Nov 7, 2020 7 min read

As Thanksgiving approaches – it’s now 18 days away – the holiday gives us a chance to celebrate the things for which we’re grateful.

Among them: our families, our health, and, of course, the Steelers 7-0 start to the NFL season.

Challenging days are ahead of us as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. But I know Washington Countians are up to the challenge. Remember, in the early days of the pandemic when neighbors reached out to each other, offering to share food and items that were in short supply – disinfecting wipes and toilet paper, for example – and volunteering to grocery shop and pick up medications for the elderly and those at high risk.

That spirit of caring for your neighbor is evident, too, in this year’s 2000 Turkeys campaign, which raises money for the Greater Washington County Food Bank to provide Thanksgiving dinners for local families in need.

So far, the annual grassroots campaign – which is funded by small and large donations from individuals, organizations, and businesses – has raised nearly $77,000. We are fast approaching our goal of $100,000 so that those families who are struggling right now can celebrate Thanksgiving, too.

Thank you, thank you, Washington County.

And, the 2000 Turkeys board invites you to participate in the 2000 Turkeys Telethon on Nov. 24, from noon to 1 p.m. Presented by Range Resources, the telethon will include entertainment and interviews, and phone banks for donations. Musical guests include Devon Johnson of Ruff Creek, and Lynn Doehring and Cait Yakopin of Pure Joy.

Tune in to 2000 Turkeys Facebook page, where the telethon will be broadcast. Donors can call in to 888-2K-TURKY, and Range Resources will match all donations made during the telethon.

The updated twist on an old-fashioned telethon – a fun, socially distant option amid COVID-19 – replaces the annual food drive and fund collection/donation match that Range Resources holds for 2000 Turkeys.

The goal of 2000 Turkeys – to help our neighbors – hasn’t changed since it was founded in the 1980s by the late Byron Smialek and Wayne Armstrong, along with Grace Hopwood and later, Pete Povich, who still serves on the board.

And none of it would be possible without the generosity of every person who contributes. According to the food bank, every $1 donated equals five meals in the community.

If you’d like to be a part of 2000 Turkeys, please make out a check payable to 2000 Turkeys, and mail to 2000 Turkeys, P.O. Box 2000, Washington, Pa., 15301. Or, you can make a credit card or PayPal payment by visiting WJPA.com and clicking on the link, or visiting gwcfb.org. Or, you can donate by calling the food bank at 724-632-2190, ext. 113.

Thank you to the following who have so generously donated:

Paul and Carol Love, in memory of Byron Smialek, $25

Margaret Fischer, in fond memory of first-grade classmate, Byron Smialek, $25

Anonymous, $25

Paul and Sharon Conley, $20

Bertha Stimmell Circle of West Washington United Methodist Church, $25

Tom and Judy Humphreys, in memory of Sandy and Mary Ellen Hummell, $50

Mark and Joyce Knestrick, $25

Jay and Amy West, $100

Anonymous, $100

Michael and Jodie Korpus, $40

Doug and Patty Fraley, in memory of Shirley Reynard, $25

Lagonda Homemakers, $50

Harry Haas, $25

R. Saut and T. Miller, $50

William and Donna Kay Frantz, $25

Ron and Patience Grummick, $50

John and Madeline Chopp, $25

William and Deborah Murdock, $100

Jeff and Janis Chico, $30

Charles Slates, in loving memory of Blanche, $30

Timothy and Sharon Lemley, $50

Lydia Hafenbrack, $50

Daniel and Katherine Bayer, $25

Dave and Charlotte Resek, $25

Kenneth and Mary Louise Briggs, $100

William and Susan Peffer, $25

Patricia Winters, $25

Serena Durkin, $50

Jackson Hutchinson, $50

Earl and Theresa Dhanse, $100

Thomas and Patricia Manko, $30

Ola Jackson and William Jackson Jr., in memory of Willie Bunnell, $30

Rose Marie Kobrys, $50

Deborah Standiford and Abbie Cox, $100

Mildred Carter, $50

Ronald and Geraldine Diaz, $100

Dick and Marie Swinchock, $25

Debbie Cox, in memory of mother, Wynona Irwin; sister, Barbara Rager; and Jack Irwin, $30

Thomas and Deborah Mainwaring, $50

John and Lauretta Darby, $100

Raymond and Ellen Mazzoni, $50

Beth Ellen Sapp, $25

Angelo and Holly Tatano, $25

Paula Clark, in memory of Adam Clark and Mary Bedillion, $50

Joseph and Linda LaRocka, $100

Dinardo Family, $50

Randall and Carol Gratchick, $25

Mario and Diane Rossero, $20

84 Self Storage, $100

George Silvers Jr., in memory of wife, Patricia Silvers, and mother, Norma Jean Silvers, $50

Kathy Arlia, $10

Joseph and Carolyn Rendziak, $25

United Steelworkers Local 14693, $100

Gaylord Haines Jr. and Helen Haines, $50

Albert Sopko Jr. and Marianne Sopko, $30

David and Diana Meeks, $100

Michael Mast, $25

Charles Bowers, $50

Clyde Hood Jr. and Joyce Hood, $50

Kathleen Kasper, $100

James and Vanessa Beatty, $20

Ben Coleman Sr. and Sherri Lenco, $225

Anonymous, $25

Bud and Nancy Bell, $50

Womens Missionary Society of the Upper Ten Mile Valley Presybterian Church, $211

Robert and Shelby Ann Harvey, in memory of James E. White, $25

Eric Held, $50

Ricky and Jo Ann Kosarik, $200

Emilie Poplarchik, $25

Kathleen Sneed, $50

John and Sue Pomykala, $100

Anonymous, $200

Jim and Dorothy Hands, and Terry and Linda Belcher, $50

Bob and Joann Lloyd, $25

TOPS PA 1641 Washington, $50

Washington Square Flower Shop, $50

Hawkins Home Post Aid Assoc. VFW Post 927, $500

Richard and June McKitrick, in memory of beloved brother, Bernie Gareis, AKA Buddy Sharpe, $40

Tina Schultz, in memory of Roy Copeland Jr., $25

Anonymous, $5

Charles and Diana Allen, $25

Ferne Rogers, $100

Joe and Shirley Plymire, in memory of our parents, $25

Lisa Hamilton, $30

Patrick and Debra Pitzarella, $50

Charles and Peggy White, in loving memory of Raymond and Mary Brincko White Kifer, $100

Anonymous, $30

The Brower family, in memory of Joe and Jackie Jarosz, $50

Skip and Linda DiSibio, $35

Richard and Jean Cholak, $25

Warren Lemley Jr. and Sharon Lemley, $50

Roy and Judy Schulte, in memory of son-in-law Scott Lash, $100

Darlene Uselton, $20

Dennis and Lee McWreath, $25

Joyce Robinson, $25

Charles and Bonnie Hines, $30

Robert and Deborah Roberts-Moore, $50

George Reynolds, $50

Michael and Kathleen Lucienne Halyak, $50

Daniel and Carol Anderson, $50

Thomas Day Jr. and Michelle Day, $100

Anonymous, $30

John and Joy Courie, $20

Carl Russell, $100

Gary and Carolyn Blackhurst, $20

William Schenck, $100

Harold and Cora Narigon, $50

Paul Spilak III and Beth Anne Spilak, $25

Ed and Gena Roman, $100

The Behanna family, in memory of Howard and Betty Foster, $50

Jim and Lori Naser, $50

William and Ginny Watson, $50

Larry and Bonnie Biagini, in memory of Amelia Biagini, $25

Gerald and Sherry Mellinger, $50

Robert and Beverly Allridge, $100

Nancy Stoicovy and Karen Momyer, $30

Gerald and Betty Paraska, $25

Daniel and Pamela Maniecki, $25

Robert Thornton, $25

John White and Diana Buchner White, $25

David Fisher, $25

Maureen Andrews, $25

Andrew Bombash III, in memory of wife, Joy Bombash, $50

Frank and Pamela Jane Famularo, $50

Fred Smith Jr. and Barbara Schumacher, $100

Fred Smith Jr., Jeffrey and Lois Smith, $20

Paul and Virginia Lukas, $20

Gloria Suzanne Kline and Mary Kline, in memory of Eric Kline, $50

Pat Braddock-Steiner, in memory of mother, Mary Alice Braddock, and brother, Jesse Braddock, $30

Teresa Findlay, $50

Thelma Zadach and Lynette Delvecchio, $50

Martha Milan, $20

Linda Kappel, $50

Fawcett United Methodist Church Elizabeth Hartman Circle, $100

Edmond and Nancy Cononge, $100

Conrad and Gerrie Rossetti, in memory of our daughter, Karen Rossetti, $50

Frank and Susanne Gomez, $100

Betty Falvo, $25

John and Judith Caler, $25

The Sirilla family, in memory of John R. Sirilla and Eleanor Sirilla, $100

Frank and Rose Marie Coppola, $25

The Pallesco family, in memory of Ralph, $50

Kenneth and Sharon Opal, $100

Carol Smith, in memory of Bernard W. Smith Sr., $25

Cindy Interval, $50

Dennis and Karen Croft, in memory of our parents, $100

SE Schultz Electric Inc., $1,000

Thomas Marshalek, $50

Ed and Kathleen Zupancic, in memory of Dr. Nagabhushanam G. Nunna, who passed away on Sept. 21, $100

Terry and Karen Bennett, $50

Henry Timothy and Patricia Ann Mavrich, $100

David and Mary Standiford, $100

Debra Wilkes, $20

Scheletsky Holdings LLC, $100

David and Barbara Wheatcroft, $30

Anonymous, $100