first Wrightsville River Rat Plunge will take place on Saturday, March 6, at John Wright Restaurant, 234 N. Front St. “I have participated in the Polar Plunge almost every year since it
started in 2010,” said Ed Klinedinst. “When I heard it wasn’t happening this year, I put something out on the Wrightsville Facebook page to see if anyone was interested in doing a local one.” He said he was overwhelmed by the reaction to his question. “I thought I might get a group of my friends together to do our own plunge, but the response was huge,” he remarked. “I was blown away by how many people wanted to participate.” See Plunge pg 2
Mark Wanner and pastor Maria Yocum-Carlson of Salem United Church of Christ displayed the 2,300 cans of soup that the church collected for local food banks.
Church Souper Bowl Benefits Food Banks hanks to its “souper” efforts, the congregation at Salem United Church of Christ in Rohrerstown has made an impact on food banks throughout the county. The church held its annual Souper Bowl event throughout the month of January. Congregants were encouraged to donated cans of soup or money to purchase soup, said Mark Wanner, who helped with the event. “I took the monetary donations from our congregation and worked with the Centerville Giant Food Store to purchase Campbell’s soup at a discounted price,” he explained. “The Giant Food Store is always very willing to work with us and to help our soup drive.” This year, the church donated 2,314 cans, an all-time high for the collection. “Of that, we were able to purchase (a total of) 88 cases of chicken noodle soup, tomato soup,
“We have very good people in our congregation, and when you ask for something, they come through.” “We always have a grocery shopping cart at the church, and we collect food year-round and then somebody takes it to the food pantry at Zion Lutheran Church, but this time, since we had so much soup, they were not able to take all of it,” Wanner stated. “We
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cream of mushroom soup and cream of chicken soup,” Wanner noted. Soup was donated to the Hempfield Area Food Pantry at Zion Lutheran Church in Salunga, the Columbia Food Bank at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Columbia and the Lancaster County Food Hub in Lancaster.
had connections at the other food banks, and they were very appreciative of the donation. Especially at this time of year, when it’s cold, people love soup.” Wanner emphasized that Salem United Church of Christ is not a large church, but that a small group can make a big impact. “Before COVID, we were getting about 50 people on any Sunday,” he said. “We have very good people in our congregation, and when you ask for something, they come through.” In addition to the Souper Bowl, the church conducts monthly mission outreach projects to support a variety of local organizations. The first year the church held its Souper Bowl, in 2010, the congregation collected 224 cans of soup. To see that number increase dramatically over the years is not a surprise to Wanner, who added, “Our congregation always rises to the occasion.”
The Wrightsville River Rat Plunge encourages people to jump into the Susquehanna River as part of the event on March 6 to raise money for Special Olympics.
Mitzvah Moms Give Back BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Inspired by a desire to give back, two local moms have created a group to help others. Mitzvah Moms was created by Gina Krouse of Lampeter and Gena Harting of Strasburg in the fall of 2020. Initially, the pair focused on collecting items for the homeless, but they then shifted their mission to helping people affected by COVID-19. “COVID started hitting close to home,” Harting said. “We knew someone at our synagogue who got sick, so we put together a basket for them. Then, someone in my moms’
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Tax Aide Sites Now Available . . . . . . . . . .2 Tree Seedling Sale Planned . . . . . . . . . .3 Good News Clubs Begin Meeting . . . . . . . . . .3 House Of Worship . . . . . . .4 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Business Directory . . . . . .8
See Moms pg 2
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