A recent fundraising partnership between WHMI and the Gleaners Community Food Bank exceeded all expectations in terms of generosity.

Bridget Brown, the Director of Donor Relations for Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan says that an unofficial final tally of money received during WHMI’s 12 Days of Gleaners indicates members of the Livingston County community donated $43,313 during the twelve-day period that ended the day before Thanksgiving. With Ford Motor Company matching all donations dollar for dollar, plus a $7,500 grant from Sunrise Rotary, Brown says a total of $94,126 was raised for the project to provide every family in need with a full holiday meal. That far surpasses the $20,000 goal that Gleaners said would be needed to provide a meal to the roughly 1,000 families in the area that needed assistance putting a holiday meal on the table. With Gleaner’s organizational buying power, a full meal is possible from just a $20 donation.

The additional dollars will be used to continue the Gleaners mission of helping to provide food for area families in need through the Shared Harvest Pantry in Genoa Township, which is set up like a store, allowing clients to shop for what they need as if they were making a trip to the supermarket. You can find further detail about Gleaners through the link below. (JK)