Realtors' Annual Food Drive for Gleaners

For the last 13 years, the Livingston County Association of Realtors (LCAR) have been collecting food and money for Gleaners Community Food Bank (GCFB).  It started out with just a downtown Brighton location at the millpond and was/is still called 'Fill The Gazebo'. But a number of years ago, we branched out to locations in Howell.  Some large markets gave permission for us to collect, too, and if you hit the main intersections of Brighton or Howell you'll see volunteers with containers to collect that pesky loose change that accumulates in your vehicle console.

Gleaners can amazingly provide 3 meals for 1 dollar. And by donating money instead of non-perishable food, there's less handling and loss.  But the food items are greatly appreciated, too. Livingston County is viewed by some as not needing this type of event, but the need is actually so great that we don't collect enough food within the County to serve our residents.  That's right, food has to come in from other Gleaners locations to meet the need.

So please plan to donate something.  A few bucks in loose change, a generous check made payable to "GCFB", or drop off food at these locations from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm on Saturday, May 2nd.

• Downtown Brighton's Millpond Gazebo on Main Street
• Howell Gazebo near the Livingston County Courthouse on Grand River
• GFS Marketplace in Brighton
• Kroger in Brighton, Howell, Hamburg and Hartland
• Wal-Mart in Howell and Hartland

Suggested items to donate: tuna, Spaghetti O's, canned meat, and chunky soup.   

You can also drop off food and checks at my office, Preview Properties, 130 W. Grand River, Brighton 48116 if you can't make the food drive.  Or you can make a monetary donation online that will get credited to our food drive and is tax deductible at:  www.gcfb.org/FilltheGazebo

Last year, we collected 5,300 pounds of food in addition to $11,431 in cash donations. This provided a grand total of 38,692 nutritious meals.

image courtesy LCAR

Livingston County Realtors To Conduct Food Drive - May 7th!

On Saturday, May 7, 2011, the Livingston County Association of Realtors will again have a food drive for Gleaners Community Food Bank. In 2010 we hit 39,000 meals collected! Our goal this year is 40,000 meals.

Drop off points include the Brighton Millpond and the Howell Gazebo, next to the Historic County Courthouse. In Brighton, you can pull up on Main Street and volunteers will be there to take your food item donations between 9am and 2pm.

Suggested items are canned meals, PB&J, macaroni & cheese, cereal, spaghetti and meat sauce, toiletries and laundry detergent. No products in glass containers, please.

You can also make monetary donations. With the food bank's buying power, $1 can actually provide 3 meals! It always makes ME feel better to donate food items, but money feeds more people.

Most local Real Estate offices will be collection points, and on the day of the food drive many local grocery stores will have volunteers stationed to take donations, too.

If you can't make it on the 7th, consider dropping off donations at my office at anytime before that date, or call me. I may be able to swing by between appointments and pick it up. Preview Properties and I will be happy to get the food to the drive for you.

Preview Properties News

I'm so proud to be affiliated with Preview Properties. They have a standing community service committee and every month we have an in-house benefit for a local not-for-profit group. We've collected over 1800 cell phones for the Cell Phones for Soldiers program, as just one example.

On April 1st, the Red Cross Blood Drive had 27 donors - no foolin'! Even though we have a sizable building, on blood drive days the Red Cross pretty much takes over the building's lobby and conference rooms.

On April 29th, from 5:30-7:30 pm, we're having an Open House and Fundraiser for Gleaners Community Food Bank. There will be appetizers, wine, entertainment and a silent auction. Put this on your calendar and bring your checkbook! This year, one in eight Michigan families will need emergency food assistance. Food collected in Livingston County stays in Livingston County. In fact, we never collect enough to feed our own hungry. Food has to be brought in from other counties to meet our needs.

And don't forget about the Livingston County Association of Realtors' Fill The Gazebo Food Drive on May 1st. Bring non-perishable food items to the Brighton Millpond. There will be people in the center lane collecting food - you won't even have to get out of your car.