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The Samaritan Project

Helping others at the holidays, and all year-long

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As the holidays approach — a big holiday meal — can help create a festive feel.

But, for some families, those kind of feasts are beyond their financial reach.

Jackie Smack, a volunteer with the Neighborhood Care Center, places a pair of pants on a hanger, and works them onto the rack inside the center’s clothing department. Smack has been volunteering at the center for five years. She said she feels blessed to help others in need. (Christine Holtzman)

That’s where The Neighborhood Care Center, in Zephyrhills, comes in.

It has been helping families at the holidays — and throughout the year — for more than two decades.

During the holidays, the care center seeks to help its recipients have the makings of a traditional holiday meal. For Thanksgiving, for instance, it plans to provide families with a frozen ham or chicken, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn muffin mix, and pies. At Christmas, it provides recipients with turkey and all of the trimmings. Last year, it gave away 125 turkeys during the holidays.

But, helping others at the holidays is just a small part of what The Neighborhood Care Center does.

The organization sees a need and tries to address it.

“There’s always been a big problem of people not having everything they need – not having the money to buy it,” said Leanne Bickford, the nonprofit’s director, and also a volunteer.

The First Baptist Church in Zephyrhills began the initiative in 1993 to combat hunger and other dire circumstances that Zephyrhills residents face.

Now, a quarter-century later, the care center is still going strong.

It has an open pantry on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 9 a.m. to noon.

Each room at the center is stocked to address specific needs.

Children’s toys take up a portion of the bottom shelf of stacked canned goods, inside the warehouse of the Neighborhood Care Center. The canned goods on these shelves are reserved for the recipients of the center, to provide the makings of a Thanksgiving meal. The items consist mostly of canned pumpkin, pineapple, apple, and yams.

There’s a place for nonperishable foods and frozen meats. And, places for toys, furniture, clothing, tools, kitchen appliances and hygiene products.

Care center volunteers pride themselves on quality control, when it comes to accepting donations, Bickford said.

“My motto that I’ve tried to drill into everybody is ‘If you wouldn’t put it in your house, don’t take it’,” the director said.

The pantry relies solely on donations.

The contributions come from churches, local organizations and individuals —  including snowbirds.

Most of the food items come from the National Association of Letter Carriers food drive which occurs in May. That supply typically lasts until September.

Other donations come from Meals on Wheels, Panera Bread and Publix.

Dozens of gently used men’s, women’s and children’s shoes are neatly arranged on metal racks in the center’s shoe department.

Food is distributed as quickly as it comes in.

And, on any given day, 50 people or more may show up to receive furniture or clothing.

The service area for the center is restricted to Zephyrhills, because it can’t meet the needs of the entire county.

Beneficiaries must apply to receive items, but exceptions are made for homeless people who lack proper documents and photo IDs.

Sometimes the help goes beyond donated items, Bickford said.

“We’re not a full-fledged food pantry,” Bickford explained. “We are for emergency purposes – if they’re between food stamps or they come down from up north with nothing.”

When people are short on funds for utility and electric bills, or prescriptions, the care center can help to cover the expenses.

“I’ve had a mother come in with one child and they’re getting $350 worth of food stamps,” Bickford said. “Something is not right with this picture.”

Various churches allocate funds to the nonprofit in order to provide this assistance.

When the care center is unable to provide needed help, it makes referrals to other organizations, such as The Samaritan Project or The Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Volunteers Jackie Smack, left, and Leanne Bickford, who is also the center’s director, take a break from sorting the day’s donated items.

It also directs people to Zephyr Park to receive hot meals from local churches.

Bickford tries to get the word out about the care center when she speaks at various establishments, or in her daily encounters with strangers.

In addition to holiday meals, the care center also helps families to have happy holidays in other ways.

As Christmas approaches, the care center will host a Kids Shopping Day.

The Dec. 7 event, from 9 a.m. to noon, allows youth to pick out gifts for their parents.

Care center volunteers are hoping for a big turn-out to that event.

In the long-term, the goal is to find a bigger building to facilitate the growing number of donations.

Bickford put it like this: “There’s a big need, and I’m glad that we’re here to help (fill) that void.”

In helping others, she emphasizes the importance of preserving the recipients’ dignity.

“I keep telling people, ‘We need to treat these people the same way you want to be treated, because we never know when we could be coming in that door looking for help.

“We might be volunteering here right now, but you don’t know what’s in store tomorrow,” Bickford said.

For further information, call the care center at (813) 780-6822.

Helping others in need
Where: The Neighborhood Care Center, 5140 Sixth St., Zephyrhills
When: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon
Details: Zephyrhills residents in need can find an array of free items, including  food, clothes, kitchen supplies and furniture at the center.
Info: Call (813) 780-6822.

Published November 27, 2019

Offering convenient way to combat breast cancer

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Cheryl Hinton hits the road in the quest to prevent breast cancer.

Hinton, who is the marketing and promotions specialist for Tampa Bay Mobile Mammography, was the featured speaker at the East Pasco Networking Group’s breakfast meeting on Aug. 13 at the IHOP in Dade City.

Lt. James Law of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, left, Cheryl Hinton, Nils Lenz, Rodney Rehrig Sr., and Bob Hatfield were several attendees at the East Pasco Networking Group meeting on Aug. 13 at a Dade City IHOP. Hinton was the event’s guest speaker and received a Standing Ovation Award for her community work. (Brian Fernandes)

She talked about the company’s mission to provide convenient breast cancer screenings. The independent organization began in New Port Richey. It now provides its services not only in Pasco, but in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties, too.

The staff works out of three tour-size buses, which are parked at various locations. Female employees can step away from their work at those places, to undergo a breast cancer screening.

“We actually go to schools and corporations,” Hinton explained. “We bring the bus to them, so that all they have to do is go outside, get on the bus, get their mammogram done, and go right back to work.”

Inside the bus, women take several minutes to be examined, using a digital three-dimensional imaging machine.

Patients also may be referred to a physician for further analysis.

Beyond her current role, Hinton also has a history in community advocacy, having worked in conjunction with organizations like Meals on Wheels and The Samaritan Project.

After she ended her career in newspaper advertising, she found a role where she could promote health.

She recalled: “I see on Facebook that this position is opening and I thought ‘Mobile mammography, what’s that? That sounds interesting.’”

The job also had a personal significance, as her sister-in-law had succumbed to a seven-year battle with breast cancer.

The Zephyrhills resident initially began overseeing operations in Hillsborough County and eventually added Polk County.

“Part of my job is I sit [at] home on my laptop, contact the schools and let them know that we’re coming,” Hinton noted.

She also travels to the companies and schools within her districts to answer questions from employers or employees.

Mobile Mammography tries to accommodate educators by paying substitute teachers to cover their classes while they are in the bus for screening.

The organization had its first summer screening program this year, sending out flyers and visiting 27 schools where summer classes were being held.

The response was phenomenal, she said.

Although the services target women in the school system and the corporate world, women of all backgrounds are encouraged to jump aboard the bus – and for good reason.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer is the most common type found in women, not counting skin cancers .

In 2016, there were over 245,000 new cases reported in the United States alone.

The screening may seem intimidating and does bring about slight discomfort, Hinton acknowledged. However, she added, it could help prevent or stop the progression of breast cancer.

Hinton also was quick to point out that while the disease is prevalent among women, men too, are susceptible to breast cancer.

While Mobile Mammography does not offer services to men, it strongly recommends that men get routine check-ups, Hinton noted.

Toward the end of the meeting, the East Pasco Networking Group presented Hinton with a Standing Ovation Award to recognize her for her community efforts.

Published August 28, 2019

When it comes to helping the homeless, she’s not too proud to beg

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In her previous role, Carol Scheckler delivered warm greetings to people when they dropped in at the Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce.

But she stepped away from her job as administrative assistant at the chamber in May, and has since become president of The Samaritan Project, based in Zephyrhills.

Carol Scheckler, president of The Samaritan Project, said helping the homeless is her passion and mission. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Carol Scheckler, president of The Samaritan Project, said helping the homeless is her passion and mission.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

The chamber job, she said, was her paycheck. The Samaritan job doesn’t pay Scheckler a dime.

“Now, I don’t have a paycheck, just a passion and a mission,” Scheckler told members of the East Pasco Networking Group at its July 8 breakfast meeting.

In fact, there are no paid positions in The Samaritan Project organization, she said.

“None of us get anything other than the reward of knowing we are helping some people,” said Scheckler, who became acquainted with the charitable organization when she was working for the chamber.

She learned about it through Tim Mitchell, who was president of the Zephyrhills chamber at the time, and president of The Samaritan Project as well.

“I met a lot of unique people, coming into the office, applying for assistance,” Scheckler said.

She felt compelled to get involved.

“My dad is a minister. I was raised that we were to help those less fortunate,” Scheckler said. “Not to turn our backs on them, not to stereotype them, but to help them.”

The Zephyrhills woman understands how it feels to struggle.

“When my husband and I moved up in 1982, we did it for a reason. We were losing everything,” she said.

Her husband, a semitrailer driver had been through two major gas wars.

“This was our fresh start,” Scheckler said. “That’s why this project is so important to me. I have been there. I know firsthand what it is to lose everything.”

The Samaritan Project has been helping people since 2008. It operates on donations and fundraisers.

“We assist people with past due rent and utilities,” Scheckler said.

The organization keeps its operational costs low.

“We do not pay rent. We have one overhead (cost), that is our Internet, because as you know in this day of technology, everything relies on the Internet.”

The project has spent more than two years in the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Education Building in Zephyrhills in 500 square feet of space, including the bathroom and air-conditioning room.

“My private office is the bathroom,” she said, noting whenever she has to make a private call to a landlord or utility company or somewhere else, she steps into the bathroom to do it.

But the organization is moving to much larger quarters at 5722 Eighth St., in Zephyrhills. Last week, the Samaritan Project signed a two-year lease, rent-free lease for the 1,400-square-foot home, thanks to the generosity of a local couple.

In addition to its own fundraising efforts, the organization received a $76,000 Emergency Solutions Grant earlier this year from the Florida Department of Children and Families and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“With this grant, we are able to get them into housing,” Scheckler said. “We can pay their first month’s rent, we can pay their electric deposit, water deposit, the security deposit.”

There is a drawback, though. The organization must raise matching funds for the grant money it spends, Scheckler said. The grant also requires applicants to fill out a form that’s about 20 pages long.

“We don’t make the rules. We strictly abide by the rules,” she said.

Still, the project is thrilled to be able to help more people, Scheckler said. The grant is aimed at preventing homelessness and getting people without housing back into homes.

Sixty percent of the grant is earmarked for getting people back into housing, she said, and the need is great.

“We had 151 homeless, registered students, just in Zephyrhills,” Scheckler said. At any given time, there are 1,500 to 2,000 registered homeless students in Pasco County.

One of the biggest challenges is finding a place for these people to live thanks to past evictions and credit issues, she said. “Landlords won’t step up.”

“If you know landlords who own property, ask them to trust us,” Scheckler said. “Our organization is backing these people. We follow them for six months. I do a case management every 30 days on everyone that we assist.”

Despite challenges, Scheckler said her volunteer work has moments of sheer joy.

“The biggest thing is, when you walk up to this client and you go, ‘Here’s your lease,’” she said, with her voice breaking and tears in her eyes, “I do get real emotional.”

A couple of weeks ago, the organization moved a young woman and her father into an apartment. The woman has special needs and the pair had been living in a truck.

“Habitat for Humanity stepped up and donated the furniture,” Scheckler said. “When I walked them in the apartment, I told (them), ‘This is yours. This is all yours. The furniture. The TV. Everything.’ How do you put a price on something like that?”

While many youths are couch-surfing to keep a roof over their heads, there also are elderly people who are in desperate need, Scheckler added.

“We have an 87-year-old woman who couldn’t pay her water bill. She was living off of pool water, drinking water out of a pool,” she said. “Did we step up and help her? Absolutely.”

After telling the group about The Samaritan Project’s mission, Scheckler went into her fundraising mode.

“Any of you women in here wear jewelry?” she asked, to set up a pitch for a fundraiser planned for Aug. 10. She also urged them to get involved in the Harvest Festival, another fundraiser on Nov. 1, or to hit the links on Feb. 7, at its annual golf benefit.

Scheckler frequently speaks at churches and civic organizations to drum up support for the cause.

“What we really, really, really need is support of the community,” she said. “Our motto is ‘Working together to make a better community.’ That’s what we want to do.”

And Scheckler said she’ll do whatever she can to make that happen.

“I am not too proud to beg,” she said. “I can cry. I can do whatever it takes.”

For more information
To help The Samaritan Project, based in Zephyrhills, or to get help from the organization, call (813) 810-8670.

Published July 16, 2014

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