Mayor Joey Beck presented the Good Neighbor Award to Dean, Sean, and Emma Shindledecker in order as pictured on August 20, 2016 during the Stryker Jaw Jam Event. These Shindledecker siblings provide an extremely valuable service to the Stryker community residents. Realizing that many families are struggling during these difficult economic times, Emma, Sean and Dean wanted to do something to help their classmates, friends, and neighbors by ”Paying It Forward.” So, they took the necessary steps to create a non-profit organization called Panther Packs, Inc. Panther Packs is a program designed to supply school-aged children and their family members with meals to which they may not otherwise have access. This is accomplished by providing backpacks filled with non-perishable food items to the children to take home over the weekends so they are able to share a few meals with their family and not have to worry about when or where their next meal is coming from. The Panther Packs are provided at no cost to the children or their families and no one is turned away! I believe every resident in the community of Stryker has been affected, to some extent, by the exemplary actions of this trio whether it be by receiving a Panther Pack, donating at one of the many food drives, attending the community activities, donating time to help stock the pantry shelves or helping to spread the word to those who may benefit from the volunteer efforts of these children. Emma, Sean and Dean have put in countless hours to not only help sustain/feed many families in Stryker, they have played a part in spreading encouragement, hope and light to many, many people and the belief in a brighter tomorrow.
