Angels step in when donation to Aspinwall food drive doesn't come through

When a sizable donation to a Thanksgiving food drive organized by Aspinwall resident Nancy Heil failed to materialize, angels stepped in.

Many angels.

Sheri Rice, owner of Luke & Mike’s Frontporch Grille, in Aspinwall was one of them. She posted a request on Facebook for donations of canned vegetables, boxed stuffing, boxed potatoes and powdered gravy mixes.

Soon a sleigh outside the restaurant was overflowing.

Twice!

“The people of Aspinwall were gracious enough to fill up our sleigh twice,” said Luke & Mike’s General Manager Lou Curcio.

Other angels were involved, too, from Coldwell Banker Realty in Aspinwall, which donated 100 turkeys, to individuals, one of whom donated 10 turkeys. Members of a Wexford book club helped Rice pack the food; several churches were collection sites, including St. Scholastica Church in Christ the King Parish, where all donations were stored and later packed up for distribution.

The food drive was able to provide “at least” 120 meals, Heil said, to families and individuals in Etna, the North Side, the South Side, among others.

“It’s God. It isn’t me,” Heil said.

“This is sharing, sharing what the Lord provides.”

Curcio said the sleigh is now being used to receive toy donations for the Aspinwall Police Department’s Presents from Police program, the toys to be donated to UPMC Children’s Hospital, the Sunrise School in Monroeville and the Children’s Institute in Shadyside.