Potter’s House Ministries is an organization in the community that serves a wide range of needs, according to Amanda Flanagan, AmeriCorps Vista. The group serves the community through their food pantry, tax preparation, HEAP and PIP application services, Marketplace navigation, Medicare benefits, summer feeding day camps for children, a senior food box program and more.

Recently, the organization held two major events back-to-back with a turnout that Flanagan is happy about. The events included their Community Wellness Fair and their Hunger Walk.

Flanagan says she does a lot of the operational background work for the organization, working on tax preparation, minimal grant exploration, event organization, fundraising and more. She has been involved since 2020.

“I like what Potter’s House does for the community,” Flanagan said. “I’ve been there and done that when I needed help and they do a lot of good with the pantry and other programs.”

The Community Wellness fair is just one of those beneficial services held by the organization.

They welcomed 16 vendors and just under 50 community members. Some of those vendors included the Kings Daughters Medical Center Mobile Unit, Southern Ohio Medical Center, CRADLE, and more.

“The Wellness Fair was a success,” Flanagan said. “Word of mouth is paramount to the success of these events and after the pandemic, word is spreading,”

There are a lot of benefits from the event, Flanagan citing one personal example that she herself took advantage of.

“Personally, at the time, I didn’t have a doctor, and I found my doctor from talking to some of the people that were there,” Flanagan recalled. “If they’re looking for a new doctor or a therapist or anything like that, you know, you can come see what is available in the community.”

The Hunger Walk was sponsored by Freestore Foodbank, a partner of the organization.

“We get a lot of our food from Freestore,” Flanagan said. “We have to buy it, unfortunately. It is at cost, but it is still $3,000-$4,000 or more in food a month.”

The Hunger Walk assists in some of that expense.

“With the Hunger Walk, what it does, with every dollar we raise, they will give us credit,” Flanagan explained. “So, every dollar we get comes back in the form of food from Freestore Foodbank.”

Flanagan said that the credit translates to an additional dollar per dollar.

The organization raised $2,177 with events this month.

“I think it is pretty important, because proceeds benefit our pantry directly,” Flanagan explained. “So, it will benefit everyone who comes to the pantry and we get almost 1,000 families a month coming to our pantry.”

The walk was also a success, which is still coming back after the pandemic slowed down growth.

“This has been the most successful Hunger Walk in recent years,” Flanagan said. “We are thankful for having such a supportive community.”

The group is always in need of support year-round, even when they aren’t hosting events. To donate to the organization, reach outto their home office at 740.776.4004.

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2022 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved