Women of Alle Kiski Engaging collecting items for Allegheny Valley Association of Churches
Many families come to Karen Snair with nothing.
As executive director of Allegheny Valley Association of Churches in Harrison, Snair helps them with everything from food to furniture to dishes and other basic household items.
“If you and I need those products, we just stop at the grocery store and buy them and don’t think twice about it,” Snair said. “For people who don’t have the money for those items, they can’t afford them. Little things to us are not little things to some people. We try to get people things they need.”
A volunteer group, Women of Alle Kiski Engaging, wants to do something for the people Allegheny Valley Association of Churches serves by collecting needed items. WAKE is a division of the Alle Kiski Strong Chamber, whose mission is to empower women and promote women’s leadership.
WAKE is teaming up with local businesses for donation locations throughout Western Pennsylvania.
Areas include Allison Park, Butler, Cheswick, Ford City, Freeport, Kittanning, Lower Burrell, Leechburg, Mars, Natrona Heights, New Kensington, North Apollo, Pittsburgh, Sarver, Springdale, Saxonburg, Tarentum, Upper Burrell, Vandergrift and Worthington.
A list of sites can be found on WAKE’s Facebook page.
Donations needed are toilet paper, diapers, shampoo, deodorant, feminine care products, laundry detergent, mops, buckets and cleaning products.
And working vacuum cleaners — new or used.
The items will be donated to the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches.
The Allegheny Valley Association of Churches encompasses 54 churches from 13 denominations. It offered services to more than 19,000 people last year, including from its food bank.
Snair, who lives in Fawn, said the need has been greater during the pandemic.
While some of the people the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches assists received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, some items such as paper products and cleaning items aren’t covered. She said there are misconceptions about the SNAP benefit.
Snair said the women of WAKE “are wonderful and truly a force to getting things done. “
She said it makes a huge difference in the community to have organizations such as WAKE.
“We know how that feels to not be able to go anywhere,” Snair said. “There are some people who don’t have a place ‘to be stuck in,’ so we help them.”
The association does a lot of good, said CiCi Broxie, chairwoman of WAKE and an Alle Kiski Strong Chamber board member.
WAKE can’t host in-person events because of the pandemic. Its members are focused on community service projects, Broxie said.
“It’s amazing everything they do,” Broxie said. “We are happy to help them. “There are more and more people in need. This was an eye-opener for me.”
The collection drive will run through May 31.
“We want to make this even bigger than the last one,” said Broxie, referring to a collection of donations of medications, kitchen items and clothing collected for the Alle-Kiski HOPE Center in Tarentum and Helping All Victims in Need (HAVIN) in Kittanning.
“We have more experience under our belt, and it’s such a wonderful cause. The businesses in the Alle-Kiski Valley are always happy to help. We believe in the mission of the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.