Tom Callarik readily admits he screwed up big-time. He was most excited after he and the co-founder of the “Ohio Valley Food Fanatics” group on Facebook, Mike Davis, decided to launch a charitable effort to help local nonprofits, but the initial reaction was not what he expected.
So, Callarik posted something of a rant on the page, but the reaction? Not so much. In fact, he’s since been referred to as a scammer, a skimmer, and a sham.
“I know I should have written that differently, but I really didn’t think I would get this kind of negative reaction,” Callarik admitted. “I was trying to create energy for the effort and not hurt anyone’s feelings, but it didn’t work out that way. I just wish I could fix that, but it’s been pretty tough since that post went up.
“As soon as Mike saw it, he told me that I came off the wrong way, so I took it down immediately, but it was too late,” he explained. “I feel bad about it, but I just hope people have come to realize I’m just trying to help the people who need it. I’m just very passionate, but, yeah, I made a big mistake with the wording.”
Callarik and Davis posted the idea on the Facebook page a few week’s ago, and the GoFundMe went live a few days ago to raise funds for one or more local nonprofit organizations depending on how many dollars are raised. Callarik established a hefty goal, but he and Davis insisted they just want to help fill the financial void realized at charities like the Greater Wheeling Soup Kitchen and Catholic Charities.
“In the very beginning, we just wanted to raise straight money, and the goal is to raise $30,000,” Callarik explained. “The reason I came up with that goal was because the group has 15,000 members, and I didn’t think it was too much to ask for a couple bucks from each member.
“The plan is to split up the money between a couple of charities, and one of them will be the Wheeling Soup Kitchen. We have already been approved for that,” he said. “We hope to raise the goal so that we can include some other charities that do such great work here in our community.”
Christmastime Is Almost Here
The donations Callarik and Davis wish to make in the name of the “Food Fanatics” group would benefit local residents during the Christmas season, and the two already have a partnership with the owner of Ideal Provision, Catholic Charities, and the Wheeling Homeless Coalition to supply as many as 500 boxes of donated supplies for Thanksgiving dinner.
Last year, the Davis and Callarik helped raise enough funds to afford 300 boxes of turkeys, hams, and all the trimmings. The GoFundMe campaign, however, is an all-new initiative.
“This fundraiser is going to be something of a Christmas thing so we can help the families who need it at that time of year,” Callarik said. “I’m pretty new at this kind of stuff, but Mike has been active with the charities that we have here in the valley. With this effort, we really are hoping the group can give a lot back to the community since this where we all grew up.
“So, that is why we started it and why we hope it attracts as many donors as possible,” he continued. “We all know we have folks here in this area that really do need those nonprofit efforts, and let’s face it; it’s been a very tough year because of the Covid.”
An Evolving Palate
Davis and Callarik now admit they created “Ohio Valley Food Fanatics” Facebook group last winter because the service and the food at one local restaurant was, well, not good.
So, yes, they were angry and disappointed and communicated their dissatisfaction, but the founders had not anticipated they would receive the online reaction they did nearly immediately. The number of members of the Facebook group quickly increased, but a negative tone continued, and the two men feared local eateries would harmed because of the content on the page.
“We created the ‘Food Fanatics’ group because we had a bad experience at a restaurant,” Callarik admitted. “It was Mike’s idea, and he said then that he thought it might be funny to go to a restaurant and go on Facebook Live. That’s why I created the group, but at first, it didn’t seem like a good thing because there were some people on the page taking their complaints a little further than we ever thought someone would take them.
“But we gained more than 3,000 people to the group in the first month, and that’s when we thought it was time to start taking it seriously,” he said. “And that is when we established some rules for the group, and that is when we changed it to a private group instead of a public group. And unfortunately, we have had to ban some members because they started making threats and things like that.”
You Can Win, Too
Several times per week, the Facebook group is offered a chance to win gift cards from local eateries like Abbey’s, Gulla’s, Valley Cheese, and the Char House on the Boulevard.
The giveaways are a product of the relationships Callarik and Davis have procured with restaurant owners from throughout the Upper Ohio Valley. Thus far, according to Callarik, more than 120 gift cards have been won by group members since it launched early this year.
“We started to do the gift card giveaways because we wanted to find a way to give back to the group, and then other restaurants started to contact us so they could get involved on the page, too,” Davis explained. “We enjoy doing the giveaways because it helps the restaurants, too, and they need it right now because of this virus.
“The country is in shambles these days, and we know there are people who need the community’s help, especially around the holidays, and that’s why we are trying to raise the funds for the charities,” he said. “All we are trying to do is make our area better, but yes, Tom’s post was well-intentioned but was misworded, and we just hope the members in our group know that now and appreciate what we’re trying to do.”
