A donation from the Sharpsburg-Aspinwall Rotary will help sustain a local group that has served more than 11,000 meals to children since the covid-19 pandemic began in spring.

Members spent $800 to buy a freezer, several slow cookers and loads of shelf-stable food for the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) of Sharpsburg, a program of Volunteers of America, along Main Street.

The group operates a free after-school program and summer enrichment camp for children 5 to 18 years old. Etna and Millvale children also attend the programs.

“We are so grateful for the donation,” said Rachel White, YEP administrative assistant.

Dinners and snacks are served daily, White said, with about 30 meals going out each day.

“During the pandemic, we know that food insecurity has worsened and we are working to meet the extra need by providing these free meals,” White said.

Rotary president Don Friedman said his group has long supported a relationship with the children’s service group, having sponsored park picnics in the summer and looking soon to expand a Free Little Library project.

The grant was much more than a check donation, he said.

It was a team effort with Rotarian Kerry Schenker arranging for the purchase of the much-needed freezer, fellow Rotarian John Arch shopping for non-perishable groceries and participants at YEP carrying in the bags and boxes of canned goods, meat, rice, pasta and fruit.

“It is a genuine joy to improve our Sharpsburg-Aspinwall communities,” said Friedman, who has been a Rotarian for 36 years.

Founded in 1926, the Sharpsburg-Aspinwall Rotary keeps busy with several local initiatives that include distributing Meals On Wheels each week, hosting a monthly bingo at the HJ Heinz VA hospital in O’Hara and distributing dictionaries to third graders in the Fox Chapel Area School District.

The YEP works specifically to provide positive experiences for children to help them form healthy behaviors, build relationships and succeed in school, White said.

The YEP also provides daily lunches and snacks through a summer café, in conjunction with the state Department of Education.

“It is a great feeling to help with the kids,” Arch said. “After all, they will be the leaders one day.”

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