Loveland community & Jimmy John’s fed emergency care staff

Residents of Loveland community and Jimmy John’s teamed up to serve 300 meals to emergency department staffs at five local hospitals

By Chuck Gibson

 LOVELAND, OH (June 30, 2020) – During the last week of May, neighbors in a Loveland community teamed up with Jimmy John’s franchisee Kevin McMaster to provide Lil John sandwiches and Jimmy Chips to Emergency Department staff at five Cincinnati hospitals.  

The idea was the brainchild of Julie Brown, wife of Mike Brown. (not the Bengals owner) She wanted to do something to show appreciation for the heroic work done by the dedicated Emergency Department Staffs in the Cincinnati area hospitals throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“People are putting themselves at risk to help others,” said Mike Brown. “It was just my wife’s idea to somehow give back to the people in the local emergency departments. We just felt like it would be a nice gesture to pitch-in and buy lunch.”

The Brown’s reached out to neighbors and friends in the Loveland community for help with donations of any kind toward providing “a meal, or two” for the emergency workers. One of those neighbors is Kevin McMaster who is a Jimmy John’s franchisee and also happens to be a friend. The Brown’s knew Kevin and his wife Jill had suffered a big loss in their business due to the pandemic as well. They used the donations to team up with Jimmy John’s, buy the sandwiches and get the meals delivered to the emergency department workers.

 “The Jimmy John’s franchisee (Kevin) did most of the deliveries with co-workers,” Brown said. “He did a great job making sure everybody was comfortable receiving meals from the restaurant. It was a way to help a local franchisee who happens to be a friend. Jimmy John’s has locations strategically located near the hospitals. Using Jimmy John’s to facilitate; it just made sense to use them.”

Brown says they accomplished their goal and then some. They delivered an estimated 300 meals to emergency department workers during the day and night shifts at the local hospitals. The generosity of the community was more than he had anticipated.

“We have to remind ourselves it was during a time of a lot of economic uncertainty for people including myself,” Brown said. “It’s one thing to ask for $15, you know . . . but at the same time, you have to reward people for putting their own lives, and their own families in jeopardy. The people in those positions don’t get enough. First of all, they don’t get paid enough and they don’t often get a lot of thanks.”

For the Browns and their neighbors it was just a way to say thanks; a little something they did as a nice gesture to recognize the heroic efforts of those hospital workers. On the receiving end were a lot of smiling faces at:

 University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati VA Hospital, Bethesda North Hospital, and Mercy Health – Jewish Hospital.

VA PM Emergency staff was not left out (Provided)

“At the end of the day it’s about them, not about the people who put money together,” said Brown.” It was good to see our community, especially with all that has happened in Loveland with the fire, it’s good to see people thinking of others and contributing in a positive way to help people that matter; people who are taking care of these people who are unfortunately getting sick.”

 The Browns and their neighbors have no immediate plan to do it again, but Mike Brown would not rule out the possibility they might do something when the fall arrives.

“It’s just a way to say thanks,” Brown said.

Here is a list of the contributing Jimmy John’s locations serving those area hospitals:

          Jimmy John’s, 295 Martin Luther King Dr East

          Jimmy John’s, 9708 Kenwood Rd, Blue Ash

          Jimmy John’s, 8118 Montgomery Rd, Kenwood