Good News Fund Off to Strong Start With $3,740 Raised

The Herald's Good News Fund raised $3,740 from 33 donors in three weeks toward an $18,000 goal to buy 1,100 Thanksgiving turkeys for Mercer County families.

The Herald Good News Fund has raised $3,740 from 33 donations in its first three weeks, according to the Sharon Herald, moving toward an $18,000 goal set for Oct. 30. Now in its 34th year, the campaign works in partnership with the Mercer County Food Bank to recognize Hunger Action Month in September and provide turkeys for Thanksgiving to families who otherwise might not be able to afford one. Fund manager Beckie Erwin called readers' generosity "truly heartwarming" and said the early response has exceeded expectations. Last year the fund raised enough to buy 1,000 turkeys, but with greater need and rising costs this year the target covers roughly 1,100 birds for the holiday season.

The Sharon Herald reports that the food bank's director of development, Alexis Spence-Locke, framed the stakes in stark terms: one in four children and one in seven adults in Mercer County face food insecurity. "Thanksgiving is about gathering around the table with the people we love, and every family deserves the chance to share in that tradition," she said, adding that every dollar raised helps provide turkeys and the warmth of knowing the community cares. Turkeys will be purchased locally from D'Onofrio's Food Center in Hermitage and distributed through the food bank and its network of partner agencies. The Community Foundation of Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio manages the fund, which was created by local community leaders.

Because the foundation is tax-exempt, donations to the Good News Fund are tax-deductible, the Sharon Herald notes. Contributions have historically come from thousands of local families, offices, and businesses, and donors are invited to give in memory or in honor of a friend or family member by including a note with the gift. Checks payable to the Good News Fund can be mailed to The Herald Good News Fund, 55 Pitt St., Box 51, Sharon, PA 16146, or dropped off at the Herald's office, and questions can be directed to 724-981-6100, ext. 204. The donor list as of Sept. 4 already spans Hermitage, Farrell, Sharon, West Middlesex, Transfer, Wheatland, and Grove City, with many gifts honoring loved ones.

The fundraiser stands out amid a difficult news cycle, offering a quieter counterpoint to the week's headlines. It fits a broader pattern of grassroots generosity the Good Good Good news roundup highlighted this week — from a Los Angeles cookie baker whose orders covered a month's rent after a shoutout from Ms. Rachel, to a California mother sending more than $10,000 a week so detained parents can buy food for their children. According to Good Good Good, seven Indigenous Siekopai "turtle women" in Ecuador's Amazon collected 235 turtle eggs in the 2025–26 nesting season, hatched 208 babies, and released them into the Aguarico River with schoolchildren's help. Small, steady acts of care — for neighbors, for wildlife — remain the common thread.