Laura Horn McClure never forgot the hard times of her youth. So when a nurse asked her to donate some of her daughter’s clothes, she was happy to oblige. That simple act of charity led to one of Akron’s most extraordinary volunteer agencies, Good Neighbors.
The call came in 1957. McClure said the nurse had a family so poor that the girls couldn’t attend school because they didn’t have anything to wear. “So I gathered up what I could and took the stuff to them,” she told the Beacon Journal.
That act of kindness started a chain reaction. Soon McClure had more requests than she could handle so she turned to her church, North Hill Methodist, and its Women’s Circle for help. The church donated a room to sort and store clothing and the women got busy. A new organization had been formed, Good Neighbors. But there was so much need in Akron that a single church and a single Women’s Circle couldn’t do it all. Soon other churches were involved.
The Good Neighbors organization provides food, clothing, and aid to Akron area residents that need a hand. The Good Neighbors does it without any bureaucracy or red tape. It was many volunteers, working through the churches and civic organizations in the area, to help residents in need.
By 1967, Good Neighbors had spread to 44 churches and helped almost 12,000. By 1969, about 60 churches were involved. In 1971, 100 churches and civic organizations were part of the Good Neighbors network and thousands of needy Akron families were getting food, clothing or other aid when they needed it.
McClure headed the group for its first 25 years but she did more than just administer the organization. She delivered baskets and processed requests. In fact, she’d answer the phone calls that started around 8 a.m. and lasted until late at night. When the group didn’t have enough money to pay the rent for the office, McClure recruited teenagers to help her pick enough strawberries to pay the bill. When the group fell short of the money needed to fill Christmas baskets, she went into debt to buy the ham and potatoes and fruit needed. She was also the main fundraiser, going out to churches and civic organizations and urging listeners to donate.
All this seemed so far removed from the painfully shy little girl from Gambier, Ohio. Born in Butler, near Mt. Vernon, Ohio, in 1910, McClure was the daughter of Charlie Horn, a schoolteacher who earned $100 a month teaching in Gambier. The family didn’t have much in the way of material goods and the other children often made fun of the poorly dressed little girl. As a result, she became very shy.
During the Depression she married Harold McClure. He worked for the Works Progress Administration. Things improved once they moved to Akron in 1944. He found a job at Goodrich and she for a time worked as a waitress at the old Akron Hotel.
When her two daughters were young, she was active in the PTA and played the piano for Bettes School events and the North Hill Methodist Church. Once she got the Good Neighbors program started, she didn’t have much time for any other activities.
The whole McClure family was involved in the organization. Her husband and daughters all helped out. By the 1980s, however, the Good Neighbors had grown beyond the McClures. While she remained active in the group, the day-to-day administration was turned over to others.
Today, Good Neighbors still helps thousands of those in need in the Akron area. The basic concept is the same. This is a group without any bureaucracy or red tape that just helps people in need.
During her life, McClure received many awards for her work. In 1967 Lane Bryant named her one of nine outstanding volunteers; in 1968, the Beacon Journal selected her as a Woman of Achievement; in 1974 the National Association of Social Workers honored her.
When McClure died on May 7, 1995, her family asked that no flowers be sent and donations be made to Good Neighbors. McClure would have approved.
–Kathleen Endres