Correspondent photos / Sean Barron Sisters Jazelle McGee, 5, left, and Royalty Jackson, 4, of Youngstown, sort through a table filled with boots, slippers and other items that were distributed to those in need during a Victoria’s Vision event Saturday at Faith Fellowship Church of God in Youngstown. The gathering was in honor of the late Victoria M. Allen, a longtime beloved community activist.

YOUNGSTOWN — The Rev. Michael Colyer feels that a church that fails to make the most of its space is akin to one renting a home but not living in it.

“The key to this is letting people know they’re loved,” Colyer, outreach pastor with Faith Fellowship Church of God, said.

The church, at 388 E. Midlothian Blvd., on the South Side, was using plenty of its space to host Saturday’s Victoria’s Vision clothing giveaway to ensure many families in need had coats, scarves and hats, along with pairs of gloves and shoes in advance of winter.

The seven-hour gathering, which also included several officers with the Youngstown Police Department, was in honor of the late Victoria M. Allen, a longtime and beloved community leader who died Sept. 21, 2021. She was 49.

Allen, a 1990 South High School graduate who worked more than 20 years as a customer service representative for State Alarm Systems, was an activist whose community outreach efforts touched countless lives, many who knew her say.Specifically, she served as president of the ICU Block Watch group on the South Side and Crime Stoppers of Greater Youngstown. Allen also was the Youngstown-based Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 28’s events coordinator, and she led neighborhood Easter egg hunts and other holiday gatherings, along with dinners, block party events and giveaways to those in need. In addition, Allen helped police gather information about wanted fugitives and worked to locate missing children and adults.

For her work, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost awarded Allen the Ohio Attorney General’s Distinguished Civilian Leadership Award. Most recently, she was given posthumously the Simeon Booker Award for Courage during a Nonviolence Week program early last month that Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past sponsored. Allen’s mother, Cherry Turnage Robinson, accepted the award on behalf of her daughter.

Colyer, who worked as a millwright for Vallourec, said Saturday’s giveaway was an example of ordinary people doing positive works in God’s name for those less fortunate. He also called the relationship between his church and Turnage Robinson “the perfect partnership.”

“Victoria Allen was a big advocate in the community,” Shirley Millerleile, the giveaway’s coordinator, said. “She just wanted to do so much for the community; she worked tirelessly. I began working with Victoria in 2016 and she changed my life.”

In time, Allen opened Millerleile’s eyes to the level of need in the Mahoning Valley. In 2018, the two women worked at a local harvest festival, where Allen broached the idea of running a coat drive, Millerleile said, adding that during the inaugural giveaway at a Conroy’s Party Shop location, 100 coats were distributed in less than an hour.

About a month later, another 100 coats were collected, she continued.

Among those who were grateful to get a jumpstart on whatever cold weather this winter will bring was Mary Taylor of Youngstown, who brought her grandchildren, Royalty Jackson, 4, and Jazelle McGee, 5.

“I’m just helping out my grandchildren,” Taylor said, adding that she plans to host a family Thanksgiving dinner at her home.

For their part, the two girls took home coats, hats and pairs of gloves and boots.

The results were similar for Jaycee Williams of Boardman, who brought several of her children and relatives, including daughter Sophia Jaglowitz, 6, and niece, Orelia Ruiz, 4.

Williams said she greatly appreciated Saturday’s giveaway, especially with inflation and rising prices placing an added financial burden on many individuals and families.

Expressing gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the event were volunteers Michelle Gearhart of Boardman and Diane Bielski of Youngstown, who were overseeing a few tables that contained a variety of men’s and women’s shoes of all sizes.

Gearhart recalled having assisted Allen five or six years ago when the giveaway got underway. For Bielski, Saturday marked her first time being part of the cause, she said.

Allen was a blessing for the community, so the Youngstown Police Department is more than happy to partner with all Victoria’s Vision events, Capt. Jason Simon, the department’s head of detectives, said.

Such gatherings are highly needed in the community, said Simon, who called Allen’s community-engagement efforts “unparalleled.”

In addition, Victoria’s Vision provided an opportunity for attendees to view and engage with the police in a more positive light, he added.

Colyer, who moved to the Valley from Indiana, said he also wanted to do God’s work via giving to those less fortunate.

“This community is a blessing in my life. I can’t help but give back,” he said.

Echoing a similar sentiment was the Rev. Stephen Turner, pastor of Faith Fellowship Church of God, who added that Saturday’s gathering was, in essence, a display of God’s love — something he hoped those who were the recipients of winter wear also would take home with them.

“We’re loving our neighbor as we love God. It’s transforming the world,” Turner said