Heroes Help Northeast Ohio 10/23/10

Join wkyc and a whole slew of other agencies Saturday, October 23, 2010 for the annual "Heroes Help Northeast Ohio" all day food drive.

We're taking it on the road this year. Please stop by one of the four locations to say hello, but hopefully, to make some type of a donation for those in Northeast Ohio who really need help.

All locations will be accepting non-perishable foods, coats, toys, as well as monetary donations.

This year wkyc has teamed up with the Cleveland and Akron Foodbanks, Coats for Kids, and the Salvation Army.

The drive runs from 9:00 a.m until 3:00 p.m.

wkyc on-air personalities will be accepting your kind offerings all day long as well as other well known personalities from around town, behind the scenes staffers, and so many volunteers.

Stop and say hello while helping someone who may be less fortunate than yourself.

The all day event will be live during the Channel 3 News weekend morning show as well as the Noon News.

There will be lots of surprises, fun, possibly live music and so much more, so pop over to one of the four Walmart locations: Canton Walmart on Atlantic Blvd, Aurora Walmart on Market Place Drive, Strongsville Walmart on Pearl Road, or the Steelyard Commons Walmart on Steelyard Drive.

Hope to see Saturday for a wonderful cause!

Weekly Feature: Hidden Gems

Today's Hidden Gem: Harvest for Hunger

The 2009 Harvest for Hunger Campaign kicks off Friday, February 27 and may be one of the most crucial campaigns ever in light of today's economic windfalls.

This year's event takes place at Tower City Center at the grand staircase in the heart of downtown Cleveland Friday beginning at 11am. Join the 2009 co-chairs Terrance C. Z. Egger of the Plain Dealer and Fred Nance of Squire, Sanders, & Dempsey L.L.P. Mayor Frank Jackson, and County Commissioners Jimmy Dimora, Tim Hagan, and Peter Lawson Jones should be on hand to share their thoughts on why this program is essential to Northeast Ohio's hunger relief ventures.

Believe it or not, Harvest for Hunger has been touted as one of the largest hunger relief efforts in the nation.

You can make a donation or drop off food at your local food pantry.

Many local grocery stores band together and make it quite easy to help this cause. While you are shopping for yourself or your family, you can remember those less fortunate who can not. In the check out line, you can make a dollar, 5 dollar or ten dollar donation added to your tab.

Most local television, radio, and newspapers get the word out on this state-wide project to gain as much attention as possible in giving assistance to those who need it most and to those who HELP those in need such as the local food pantries.

There are many charities out there. I've touched on this before. As many people blanket the earth is as many charities present in our world. Some never touch our lives. But, I bet that every person reading this entry knows someone down on their luck. Maybe they've been laid off or fired, lost their house in a foreclosure case, can't really afford the rising utility bills, gas for the car, or have charged their credit cards to the max to pay for essentials.

I'm sure Clevelanders will shine through yet again. We always do!

The great thing about Harvest for Hunger is that the money stays here, and helps our neighbors and friends.

I know we each have our favorite charities. I wanted to make Harvest for Hunger this week's Hidden Gem to get the word out. Clevelanders need to come through to help Harvest for Hunger beat last year's tally and achieve this year's goal of 2.7 million dollars.

Honestly, we never know when WE will be that someone turning for help at a local food bank, a hot meal program, or an area shelter. Just think about it....

Food Drive day!

9:25pm THIS JUST IN!!!!

You are hearing it here first, folks! The Cleveland Foodbank folks have tallied and weighed all of the food collected during today's food drive. Drum roll please: More than 10,000 pounds of food was collected and over $2500 dollars raised...which will supply over 17,000 meals to the folks of Northeast Ohio! The Foodbank says today's event exceeded all expectations. We have no one to thank but YOU, the kind, giving people of Northeast Ohio! We here at Channel 3 thank you from the bottom of our hearts! You came through once again!

5:30pm It's here! It has been a smashing success all day long from the 5:30am kickoff outside of the Channel 3 Studios!

We still have a few hours to go (at this writing) but I do want to thank all of our viewers who have stopped by to drop off canned goods or money.

I had a blast working the food drive between 2pm and 3pm. What a hoot! It was really a great time meeting some of our customers and hearing their stories! There are so many caring Clevelanders who pulled up to offer their help with this great cause. And it was fun being able to spend quality time with some of my co-workers 'away from my post.'

The weather has held up beautifully. Later in the day the chill started creeping up (chasing a few of my fellow on-air comrades who shall remain nameless back inside)!!!!

Such a festive day inside and out. It would be great if they were all like this.

And then right around 515pm, BFD blues band started wowing the audience with their rockin' style! A great addition to our afternoon craziness--jammin' while we work!!!!

Please tune into our 6pm and 7pm news shows tonight for live interviews, reports and progress reports on the Cleveland Foodbank and WKYC food drive.

Stay tuned for updates and thanks again for all of your help and support on this great cause!