Millersburg fundraiser serves up support for OneEighty crisis services

A table full of local food translated into direct help for Holmes County residents in crisis when Friends of OneEighty staged its Night of OneEighty Dinners fundraiser at Millersburg Methodist Community Church, 5395 Township Road 336, in Millersburg. Held Saturday, April 25, from 6 to 8 p.m., the event featured dishes from more than 25 community, business and restaurant chefs, with all proceeds going to domestic violence and sexual assault services in Holmes County.

The fundraiser put OneEighty’s mission at the center of the evening. The organization serves Wayne and Holmes counties and provides addiction, mental health, domestic violence and sexual violence services. For people facing abuse, it is the primary service provider in the area, with a domestic violence shelter in Wooster and victim advocacy services available.

That makes the money raised at a dinner like this more than a social gesture. It supports the local safety net that helps survivors find shelter, advocacy and the next step after a crisis. OneEighty is also described by the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce as a certified mental health agency focused on helping survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault and preventing those crimes from happening in the first place.

The scale of the need is substantial. A 2025 report on the nonprofit said about 1,700 people used OneEighty’s services in the previous year, a 6% increase from the year before. The same report noted that OneEighty marked 50 years of service and traces its organizational roots to Wayne County Council on Alcoholism Services, founded in 1974. OneEighty itself was formed in 2006 through the merger of Every Woman’s House and STEPS at Liberty Center.

That history helps explain why a fundraiser in Millersburg can matter well beyond one evening at church. Holmes County donors, chefs and volunteers were not just filling plates. They were underwriting services that respond to addiction, mental health needs and abuse across the region, with the church on Township Road 336 serving as a practical civic anchor for that work.

For Millersburg and surrounding townships, the event showed how community institutions still carry part of the load. A meal prepared by local chefs became a funding stream for residents who may need shelter, advocacy or counseling long after the dishes were cleared away.