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ANGOLA — Steuben County and community leaders gathered Tuesday to usher in a new era for Project Help.
The agency, which assists approximately 2,500 needy Steuben County families with food, clothing and other assistance, made the first turns of dirt on the site at the corner of Harcourt Road and Williams Street across from the Breeden YMCA.
Norm Fuller, the pastor of Fairview Missionary Church and the chairman of the board of Project Help, called it “an exciting day.”
“My life has had so many ‘God moments,’” Fuller said. “As I have worked on this project I have seen the hand of God in many different things. Thank you for the community to help us make it this far.”
Fuller acknowledged the contribution of Jonas Steury, who was killed in a traffic accident last spring on North Wayne Street.
“I went to Jonas and I asked him for help. I said ‘This is what I need, I need an architect who won’t charge an arm and a leg.’”
Steury helped to find such an architect and planned to begin the project before the accident, Fuller said.
“This is one of the last public things he would have done,” Fuller said. Steury’s sons, Leroy and Aaron, and their respective building companies have carried on the legacy.
“My dad was going to run it (the project), and two weeks after that was the accident,” said Aaron Steury of A & D Specs. “We felt like it was something we should do, to finish it for him.”
What added to it, Steury said, was that the effort helped the community.
Currently, the organization has just under 60 percent of the funding for the building project, however, Fuller said, the group is working on other fundraising efforts.
A vacant lot at Glendarin Hills Golf Course was donated, with the proceeds of the sale of the lot going toward the project. Fuller said the organization has also been in touch with local, regional and national foundations for assistance, as well raising funds within the community. Area business leaders issued challenges to their compatriots to help.
Sandy Sanborn, owner of Sanborn’s For Your Home, encouraged local businesses to get involved.
“We need every small business to get behind this with funding,” Sanborn said. “If each one of us donated a little bit, it’ll be a beautiful building for years to come.”
Todd Saylor of PayServ announced his company would be conducting its own fundraising initiative.
The August event, “PayServ Swings for Project Help,” would bring World Series winning baseball pitchers to Angola as part of a fundraiser, Saylor said. He expected the project to take in at least $150,000, Saylor said.
“We feel strongly that its encumbered on this community to take care of this community,” Saylor said.
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