TAKING THAT EXTRA STEP — United Way of Jefferson County Executive Director Marci Snyder-Crawford took that extra step to help the families of students attending East Garfield Elementary School. During the Sycamore Youth Center’s weekly Friday food giveaway, which provides food to the school’s students for the weekend, Snyder-Crawford brought several pairs of new shoes for students the nonprofit had on hand. -- Contributed

STEUBENVILLE — The Sycamore Youth Center has been providing shelf-stable food bags to students attending East Garfield Elementary School throughout the last five years.

These bags are distributed every Friday to ensure the children have enough to eat during the weekend while they are away from school.

The program is part of Sycamore’s broader community outreach and has become a lifeline for some local families, according to officials.

Last Friday’s distribution, however, differed from the others, as the day included a special surprise from another local nonprofit agency.

The United Way of Jefferson County participated in the community outreach as well.

HELPING WHEREVER SHE CAN — United Way of Jefferson County Executive Director Marci Snyder-Crawford joined Sycamore Youth Center Executive Director Bobbyjon Bauman on Friday, assisting the center in its food drive by adding shoes the nonprofit had to the giveaway. -- Contributed

The organization’s new executive director, Marci Snyder-Crawford, joined alongside volunteers and unexpectedly distributed new shoes to the children at the food distribution.

The gesture only added an extra layer of happiness to an already impactful program, officials noted.

“Passing out shoes at Garfield Elementary was more than just giving footwear — it was giving joy,” Snyder-Crawford stated.

“The excitement on the kids’ faces and the gratitude in their parents’ eyes said it all,” she continued. “What may have been extras to us became treasures to them, turning ordinary shoes into steps of hope, comfort and possibility. That’s what it means to ‘Live United,’ and I love being a part of it every day.”

“Live United” is the United Way’s motto, and one by which Snyder-Crawford tries to live out each and every day.

Bobbyjon Bauman, executive director of the Sycamore Youth Center, explained the ongoing Friday distributions reflect the Sycamore Youth Center’s mission of caring for the physical and spiritual needs of the community’s youth.

“We want every child to know they are valued, cared for and supported,” Bauman said. “Something as simple as food or a pair of shoes can make a huge difference in a child’s life.”

The Sycamore center partners with area churches, businesses and organizations to sustain the Friday program, which now reaches hundreds of students every year.

As the saying goes, “It is always better to give than to receive.”

And on this particular day, it meant just as much to the executive directors to be able to give as it did to the families who were able to receive.