EATON — The Eaton Church of the Brethren raised over $6,000 from their Christmas program, splitting and donating the funds to both the HIT Foundation and the Preble County food pantry.
The church performed “A Christmas Carol” at Eaton’s Performing Arts Center from Dec. 18-20, and half of every ticket sold was set aside for the two causes. Between the three performances, over 1,500 people attended.
“It’s been really cool. We were very excited to see that that would bring more meaning to the performance,” said Dan Denlinger, senior pastor at ECOB. “Some people came because they’ve never seen A Christmas Carol or wanted to see it again – but we knew that would bring more value. We wanted to very much communicate that this wasn’t just about us as a church. We wanted to reach out into the community.”
ECOB has been a partner with both charities, participating in regular giving to the food bank as well as participating in the senior home improvement program with the HIT Foundation.
For the HIT Foundation, the money is expected to be designated toward both the senior home repair program and their newly opened homeless shelter.
“There are so many needs in those programs,” said HIT Foundation Director Bill Hutton.
Items like food cost, staffing cost, and materials and supplies for home repair will be funded by the donation.
“It’s been a real good partnership. There have been some great volunteers that they’ve provided to do that,” said Hutton.
On the food pantry’s side of things, the money will provide a service not always available to the organization and to the families who need it.
“It really helps us buy the meat that families really want and need that we don’t always get donated on a regular basis,” said Jenny McCarty, a representative from the Preble County food pantry. “This is a great blessing to be able to support that need and the needs of those in Preble County and to know there is a congregation that cares and wants to give and help their neighbors in need.”
