Community Days gives back to Mount Pleasant families in need of food, support
Those looking for a helping hand found many reaching out to them on Saturday.
Community Compassion Network donated food to families in need during starting at 8 a.m. Community Days at Mount Pleasant Community Church, 1400 W. Broomfield Road.
“It’s an opportunity for us to reach out to the community and to show them love,” said Community Compassion Network Director Brad Stutzman, who got involved with Community Days three years ago as a volunteer and is now in charge of organizing the event.
The event featured activities at the church and throughout the community. Activities held at the church included a free pancake breakfast, bingo and free haircuts and manicures. Children’s activities included cookie decorating and Christmas gifts for children to wrap for their parents.
The most emphasis was placed on the food distribution — the event’s main purpose.
“Every family that comes through here today will get roughly 50 to 60 pounds of food, which includes produce, baked goods, meats, cans of soup, vegetables and more,” Stutzman said.
Groups of Central Michigan University volunteers passed out food for families, raking leaves around the community, chopped wood to help families heat their homes and winterized homes in Mount Pleasant’s mobile home park.
Students from the physical therapy school also offered blood pressure checks.
“We can’t tell CMU and its students thank you enough for the fundraising efforts and the partnership and the volunteer hours,” Stutzman said. “It’s incredible.”
Canton senior Sarah Glunt volunteered with her sorority Zeta Theta Pi. The sorority is a CMU local service sorority that helps with mobile food drives in Mount Pleasant.
“My favorite part of Community Days is getting to know the people in the community and just being able to make their day and see the smile on their face,” Glunt said.
CMU Honors Program is Community Compassion Network’s second-largest donor.
Grosse Ile junior and Honors mentor Zack Kowalski said participating in Community Days was part of their yearly philanthropy project.
“We are coming here to help support the community,” he said. “We did fundraising events and now the students get to see what kinds of things they’ve done and what their money is going to.”
Stutzman said the event was about giving back to Mount Pleasant.
“We don’t want to be the best church in the community, we want to be the best church for the community,” Stutzman said.
