4 Highlands grads host Christmas 'dinner' for those in need

Not everyone has enough money to enjoy a Christmas feast with all the trimmings, so four Highlands alumni are stepping in to provide help.

A free giveaway with holiday dinner items will be hosted from 5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 19 by high school friends Chris Nemeth, Tom Schmaus, Kurt Shaffer and Joe Lucchino.

Distribution will be inside Patterson Hall at Blessed Sacrament Church in Harrison.

“We all grew up in Natrona Heights, and now we’re all in the position to give back,” Shaffer said.

“With the economy being tough, we know plenty of people who are struggling and we just want to alleviate some of the hardship if possible.”

Shaffer, now of New Kensington, owns the online store Pittsburgh Fly Co. He plans to donate proceeds from sales through Dec. 15 to help purchase some of the food.

The same goes for Nemeth, owner of a Harrison plumbing business. He wants to use the food distribution to provide for local residents as an appreciation for the support his and other small businesses receive year-‘round.

“We’re here for them,” Nemeth said. “We want them to know that the money they spend with small business, those owners want to give back.”

This is the second year for the food giveaway.

Last year, 25 families were helped. Nemeth hopes to double that this year.

“I love where I grew up,” he said. “It’s been hit with hard times over the last 20 years, with the mill shrinking and everything, but we think there’s a lot of good here.”

In Allegheny County, about 12% of the population struggles with food insecurity, according to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. The number is even higher for children, at 16.6%.

Nemeth, a 2006 Highlands graduate along with Shaffer and Schmaus, said people are welcome to attend the event to fill their bags with all the makings of a warm Christmas meal: ham, canned veggies, instant mashed potatoes, stuffing, coffee and cookies.

Schmaus, who now lives in Fox Chapel and operates a title abstracting company, said the idea is nothing more than a way to support residents of Harrison, Tarentum, Brackenridge and others nearby.

“We really just wanted to do something to give back to the areas where we grew up,” he said.

Lucchino, a Lower Burrell resident, owns an insurance business in Harrison and serves as president of the Highlands Area Rotary Club. Volunteering is part of who he is, said the 2005 Highlands graduate.

“I’ve worked hard, but I’m also very blessed, and I look around and see that not everyone has had all that luck,” he said. “I try to donate when I can and volunteer where I’m needed.”

Help from the Speed Family Blessing Box in Arnold has boosted the community’s awareness of the project, Schmaus said. The challenge is knowing how many people to provide for, he said.

“We will make sure we have enough,” he said. “We don’t want people to feel any kind of way. We just want them to show up if they need help.”

Any leftovers will be donated to the food pantry at Allegheny Valley Association of Churches, same as last year.

Nemeth added: “It’s been a tough year. There are elderly people living on a fixed income and some parents who worry about having enough money for gifts.

“We just want to take the burden off of people.”