Troop Leader, Jamie Brown of Mount Pleasant, talks to the girls of Girl Scout Troop 50814 about their design entries for Art Reach's Festival of Banners at their meeting Monday night at the Jane Harris Cabin. Each of the girls created a design for their own banner and everyone voted on their favorites at the end of the meeting. (Kaitlin Thoresen/Assistant Photo Editor)

By day Jamie Brown helps college students choose their academic path, but two nights each month she plays mentor to a younger crowd.

Brown, an academic adviser at the Towers Success Center, is a Girl Scout leader for Brownie Troop 50814.

She was a girl scout in the 6th grade and has been a leader for the last two years, following in the footsteps of her mother.

“The most I remember doing is selling cookies (as a girl scout),” Brown said. “What is great is that people have a positive attitude about girl-scout cookies. My daughter is now selling them.”

Brown said she believes it’s important for the kids to have their parents involved in their lives, which is why she first became a leader for her daughter Katherine.

“I took my daughter and some of her friends out to dinner once,” Brown said. “They asked me questions; stuff that they probably wouldn’t ask their moms. I feel like they see me as some type of role-model.”

Brown leads the troop of nine third grade girls from Vowles Elementary School with two other leaders, Lisa Thackery and Becky Kaniski. Both Mount Pleasant residents have daughters within the troop.

Thackery, whose daughter Mackenzie is a brownie, said the position can be difficult.

“It’s challenging (to be a troop leader), because I’m a chemist and I’m used to working in a lab all day,” said Thackery, who works for Dow Corning Corporation.

Kaniski has been a troop leader for six years and is currently leading two troops with a daughter in each; Megan is in her Brownie troop.

On Feb. 6, the Brownies gathered in the Jane Harris Cabin near Barkley Road to discuss their future involvement in the Festival of Banners.

“This is the first time we decided to do this (be in the festival) as a troop,” Kaniski said. “They get to see what they can do as a team when they put their heads together.”

One of their goals is to help the girls become strong leaders, stay substance free, able (to make) good decisions and provide for themselves,” Brown said. “The lessons built in their activities have more depth and meaning. Traits, such as cooking, aren’t taught to make them good homemakers but to teach them about nutrition, eating healthy and taking care of themselves.”

Supported by the funds they receive from selling cookies, magazines and nuts, the Brownies are able to plan field trips and buy supplies for badges and crafts. They also go on smaller outings, such as bowling, swimming at the Student Activity Center and roller skating, Kaniski said.

The girls also help out by visiting the nursing home, the Laurels of Mt. Pleasant, 400 S. Crapo St. Last Christmas, they sang carols for the elderly and made ornaments and cards, Thackery said.

Aside from getting together with friends, brownie Taylor Strom said she thinks it’s good to be a girl scout, because it helps nature.

“Sometimes we do walks and look for garbage,” Strom said.

Most college students would be relaxing on their couches watching television or frantically studying for an exam the next day at 10 p.m. on a Monday night.

Meanwhile, two students are preparing for their weekly hockey game.

Inside the locker room at the Isabella County Ice Arena 5165 E. Remus Road, Central Michigan University seniors Kyle Schwarz and Mike Piotrowski strap on their equipment like they have hundreds of times before.  But nowadays, the preparation carries a different feel to it.

There is no coach to give them a motivational speech, no specific game plan, and there are no screaming parents in the crowd urging them to play better.

“I love the game, I love to play, I love the competitiveness,” Schwarz said with a sharp grin.  “I look forward to every Monday, and just going out there and playing hockey.”

Schwarz and Piotrowski play for team Busch Lightning in the Adult “B” League.

Many players on the team have grown up playing with or against each other. A factor which Schwarz and Piotrowski believe plays a crucial role in the team’s success.

“We’re all good buddies,” Piotrowski said. “We know how each other plays and we have great chemistry on the ice.”

While Piotrowski went to Northville high school and Schwarz went to Livonia Churchill, they still have known each other for eight years. Off the ice, they are roommates as well.

“Me and Mike are best friends,” Schwarz said.  “We do everything together and hangout basically 24-7.”

Busch Lightning?

Coming into the league, they needed to come up with a team name— they wanted a unique name, a name that reflects a college student’s life.

Consequently, watching a hockey game spurred the idea, Busch Lightning.

“We were sitting around watching the Tampa Bay Lightning game actually drinking Busch Light and we decided to combine the two,” Schwarz said.

Occasionally, some players on the team will throw back a couple of Busch Lights before the game in honor of their team name.

Drinking before the games has developed into a popular custom among players.  Hence the term, “beer leagues.”

It’s not about money, it’s about the game

Despite many college students struggling to pay for school and other expenses, more teams continue to form in all three leagues the rink offers.

Dan Theunissen, a zamboni driver at the ice arena who also handles most of the league registration, said the A, B and C leagues have all added two more teams for the winter semester.

“It’s pretty much just picking up from where they left off,” Theunissen said. “Whether if they were playing travel or high school hockey, it’s just the next step for them.”

Not only do students enjoy it, but it also serves as an outlet to get away from their sedulous lives.

“It’s a stress reliever,” senior Mike Macha said. “It’s something to do during the week.”

Busch Lightning dominance

Schwarz and Piotrowski have played on Busch Lightning for three semesters. In that time, the team has been to the championship every semester, winning it once.

Macha has played against Busch Lightning for the past two years and recognizes its dominance.

“When you get guys that have played together for a long period of time, they form that chemistry and that chemistry helps in game situations,” Macha said.

But he believes team Main Street can challenge Busch Lightning for the championship this year.

“I know they have some good players, but our team is doing pretty well this year, so I think we will give them a good run for their money,” Macha said.

Schwarz and Piotrowski do not plan on ending their hockey playing days any time soon.

Both have played since they were 4 or 5 and said they cannot imagine what life would be like without hockey.

“It’s just in our blood,” Piotrowski said.  “Hopefully, I can play until I can’t skate anymore.  That’s my goal.”

And with the current chemistry Busch Lightning possesses, there are no plans of breaking up the team in the near future.

“You can’t put a price on bonding with the boys because that is a bond that will never be broken,” Schwarz said.

Tony Casali, manager for the Isabella County Road Commission, said they are in good shape and, prior to the first snow, the commission was busy preparing and prepping the roads.

Gravel roads were graded to keep them in good conditions, and potholes were also patched, Casali said.

The road commission establishes its budget, which starts on Nov. 1, once a year. A 3-year average fund balance is used to reference what the last three winters have been like.

Casali said they have enough in the budget to handle a normal winter.

“We do have a fund balance, and we have enough funds in snow accounts to handle an average winter,” Casali said.

Bill Albagh, street maintenance specialist for Mount Pleasant, said money spent has been cut back because of the lack of snow.

Albagh has a snowplowing business and also works for the city. He said snowplow drivers haven’t been getting as much overtime in the city as they usually do in the winters.

“We’ve been watching our money the last couple of years, because the recession really slowed things down, (and) we go with what we have to work with,” Albagh said.

This year, the road commission will monitor weekend plowing and will respond depending on the amount of snow that comes.

Primary concerns are blacktop surfaces, local roads and then subdivisions, Casali said.

“Depending on the amount of snow that comes down on a weekend, or if it is early in the weekend, we may take a look at that,” Casali said. “ If it comes in midday Sunday, we may look at the snow event, keep our primary’s safe, and resume plowing in the early hours of Monday to try and get everyone safe travels.”

Albagh said many store owners have to pay to get their parking lot plowed. Last year there was a lot of snow, and they didn’t budget the money enough to get it down, while this year they should be way ahead of the budget, he said.

Though the commission appears to be set financially for the winter, the road commission is looking at other funding mechanisms to possibly reconstruct Deerfield Road, including taking open measures with grants and state and federal funding to reconstruct the portion of the road between Mission Road and Crawford Road.

This fall, Isabella County Road Commission and Union Township split the $30,000 cost to temporarily fix the road.

Casali said it is difficult to pinpoint how long Deerfield Road is anticipated to last, but some roads in similar condition have lasted three to five years.

It is in much better condition than it was during last winter, Casali said.

“Hopefully we won’t see as many potholes and incidents like that, that occurred throughout the winter,” he said.

Jerry and Lorraine Tubbs

Jerry Tubbs, former vice president of business and finance at Central Michigan University and treasurer on the board of trustees, died on Sunday after an extended illness. He was 79.

Several who knew him remember his legacy and efforts at the university fondly. Tubbs, a Mount Pleasant resident, aided with several prominent projects at the university during his role as the executive to Dr. N. Bovee, vice president of business and finance. He was later promoted to the position, and became a supporter of the Beaver Island Biological Station.

Former CMU Biological Station Director John Gillingham, who worked closely with Tubbs at the Biological Station, said the island would be a completely different place if it weren’t for Tubbs and his contributions.

“He was truly a friend of the biological station,” Gillingham said. “Prior to his retirement from CMU, he was really instrumental in seeing that we got funding for student housing on the island as well as the very first research building.”

Retirement did not mean the end of Tubbs’ support for Beaver Island and its activities.

“Following retirement, he spent a lot of time on the island volunteering and doing carpentry work,” Gillingham said. “There is not a building or trail in the area that he hasn’t left his mark on or helped to build. His carpentry work wouldn’t have been possible if he hadn’t furnished the station with the funds and possibility to buy the tools necessary in the first place.”

Tubbs was also very involved with the development of several facilities on campus. Jerry Scoby, vice president of administration and finance at Ferris State University and former colleague of Tubbs at CMU, said Tubbs played an important role in establishing many of the buildings that today’s students know and love.

“Tubbs oversaw many new capital projects at the university and had a leadership hand in the building of many facilities during the ’70s, including the Rose Center, the Student Recreation Center, the Industrial Technology Facility and numerous others,” Scoby said.

John Fisher, associate vice president for residence and auxiliary services, recalls another landmark decision in CMU history with which Tubbs was directly involved.

“He was there when they approved the original purchase of the wood chip burner that they have now at the energy plant, and he was quite involved because the director of the physical plant back then reported directly to him,” Fisher said. “It was quite a big decision to start burning wood to produce the steam heat here at CMU, as opposed to using natural gas and oil boilers.”

Tubbs also served as the treasurer for the CMU Board of Trustees during the `70s. Mary Kaye Murphy, former assistant to the board of trustees, said he was a strong advocate for student interests during his time on the board.

“Jerry worked on the continuation of trying to keep tuition costs for students as low as possible,” Murphy said.

Funeral services will be held at noon Thursday at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 320 S. Bradley Street.

“He was an individual that many of us looked up to,” Scoby said. “He provided great leadership for business and finance, as well as for the entire institution.”

Shepherd resident Rich Nader has a drink and talks with Perrinton resident Amy Bradley Monday evening at Bennigans Grill & Tavern, 2424 S. Mission St. "We're on our first date and we're having a lot of fun," Nader said. Bennigans renovated the interior and exterior of the restaurant. (Jeff Smith/Staff Photographer)

Customers dining at Mount Pleasant’s Bennigan’s may notice some significant changes to the decor and atmosphere.

Bennigan’s, 2424 S. Mission St., was closed for two weeks in December during the renovation.

The restaurant’s management hoped the 21^st century decor would attract more customers, said CEO Jeff Neely.

“We wanted to present the residents and college students of Mount Pleasant a fresh new restaurant,” Neely said.

The restaurant was originally built between September 1996 and February 1997 by Konwinski Construction Inc., a company that has done projects with the food chain for more than 20 years. Bennigan’s had not gone through a corporate renovation since its grand opening.

Project Manager Joe Flemming said they started tearing down walls on Dec. 13 and finished the job 10 days later. The restaurant officially re-opened on Dec. 27.

“We worked hand-in-hand with the management staff,” Flemming said.

Meetings were held throughout the project so everyone knew what had to be done, Neely said.

One of the most astounding things about the project, Flemming said, was that they did a job that would have normally taken three months.

“The team coordinated the entire process together,” said Bennigan’s Division Manager Dave Kitchen. “This was a company effort.”

Before, the restaurant interior had been out-of date. Its last cosmetic renovation had been between five and 10 years ago, said General Manager Steve Mumich.

The bar had also felt closed-up because of the storage units hanging over customers’ heads, he said. Everything was torn down and the open space allowed them to add HD flat-screen TVs. An additional 30 seats were also added with the new furniture setting.

With the fashion-relevant interior design, Bennigan’s hopes to become more appealing to groups of all ages, Mumich said.

Aside from achieving great customer satisfaction, another goal was to keep up with the competition, he said.

The old bar tap system was changed and is now suspended from the ceiling, he said, which is supposed to serve people cleaner, tastier beer.

“They have some of those (prototypes) in California. I think we might be the first ones in Michigan to use them,” Mumich said.

Twice a year since 1994, the tribe has distributed 2 percent of its gaming revenue. This year’s fall distribution, which includes more than $670,600 to Arenac County, was the lowest in 15 years.

The city of Mount Pleasant received about 23 percent of this fall’s funds for three youth-related programs, street overlays and a new corporate hangar at its municipal airport. Its distribution also included funds for an eight-person street team with the Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team, the application for which the city administered.

In total, the city had applied for $1.6 million worth of projects, but City Manager Kathie Grinzinger said officials “never presuppose” which application the tribe will select.

“It is fair that we look at those things that will benefit both the tribal community and the city,” she said, “because the funds are raised through the tribe’s effort to keep Soaring Eagle (Casino & Resort) healthy.”

According to the tribe’s news release, more than 410 individual requests and supporting documents had been provided by local governments for consideration. Tribal spokesman Frank Cloutier said the tribal council spends several work sessions over several weeks deliberating what applications it will accept.

“As we said during the distribution, we don’t want people to be discouraged because their requests weren’t honored,” he said. “There’s so many that have tremendous merit.”

However, Cloutier added, “Sometimes priority takes precedent to what has merit.”

Not including BAYANET applications, the city’s fall distribution funding has decreased 47.8 percent since 2008.

Grinzinger said certain city offices apply for other grant funds regularly, not just from the tribe, and couldn’t point to how long it took to prepare all of the city’s applications.

In the past, she said the tribe usually selects applicants for what “will do the most good in areas that will do the most good for them.”

Cloutier said 2 percent is the tribe’s opportunity to affirm its presence it has on the community.

“We’ve come to realize that means bigger bridges and wider roads,” he said. “As we’re building bridges and buying roads and replacing fire engines, we can’t forget about the educational component.”

Mount Pleasant and Shepherd schools also received a cut of this fall’s funding.

Union Township was not included in this fall’s distribution of funds, though seven other Isbella County townships were, as well as the village of Rosebush. Union’s Supervisor John Barker said the township had applied for funds for its Meridian Road project.

“The tribe has a list of priorities and we have a list of priorities and this time they didn’t match up,” he said.

-Senior Reporter Jordan Spence contributed to this report.

Earlier this week, city commissioners had a preview of the site before its official launch. City Manager Kathie Grinzinger said the city’s partnership with CMU has evolved over the last 12 months with the hope each site will “sport similar looks linking us more in the eyes and memories of our users.”

“The city (has) had a Web presence for many, many years, but the look, feel and operation of that site hasn’t substantially been updated for nearly that long,” Grinzinger said. To remain a community trumpeting a competitive sense of place, she added, “It’s critical that our public face match our vision.”

Stephanie Brown, the project’s Web content manager, said CMU had developed a wireframe for mt-pleasant.org, based very much from cmich.edu, when she came in to “fill in the blanks.”

In order to configure the navigation and architecture of the site, she said she had to collect all of the necessary information from each department.

“Also in this process, we wanted to consider the content,” Brown said. “It’s very important to look at the search engine optimization and to build content that’s related around that, so search engines like Google and Yahoo will quickly pick up on the content and make sure the city (is brought up as) No. 1 in the search rankings.”

On the city’s homepage, three different areas are designated for residents, businesses and visitors, which Brown said act as gateways to general city information. At the bottom are quick links, city updates and upcoming events.

Included in the new features of the site is a designated section that allows contractors and builders to peruse through all of the city’s bids and quotations for planned construction or capital projects.

Renee Walker, associate vice president of University Communications, said her office helped with the Web design and planning for the CMU Research Corporation, and that a member of her team helped identify a vendor and goals for a new Mid Michigan Development Corporation website.

She said there were several goals for the city’s site, such as heightened usability and performance.

Though the city’s website is up and running, the university’s involvement isn’t quite over.

“There will be a phase two, so we will get all of the subsites addressed as well in the coming months,” Walker said at Monday’s city commission meeting.

She said this next phase will mostly consist of working with Mount Pleasant’s partnering vendors to redesign subsites like the “pay your ticket now” page, which still matches the site’s old design.

Grinzinger couldn’t put an exact number of man hours from city or UComm staff during its partnership, saying it couldn’t have done it without CMU’s in-kind contribution of time. The city did pay about $30,000 to contract with its content manager from March to November, she said, which were funds that would have otherwise been allotted for a communications coordinator.

“We did not have the  budget and would not have been able to pull it off,” she said.

Since last semester, I’ve been investigating the social menace known as the “creeper.”

It all started when my friend Bethany Bacheller, a Fremont graduate student, told me about a guy who was constantly hitting on her as she sat trapped behind her desk in a computer lab. When I jokingly asked if I could write a story about it, she told me to do it.

“Maybe he will see it and will understand it is NOT okay,” she said.

I discovered five reoccurring characteristics as the defining traits of a creeper.

1. Disrespecting physical boundaries

Creepers invade personal space. They lean in close, touch inappropriately and show up uninvited. Many girls had stories of being groped, but others said even someone’s physical presence can make them a pest.

Grand Ledge junior Samantha Millbrook said her ex-boyfriend did this when he appeared outside her dorm window in the middle of the night after they had broken up.

“It made me feel like he was a creep,” Millbrook said. “It’s the fact that he had to show up physically where I live.”

2. Uncomfortable staring

Making eye contact is one thing, but creepers cross the line into the territory of eye undressing.

“I think it’s creeping when guys just stare,” said former student Andrea Tuck. “It’s especially creepy when they just do a double-take and stare at your (butt).”

Tuck said she would rather someone come up and talk to her than linger staring.

“Just walk by and smile or say, ‘Hi,’” she said. “Don’t just walk by and give me a look that says, ‘I’m picturing you naked.’”

3. Too intimate, too quickly

Creepers dive into personal waters too fast. They drop inappropriate come-ons and discuss private topics that are not their business.

“I was at a bar and was introduced to this guy by a friend,” said Flint senior Rebecca Abbott. “He proceeded to ask intimate, detailed questions about my lingerie. You don’t ask people that!”

One girl who wished to remain anonymous said a guy began telling her in-depth details of his relationship with his mother on their first date. Dumping too much personal baggage like that on someone too early — that’s creepy.

4. Social media stalker

Texting, emails and forms of social media can also be used by creepers to harass people.

“Don’t ask to be my friend on Facebook if you don’t know me,” said Livonia alumni Kara Zucal. “That’s creepy as hell.”

Chelsea Gimpel, a Mid Michigan Community College senior from Sault Ste. Marie, said she was pressured by a stranger on Facebook to model for him. When Gimpel refused to add him, he emailed a friend of hers asking for photos of Gimpel.

“This guy was the biggest creeper of my life,” she said. “He said, ‘I want to see everything.’ Creepiest thing ever.”

The idea of social media is practically asking people to creep on each other, said Farmington Hills senior Alex VanDerStuyf, but the creepers do not necessarily always have to be male.

VanDerStuyf said girls can be creepers too by using social media to force their way into your group and comment on everything you post.

“Invading into your circle of friends is really obnoxious,” VanDerStuyf said. “If you post something that says where you’re going to be and then she always shows up there, that’s creepy.”

Some agreed male creepers instill a certain amount of fear or intimidation that female creepers do not.

“The difference is guys don’t take it the same way girls do,” said Fraser junior Alysia Champine. “Girls are creeped out. Guys just find it annoying.”

5. Won’t accept, ‘No’ as an answer

The final and most pesky trait of a creeper is the inability to back off. Lack of response and even flat-out refusal sometimes have no effect.

“A creeper is someone who tries to talk to you, and when you don’t respond, they keep pursuing you,” Gimpel said.

Flushing sophomore Angelica Vasquez said a customer at Red Lobster persistently creeped on her after she waited on him. He checked her name on the receipt and had been following her ever since, she said.

Vasquez ran into him at the bar one night, and said every time she tried explaining to him she was not interested, he changed the topic and continued flirting.

“He came up and started talking about God knows what,” Vasquez said. “He just kept morphing from subject to subject.”

Eventually a friend made the guy leave. Vasquez said she feels like she cannot always defend herself and creepers make her panicky. She said the best thing to do is get friends to help intervene when you feel frightened.

If any of the five features listed sounds like you, regardless of your gender, you are probably being creeper.

Back off.

The event, hosted by the students of Timothy Otteman’s RPL 430: Planning Recreation Programs and Events class, will raise money for Mount Pleasant Public Schools Education Foundation I.N.S.P.I.R.E. Fund. Otteman is an assistant professor of recreation, parks and leisure services.

The derby will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m Monday at Island Park, 331 N. Main St.

The fund is designed to assist academic products and programs in the district.

“Our assignment was to come up with an idea for an event and execute it. We choose a charity to raise money for,” said Remus junior Krista Voss. “We have a starting budget of zero, and it is a requirement that our event makes a profit.”

Otteman said he hopes the event will help his students gain knowledge for future careers.

“Planning events gives them practical skills to have real-life programming events to draw on to their future career, as well as getting them out of the standard environment of multiple choice tests,” he said.

Several donations have been received from local businesses including Jet’s Pizza, Papa John’s Pizza, Mount Pleasant Ice Arena, Walmart, CMU Bookstore and many more.

“We have a total of 20 prizes,” said Dansville junior Travis Konen. “Two for the first two ducks that pass the finish line and 18 other prizes for ‘lucky duck’ numbers that we are going to select, like in a raffle.”

Konen said one of the reasons he and his classmates chose to do this event is because students can participate without physically attending.

“If they aren’t there we will still race their ducks, and if they win, we will let them know after the event,” Konen said. “It’s hard to get college students to show up at events, so we thought this would be a good way to get people to participate, but not be locked into going.”

Otteman’s students have already been selling rubber ducks all around campus as well as in the Mount Pleasant Public School District.

Tickets can be purchased on Friday at the Mount Pleasant High School varsity football game, 1155 S. Elizabeth St., and from 6 to 6:30 p.m at Island Park the day of the event.

With 2.6 million dropping into poverty in just the last year, Mount Pleasant’s community has also been affected.

Mark Stevens, Isabella County director of the Department of Human Services, said the poverty rate shows an increase since the last census in 2000.

Compared to the 16.1 percent (per U.S. Census figures) in Michigan, Mount Pleasant sits high with 26.7 percent living in poverty.

“The poverty rate is high in Mount Pleasant, so of course it is an issue,” he said. “Poor people usually try to not bring attention to themselves, so it is easy for the public not to notice.”

Isabella’s DHS offers food assistance, Medicaid, day care subsidy, cash assistance and state emergency relief to needy families, he said.

The Federal Government sets the figure for those considered living in poverty, Stevens said, and it varies by year and family size.

Isabella County Soup Kitchen’s administrative assistant Linda Harris said she is shocked by how many homeless people are living in the area.

“We see people come in who slept overnight in their cars or sleep in parks and many who are staying with friends,” Harris said. “We are hearing a lot of sad stories.”

She said the kitchen had to increase food quantities to feed the dramatic increase in people coming in.

“In spring 2011 and all through the summer, there has been an increase from about 50 to 60 people, to now about 100 people daily,” she said.

The Isabella County Soup Kitchen does not ask for any identification or money from the people they serve breakfast and a hot lunch to from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., seven days a week. Harris said she personally feels the pain of the needy.

“I haven’t been able to find full-time work myself since 2006, so I feel for what they are going through,” she said. “All walks of life are now experiencing change in their economic situation.”

The Central Michigan American Red Cross, 215 E. Broadway St., also has seen an increase in those they serve, said Irene Little, emergency services program manager.

“In July alone, we helped 407 families,” she said.

That’s compared to 302 families they served from January to June in 2011.

Little said the American Red Cross is a non-income based unit and does not discriminate, but rather serves food on an emergency basis.

“We understand you need it now,” she said. “We provide enough food to last three to five days depending on the size of the family.”

Lend a helping hand

Members of the Mount Pleasant community can help those living in poverty by contributing to both organizations.

“The Isabella County Soup Kitchen accepts donations from peoples’ dinner leftovers, especially after graduations or other big parties, and donations from home gardens,” Harris said.

They also host events open to the public for donating, such as a soup and bread dinner on Nov. 11.

Little encourages people to participate in the Michigan Harvest Gathering can food drive now happening throughout Mount Pleasant.

She said food is picked up directly from the Central Michigan Community Hospital drop boxes and then given to food banks to serve families in the community.

“People’s efforts are a great way to give back to the community,” Little said. “A bag full of groceries can help feed up to 10 people.”