Tuscarawas Insurance Agency donates to Love INC

It’s always encouraging to see neighbors helping neighbors, and recently, Tuscarawas Insurance Company of Tuscarawas County reached across borders to present a donation to Love In the Name of Christ of Greater Holmes County.

On June 18 Zach Mottice, Tuscarawas Insurance Agency owner; Tim Miller, agent; and Hailey Marfield, office manager, were on hand at Love INC of Greater Holmes County to present a donation for $7,500 to new Love INC Executive Director Jordan Anderson and outgoing Director Vicki Conn, who is taking on a national role with the organization.

One of TIA’s carriers is Westfield Insurance Company, which partners with the business to support a local organization or entity TIA is passionate about supporting. From a food pantry in Strasburg to a backpack program in Sugarcreek and now Love INC, Mottice said they try to donate between $5,000 and $10,000 each year to an organization doing great work in their community.

The grant program Legacy of Caring is one TIA applies for annually, and those funds have been put to good use.

Mottice said one prerequisite to any possible organization recipient is people have to be passionate about what they are doing, and he said that was obvious in the case of Love INC.

“We try to move this around to different areas in which we are involved, and I did some research, and this seemed like a perfect fit as to what we and Westfield want to support,” Mottice said. “That passion is what we really love to support because it’s meaningful and impactful in these communities.”

He said knowing the donation would be put to good use in helping others was the purpose behind giving.

Miller, a Holmes County native, had told Mottice a great deal about Love INC’s effort to build relationships with area churches and build programs that help families better understand how they can thrive and not simply survive.

A former East Holmes Local Schools board member, Miller stepped aside from that role, only to be encouraged by Holmes County Juvenile Court Judge Thomas Lee to explore possibly taking on a board membership role with Love INC. He said once he explored the organization, it was easy to see the mission and passion of its efforts.

“I felt it was time for me to give back, and Love INC was pretty ideal in terms of what I wanted to get involved with,” Miller said. “Even though it was in my backyard, I knew very little about Love INC at the time. But what I found was there are many needs in the county that people don’t always see.”

Mottice agreed, saying many people here are sheltered from some of these needs, needs he never recognized were there.

“All of us here are passionate about helping families,” Mottice said. “We’re blessed and honored to be able to help Love INC with this donation.”

The gift was appreciated by Love INC, which invests in myriad community support programs including furniture, finances, lodging, transportation, shoes and more.

“This is such a huge example of support from our businesses in the community,” Conn said. “I think and hope they saw the value in Love INC and everything we do for our county, and their generosity makes our job easier.”

Conn said Love INC is known for teaming up with area churches to provide programs for those with various needs, but their relationships with many area businesses often go unnoticed but never unappreciated.

“So many businesses see Love INC touching lives and working with families as we do life together, and they see the value in that,” Conn said.