11,000 Customers Rounded Up for FernCare in Scheer’s Ace Hardware Effort
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Feb. 20, 2022)
Oak Park, MI – Giving back to the community has been part of Scheer’s Ace Hardware from the beginning, generations ago. And that’s why the Oak Park store donated nearly $5,400 to the FernCare Free Clinic given from customers rounding up their totals and donating the difference.
Owner Bryan Golemba told Oakland County Times, “My Grandfather opened this Hardware store in 1946 when 9 mile in Oak Park was still a dirt road. He taught me to take care of the people around me and they will take care of me. When he sold the business to my Mom (Carol Steffes) she continued to give back to the community and now that I’m the Owner I will carry on with helping the local community anyway I can.”
Golemba said he only supports local charities so the funds raised stay in the area. “I don’t like National charities that use the funds to pay big CEO wages and advertising. It’s sad and disheartening to see that donating a dollar means only 1 cent gets to the actual place it needs to be.
“It’s important to the community that the money is used for the right reasons and that every dollar raised goes directly to supporting the needs of the local people. I believe in Free healthcare for everyone and until that’s established there will always be people that can’t afford the ridiculously high insurance rates and costs of medicine.
“Ferncare helps those people that can’t afford it. They have a great Volunteer Staff and everyone that has used Ferncare is so grateful and beholden with their services. I pick 4 charities a year with the help and suggestions of my staff, then I vet the charity to make sure it’s 100% transparent, and then I run the round up for 3 months at a time. This gives plenty of time to raise a good amount of funds for each.”
Customers rounding up raised $4,900 for The Detroit Food Rescue before Ferncare. “They stop good food from getting to the landfill and instead get it to families in need,” Golemba said. “Currently we are raising money for Building Beds 4 Kids. A charity located in Oak Park on 11Mile Road. Sam started the project about 3 years ago and builds beds for families that need them. Getting kids off the floor or couches and into beds helps them sleep better and in turn they do better in school. In the first 14 days of this Round up the local community has already donated $950 to Sam’s cause.”
The FernCare donation was the result of over 11,000 transactions being rounded up. FernCare Free Clinic is a free medical clinic open to anyone between the ages of 19 through 64 who has no health insurance and no primary care provider. There is no income or residency requirement. For more information on FernCare, please call 248-677-2273 or visit www.ferncare.org.
Learn more about Scheer’s Ace Hardware at https://www.acehardware.com/store-details/00280
