Photo Provided Gary Trump, left, and Phil Pata of Belmont Hills Country Club hand out turkeys at the Food Pantry of St. Clairsville.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Belmont Hills Country Club spread some holiday cheer Thursday by donating 75 turkeys to the Food Pantry of St. Clairsville.

Club President Brian Woodford said the charitable donation was inspired by the club turning 100 years old.

“We just felt that a lot of our success is a direct relation to the community members that have supported us throughout the years, whether they’re members or coming to the country club to have weddings or baby showers or whatever it may be,” Woodford said. “The community members have supported us, and we wanted to give back during the holiday and support our community.”

He added that the decision to collaborate with the pantry stems from the reputation the pantry has built for continuing to support the community and provide for individuals who may not be able to afford to put food on their table.

The turkeys were purchased by members of the country club through Jacob and Sons Quality Meats in Martins Ferry.

Woodford said once the turkeys were purchased, Jacob and Sons delivered them to the country club where they were then placed in the club’s freezer until it was time for them to be transported to the pantry.

He added that Whiteside Chevrolet Buick GMC of St. Clairsville donated a van for the day for members of the club to take the turkeys to the pantry.

“When we asked our members to participate in this donation, we were asking them to donate towards the food drive for Thanksgiving but also a toy drive for Christmas,” Woodford said. “We set aside the money for the turkeys, and we’ll use the remaining amount of money left for the toy drive.”

He added that the club will partner with the Belmont County Department of Job and Family Services to identify children in Belmont County who are in need of Christmas presents to ensure those children have a good holiday.

“Community is one of our five core values, and we believe in the importance of community and are dedicated to supporting local organizations and initiatives that make a positive impact in our area,” Woodford said.

St. Clairsville Food Pantry Director Kathi Vaughn said she was delightfully surprised when she received a call that Belmont Hills Country Club had 75 turkeys to donate to the pantry. She added that people come to the pantry once a month to ensure everyone who needs assistance can secure goods.

With it being late in the month of November, several families have already received their monthly goods. To ensure the larger families received turkeys, Vaughn went through the pantry’s database and called some families who had already come to the pantry in November and asked if they could use a turkey.

“We don’t do Thanksgiving. Our food pantry concentrates on Christmas because we don’t have the resources to also do a Thanksgiving dinner,” she said. “Sometimes there’s just no words to express the outpouring amount of support and how very filled with gratitude we are at the kindness of people.”

She added that she gets choked up when she thinks about how the whole community comes together to provide for families in need and fight food insecurity.