Local couple, business donate to Capstone Recovery Center
Published 12:00 am Thursday, February 1, 2018
- Capstone Recovery Center was the beneficiary of good will from Innospec and from John and Agnes Struzick after Capstone offered up a wish list in the past Christmas season. Jon C. Lakey/Salisbury Post
SALISBURY — Paper towels and two-ply toilet paper were the last two items on a relatively short wish list that Capstone Recovery Center Executive Director Miriam Ramirez put on the Salisbury Post’s 2017 Sharing the Season roundup.
Ramirez, who heads the nonprofit organization that provides transitional housing for women, and her husband, Dr. Oscar Ramirez, who provides counseling services, have for the past few years included a wide range of items on her list.
The 2017 list included exterior paint for the front and back porches, three new toilets, new floors for upstairs bathrooms, new twin-size bed sheets, a new computer, monetary donations, and the paper products.
John and Agnes Struzick saw that list and knew Ramirez, so they brought her three cases of toilet paper and paper towels. A month after their first round of giving, the couple — along with a $2,000 check from Innospec — were able to pay for the toilets and their installation, sheets, and a computer and printer.
“I knew Miriam and I knew the work they do. They are touching lives,” John said of Capstone Recovery Center.
“Three weeks ago, he said what kind of toilet and computer do you want and what kind of sheets?” Ramirez said of John Struzick.
Innospec, a Salisbury chemical company, has a program called Innospec Cares that offers a two-to-one match for employee contributions, Struzick explained. While Struzick and his wife covered the cost of the computer, printer, sheets and toilet installation, the company will cover the cost of ceiling repairs.
After a leaky toilet caused water damage in December, the ceiling in the living room has continued to buckle. It began with a bulge and has continued to crack. The women who stay in the transitional home have classes in the living room.
The couple said they purposely looked at the Sharing the Season list to see where they could be helpful.
“The Lord has blessed us, and we are trying to pay it forward,” Struzick said.
He said people should not be afraid to tackle something on the list.
“Everybody can do something. You don’t have to buy three cases of stuff. You don’t have to do it all,” Struzick said.
The Struzicks encourage others to pick an organization to help in some way.
Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.
