717 Donates $10K to Aid Trumbull Seniors During Virus Crisis

WARREN, Ohio – Mike Wilson walked around a conference room, handing out sheets of paper detailing the cost of food and nutritional information to give a better picture of how a $10,000 gift will be used.

Scope Senior Services, the organization Wilson leads, is one of the beneficiaries of a $10,000 donation Tuesday from 717 Credit Union via the United Way of Trumbull County.

Scope delivers food to the elderly and disabled in southern Trumbull County. The organization runs six sites in Trumbull County and delivers products every two weeks.

“It gets us able to buy stuff,” Wilson said. “That’s the main thing. Buy food, buy product, gets us active and go. And that’s what’s important because once the people start dwindling down on what they have, not knowing what’s going to happen, we have to be prepared and stockpiled as much as we can.”

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, Scope’s socialization programs were canceled. However, the traveling food pantry will increase its number of delivery trucks. Employees that currently aren’t working will be folded into the food delivery program.

“We serve about 500 a month, where we’re delivering every two weeks – food, products, groceries – to them,” Wilson said. “I could see this doubling easily, maybe tripling the numbers very shortly.”

Scope is a part of 23 programs funded by the United Way of Trumbull County. Ginny Pasha, president and CEO for the United Way of Trumbull County, said the programs deal with people “negatively impacted” by the virus. The donation from 717 will be distributed to partner agencies, according to need.

“This is a challenging time for all of us but particularly so for those who may be hourly workers in retail and food services that traditionally do not have vacation and/or sick days,” Pasha said. “According to our partner agencies, there will be a need for child care, food and emergency financial assistance.  With this gift, we will try to help mitigate the additional financial burden on our partner agencies.”

Pasha said other issues could include increases in domestic violence and proper nutrition for children.

“There’s a whole variety of agencies who have deep roots here in Trumbull County and very strong experience working with these vulnerable populations,” Pasha said.

Ohio’s first confirmed case was announced on March 9 in Cuyahoga County. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 67 cases statewide, including two each in Trumbull and Mahoning counties. Gary Soukenik, president and CEO for 717 Credit Union, and Pasha said previous connections between the credit union and the United Way paved and easier path toward the donation to aid organizations as they navigate the crisis.

“All my past years with the United Way of Trumbull County, I know they have programs that are, really, boots on the ground,” Soukenik said. “These programs are all ready to go. We want to get our money to work quickly in the community, and I know they have a process that’s very effective, efficient and we want to maximize the impact.”

Pictured: 717 Credit Union President and CEO Gary Soukenik and United Way of Trumbull County President and CEO Ginny Pasha.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.