Pontiac Volunteers Pack 3,000 Meals for Homeless People

Pontiac, MI- Over 300 people came together Sunday to put together care packages and meals for 3,000 people in Pontiac and beyond.

The annual effort, led by Kaino Phillips and the Clarence Phillips Ascend Foundation, has been growing each year since it began six years ago. It started with 850 people and now is at 3,000.

Pontiac residents as well as neighbors from Clarkston, Waterford and Lake Orion were part of the massive assembly line that included making sandwiches, adding packaged food items, sorting clothes, folding blankets and packing the finished bags to be delivered through Pontiac and beyond.

One room of the Bowen Center was set aside for children to make hand-drawn cards for the recipients.

Groups of students came from Oakland University and Saginaw Valley State University, including ladies from Omicron Zeta Chapber of Delta Sigma Beta. President Janae Alabi of Detroit came to help along with a dozen of her sorority sisters. “It’s great to get to help people less fortunate, and to sort through items that we take for granted,” she said. Along with volunteering at the Mission to Feed Sunday, the group also helps at Haven, Forgotten Harvest and Meals on Wheels. “I’m a pre-med student so I really love helping people. I love kids so I’m going to be a pediatrician.”

The packages are being delivered all this week, thanks to the support of the volunteers and those who donated items including Clean Planet Foods and Pontiac Discount Pharmacy. For more info on the Ascend Foundation, visit http://theascendfoundation.org/.