Our friend and community rockstar, Paul Mickle, who was the face of Media Food Bank for 25 years has started a new project to fight food insecurity locally - The Food Bank of Delaware County aka Delco Food Bank. Paul has secured 2 new locations - Media & Aston. He and many other long time Media Food Bank volunteers are starting completely from scratch. They need TWO commercial refrigerators, TWO commercial freezers (to start), shelving, and TONS OF FOOD to stock both locations.

This journey has not been easy as Paul's fundraising for the new locations has been interrupted by a $50,000 lawsuit from First Church Media - the church that housed the Media Food Bank that Paul was the leader and face of. Be The Joy has worked with Paul on multiple projects as the $1000 food bank joy drop is a staple in our annual Season of Giving Event. We adore Paul's heart and his passionate dedication to our community so we are stepping up to help raise the funds needed to kickstart these TWO new locations and hopefully while doing so ... remind Paul how appreciated he is by the community he serves. Please consider helping us reach our goal!!

DONATIONS CAN ALSO BE MADE BY VENMO @bethejoyfoundation comment "food bank" & we will update this page with those contributions! Thank you for any and all support!!!

**For more details on the lawsuit please see below pictures for information.

📣‼️‼️LAWSUIT + LOCAL FOOD BANK UPDATE! IMPORTANT READ FOR OUR COMMUNITY- $50,000 LAWSUIT - AND Media Food Bank Facebook Page FORCED deletion by First Church Media.

➡️➡️PLEASE FOLLOW THE NEW FACEBOOK PAGE: Food Bank of Delaware County/Delco Food Bank

.. the Media Food Bank page was named, created by, solely managed by and connected to the personal account of 25 year dedicated community service member Paul Mickle. **more detailed info below …

I sincerely feel ALL neighbors should be aware of what is happening as many community members not only adore Paul & respect his selfless efforts of fighting food insecurity but ALSO recognize Paul as THE Media Food Bank.

The church is SUING Paul personally for $50,000 claiming donation loss since he left and confusion over the name AND for the Media Food Bank Facebook Page of 5,000 followers that Paul has solo managed for 13 years without any church involvement. Per court order the page was FORCED to be deleted. He was NOT allowed to rename the page.

ALL CASE DOCKET INFO IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE: https://delcopublicaccess.co.delaware.pa.us/api/api/v1/publicaccessdocuments/8ba0b8567748d122a8324322cc5b094bb7c1f61fd029f15b15406719af0ef9b4/download

MORE IMPORTANT IS PAUL’S LAWYER RESPONSE 11 PAGES OF FACTUALLY PROVEN RECEIPT AVAILABLE INFO: https://delcopublicaccess.co.delaware.pa.us/api/api/v1/publicaccessdocuments/9e050c37dd788e34606624717f8ce8fc7ecea1d3824743313b52db2e7d9759bc/download

MY OPINION: I would have left to start my own mission too if after working FOR FREE and being the sole reason the food bank lasted & continued to serve through the shutdowns + facilitating the expansion & success — if an out of state food bank director was HIRED with a $50,000+ salary and I was expected to work under them.

Paul came up with the name Media Food Bank and was using it consistently since 2011. He also made a personal Facebook page he used as his own blog and to share information about his work at the food bank. First Church rejected the name Media Food Bank and used over 11 different names over the years. They only recently started using the name Media Food Bank.

When Paul registered the name with the state the church sued Paul personally for the name Media Food Bank and his personal Facebook page.

Rather than fighting a lengthy court battle Paul is giving up the name and being forced into deleting his beloved Facebook page he has maintained since 2011. I asked for the lawful reasoning behind this - none cited besides a blanket demand from the Attorney General despite evidence provided in lawyer response.

The church will not allow him to change the name of the Facebook page.

As per court order Paul is not allowed to post from the page at all and Paul’s Media Food Bank page will be deleted TODAY Friday March 22, 2024.

Paul is in the middle of starting two new locations and will need to reach his follower base quickly.

‼️ALSO - Paul and the many longtime food bank volunteers will need all of our help and support. He will be starting over from scratch. Electricians, contractors, muscle to move things, food, equipment etc. Please let Paul’s new organization know if you can help.

Paul is paying for his lawyer and all legal fees OUT OF HIS OWN POCKET - how the church is paying for their legal representation is unknown but they did maintain control of the food bank bank account that had over $100,000 in it at the time of Paul’s departure. IN MY OPINION- fund transparency has been a major issue. One of the reasons Paul & others left.

Thank you on behalf of Paul, the volunteers and myself for all of your support and for helping one of the true dedicated leaders of non profit work in our community continue the worthy mission of battling food insecurity locally. 💛

FOOD BANK DONATIONS can also be made by VENMO @bethejoyfoundation comment “food bank” - all funds along with $1000 in food & goods will be delivered to Paul’s new locations.

Feel free to share this post & spread the word!!!

*NEW* DELCO FOOD BANK JOY DROP

By Be the Joy Foundation

*NEW* DELCO FOOD BANK JOY DROP

The face of Media Food Bank for 25 years, Paul Mickle, has a new project - The Delco Food Bank! Help us help him open 2 food bank locations in Media & Aston!

NEW DELCO FOOD BANK JOY DROP

NEW DELCO FOOD BANK JOY DROP