VOLUNTEERS HELP DISTRIBUTE BUILDING CONTENTS TO CHARITABLE GROUPS

By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times

Two days after Rob Manning took possession of Lot 7000, where The Port and Lakeside Inn were located, Ron Eike met with him. Eike’s proposal was to allow him to coordinate the distribution of items in the hotel and restaurant to charitable groups. 

Manning welcomed the idea, although he said demolition of the buildings was scheduled to begin soon, and he would like to have the contents removed within the next week. 

Eike got to work. He contacted several charities and described the type of things that would be available for pickup. 

“There was great interest in many of the items in both buildings,” Eike says. 

The next step was to recruit volunteers. 

About 20 men who are members of the St. Cecilia Knights of Columbus in Panora volunteered. Twenty-five women who are members of the Panora Garden Club volunteered. 

“I describe the work we were doing as harvesting,” Eike says. “We pulled items out of rooms and staged them in common areas where those interested could choose what they wanted.”

One recipient was St. Thomas More Center, located at Lake Panorama. Manning says he was happy the Catholic Youth Camp at St. Thomas could use some of the available items. 

“I grew up going to camp there. My boys have all attended CYC, and the two youngest ones still go there each summer,” Manning says. “They took televisions, some restaurant items, such as silverware and glasses, and some tables and chairs.”

Eike also made arrangements for four other groups to pick up what they could use. 

Catholic Charities took bedding and towels to be used in a women’s shelter. The Woodward Academy, a residential facility for boys, took bedroom furniture.  

Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity picked up furniture from both the hotel and the restaurant to sell in its ReStore operation in Urbandale. Proceeds from ReStore benefit the mission of Habitat for Humanity to build more homes and communities.

The Furniture Project in Omaha provides free furniture to people who need items. They collected bedframes and other bedroom furniture from the hotel, plus smaller tables and restaurant tables and chairs. 

“I called this the Great Lake Harvest,” Eike says. “It was a wonderful project. We had lots of volunteers every day; many worked three full days, some even four days. This was so rewarding because so much of what we harvested could be repurposed and will impact hundreds of families. A personal thanks to Rob Manning for allowing me to coordinate this effort, and to the many volunteers who helped make it possible.”