In its first year in operation, the West End Food Pantry has seen and heard a lot of sad stories. Recently, Jeanne and David Zotynia came to the pantry like so many others looking for some food to supplement what they were able to afford on their own.

But the Zotynias needed more. They had no running water in their home. No water to wash or cook with and no water to drink.According to Karena Thek, director of the food pantry, the Zotynias have been without water for four months. The couple own a small home served by a community well. Over the years the pipes from the well have rotted, and little by little the water pressure to the homes it serves has decreased, until finally stopping altogether at the Zotynia home.Eldred Township Supervisor Gary Hoffman was one of the people looking for a solution to help the elderly couple who both suffer from a number of medical issues and are on disability."We looked into every possibility," Hoffman said. "We looked at local sources and even federal. But everything takes time, and with the winter approaching we were running out of it."In the interest of time and with concerns over possible legal issues related to the community well, the group came to a consensus."The best solution we could come up with was to get them their own well," Thek said."We were able to find a reputable, local contractor, Scott Kibler of Kibler's Well Drilling, who agreed to drill the well at cost."But before the well could be drilled, Thek needed to find the money. Her first thought was to use a crowdfunding site, but she knew that this needed to be done quickly. Thek turned to Studio 1300 and videographer Marty Wambold for help.Thek registered with GoFundMe and uploaded Wambold's video under the caption, "Imagine You Were Without Water?" By day three the site was $400 short of its $5,000 goal. By day seven the site had surpassed its goal and had stopped accepting donations."He put together the most moving video," Thek said of Wambold. "I truly believe that it is because of him. It was really powerful."Last Monday Kibler had already drilled the well, and by Tuesday the crews were laying in the pipes that will bring clean, fresh water to the Zotynia home."This is about mankind," Hoffman said. "We needed to get these people help."In the video, David Zotynia explains that his wife is currently hospitalized because she injured her back lifting the heavy water buckets that a neighbor had kindly delivered to their home."We pay our mortgage, our insurance and our taxes," Zotynia said in the video. "We have two daughters and grandchildren and we just want to have a home for them to come and visit us in."The Zotynias have a lot to be thankful for thisholiday season, including running water in their home.