Volume 1, Issue 8 JULY 21, 2023
Shelby Benona Fire Department hosts its first School Supply Drive to benefit Maxine’s Closet By Amanda Dodge The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent
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Shelby-Benona Fire Department Firefighter and Medical First Responder Matt Gilland was named firefighter of the year by his peers last year, but he didn’t even bring that up when asked about his most recent community service endeavor, and that is probably one of the very reasons why he was given that honor. “When I joined the fire department almost three years ago, my intention was always to give back to the community and help the community,” Gilland said. “Unfortunately, most of the time when we as firefighters interact with the community, it is on the worst day of their lives.” So in the spirit of community, Gilland thought about the needs in his own family and how they might be reflected in this area. This sparked his idea for the fire department’s first annual School Supply Drive to benefit local charity Maxine’s Closet. Maxine’s Closet was started in 2009 by sisters Laurel Sawyer and
Kristen Bisard in memory of selfless community volunteer Maxine Martin. For more than a decade now, Maxine’s Closet has given away thousands of school supplies and clothing items to area children in need. Last year was their largest ever, with nearly 700 children served. “We are blessed with a community that is willing to come together to help kids and families fill needs, especially in this ‘back to school’ season,” Sawyer and Bisard said. “This, to me, was an opportunity to have a positive impact outside of the worst circumstances possible,” Gilland explained. “I’ve got four kids myself, so when school supply time comes around, it gets expensive.” He added that he came up with the idea in early June, and the department was able to secure more than a dozen community partners to help with the School Supply Drive. Advanced Architectural Sheet Metal supplied the boxes, which were placed in the following businesses July 1: • The Brown Bear (Shelby) • Cherry Hill Super Market • Cherry Point Farm & Market
School Supply Drive boxes are located at 13 area businesses in Oceana County. The above box is located at Cherry Hill Super Market. • Amanda Dodge/Echo
• Country Dairy, Inc • Deb’s Cafe Shelby • Fresh Point Nutrition • Lewis Adventure Farm & Zoo • Oceana Builders Supply, Inc. • The Pizza Factory • Shelby Floral • Stony Lake Market • Tri County Feed Service. Inc • Veltman Hardware Gilland said that the large boxes will be collected August 5, and the supplies will be consolidated into
smaller boxes and then delivered to Maxine’s Closet. “It was their idea to do this community project, and we are so grateful that they chose us,” Bisard said. “The need there is so great.” Donations have been coming in slowly, and Gilland said that businesses are trying to help with that. He said that The Pizza Factory is offering a 10 percent discount on pizza orders to anyone that donates school supplies to the drive. Items that the fire department is specifically looking to be donated include: Binders, divider tabs, folders, pens, pencils, composition books, notebooks, loose leaf paper, highlighters, Sharpies, Post-its, crayons, markers, rulers, paper clips, pencil cases, lunch bags and reusable water bottles. “I would love to volunteer on distribution day,” Gilland said. “This has been a pet project that I have been passionate about and I would like to see it all the way through.” Maxine’s Closet will be a drive-thru again this year and is set for Friday, Aug. 11 from 9:30-11 a.m. at Shelby High School.
Katie Murphy of Pentwater, above left, works on what she jokingly referred to as “a hopeful masterpiece.” Murphy looks at an assortment of bowls created by Sara Bolan from Ludington, at right, that Bolan will donate to the Lakeshore Food Club’s upcoming fundraiser. • Contributed Photos
Potterymaking in Pentwater
Humans have been baking clay objects for about 30,000 years. About 150 years ago, Charles Mears’ Middlesex Brick & Tile business dug lime-rich clay out of the banks of Pentwater Lake, shaped it into bricks, and then fired them for either export or use in local construction. And today, in the nonprofit Pentwater Artisan Learning Center’s pottery studio, enthusiasts gather to either create something of their own or share their skills with other PALC members. “It’s like Disney World here,” said Patti Townsend of Whitehall, while describing how members are happy to teach others. “If you know how to do one thing, they will teach you to do other things.” On a recent day, she and two other members were busily working on their various projects. Townsend, a PALC member for eight years, also oversees the PALC’s garden at the front door. She described how she’s had to do damage control after deer, rabbits and squirrels recently feasted on plants she had brought in from home and planted in the garden. So she came up with a clever way to thwart the hungry critters while still adding color to the front entrance - replace the
edible plants with textured, painted pottery butterflies. Sara Bolan was working on one of several bowls she is donating to the Lakeshore Food Club’s “Empty Bowls” fundraiser in Ludington on September 21. The Club is a nonprofit grocery store offering a wide range of food options for low-income families. Over 200 bowls will be available for purchase by the public, with proceeds going to support this food pantry serving Mason County. The PALC is an 11,000-square-foot, well-equipped workspace for metal and woodworking, painting, pottery, glassmaking, crafts, weaving, basket making, sewing and more. Its members from Pentwater and the surrounding area work in a safe environment where they create, socialize, learn, and share their knowledge with others who want to learn new crafts. The annual cost of membership is $150. More information is available at https://pentwaterartisan. org/, or by calling (231) 869-5323. Information about the PALC’s “Equipping for the Next 20 Years Campaign Fund” can be found at https://oceanafoundation.org/give/our-funds.