Porches invite us back to a simpler time and used to be a common place of neighborly socialization.
Porches invite us back to a simpler time and used to be a common place of neighborly socialization.
Like the strong pillars holding them up, Dorothy’s Porch Giveaway in Chardon continues the fundamental values of neighbors helping neighbors.
“Dorothy has always been a person who can link people up and in this ministry of Dorothy’s Porch, she is constantly linking people with needs to people who have what they need,” said Rev. Laura Barbins, of Celebration Lutheran Church in Chardon.
“She is often in my office saying something like, ‘It happened again.’ What she means is that someone has come to her with a need for something — a bed, some clothes for an infant or the like — and within a day, someone comes to her and says, ‘I have this extra (fill in the blank), do you know someone who could use it?’ Their abundance exactly fits the need that she has heard of.”
Built on the loving support of 82-year-old founder Dorothy Stincomb, Dorothy’s Porch Giveaway will once again hold its big free garage sale May 30 and 31 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and June 1 from 9-10 a.m. at Celebration Lutheran Church, 10621 Auburn Road.
There are no signs of slowing down for the charitable founder, whose namesake was formed after donations for those in need were left on her porch.
“Yes, I have a big porch,” Stinbomb said, as she soaked in some sunshine recently between organizing some of the large collections of household items, toys, clothing and other donations community members left for the upcoming event.
“I’m in awe of it, never thought it would be anything like this,” Stincomb said of the charity.
She called it faith in motion.
“You got to move it outside the church doors,” she said. “The event kicked off about 10 years ago when people would leave stuff on my porch.”
Stincomb started out as a volunteer with Feed My People, a free faith-based food ministry which began giving donations of clothing, furniture and other household items as an off-shoot of its meals program.
It has grown extensively with the help of volunteers and teenagers earn service hours for their help.
“Volunteers are precious,” said Stincomb, who grew up an only child and considers herself a lifelong caregiver. “As an only child, you reach out to other people because that gives you family, a sense of belonging. You need that. Community is very important. That’s my big family.”
After caring for two husbands, Stincomb still lives in her childhood home.
Her friend, Diane Mack, of Hambden Township, can’t give her enough credit.
“Dorothy is about as special as they get,” Mack said. “Her heart is bigger than I don’t know what. She is such a wonderful caregiver. To know her is to love her. She’s never met a stranger. I want people to know how big her heart is. She wants to make their lives better.”
Held four times a year, Dorothy’s Porch Giveaway makes everything free, no questions asked.
Stincomb said not everyone who comes is needy and in her eyes, that’s just fine.
“You don’t know what’s in their life,” she said.
The annual giveaways are held one day after Ash Wednesday, the week after Memorial Day, the week after Labor Day and the week after Thanksgiving.
“It’s not just the material things,” Stincomb said of the events, adding she hopes others enjoy the camaraderie as well.
“People have nobody to talk to these days,” she said.
Stincomb said she often checks in on friends throughout the week.
“They may say they’re fine, but their voice says they’re not,” she said.
Her friend, Johanna Davison, a fellow Chardon Hilltopper, said Stincomb is “absolutely amazing.”
“I’ve never known anyone who has so much energy,” she said. “I don’t know when she sleeps.”
Those wishing to donate are asked to call the church.
“Over the years, this ministry has grown and people know that when they come here, they will be treated with respect and dignity — and get more than what they hoped for,” Barbins said. “Because Dorothy gives more than things, she gives compassion and hope.”
