é  On Christmas Eve, Rich Grohm again opened up Cloverlanes in Livonia to our families, presenting a puppet show worthy of Kermit’s praise, and a spoken and musically inspired message that reminded attendees of the true meaning of Christmas.

é  J.R. Johnson of Perfections Complete Outdoor Maintenance gave 100 turkeys.

é  Employees of Blue Cross Blue Shield in Southfield, set up a departmental challenge to collect for OCS food drive, helping Orchards provide food through the holiday season for mor than 300 families.

é  Ephraim Salaam formerly of Detroit Lions hosted 50 kids for a shopping spree at Walmart. Ephraim, his wife, mother, and several team members escorted the children through Walmart, helping them to select up to $100 worth of gifts.

é  Pastor George Young spearheaded churches in Anchor Bay, MI to hold a toy drive and Christmas concert to benefit OCS. Participants included Grace United Methodist, The Rock Church, North Shore Church, Salt River Church, St. Mary’s Catholic, and New Vision Cathedral.

é  Christian Fellowship Church hosted 25 children for gift giving and Christmas dinner at their church in Detroit.

é  Karen Newman hosted a family at her holiday concert at Andiamo’s.

é  Michael and Kisha Quinn hosted a holiday gathering at their home on December 5th.  They asked that all guests donate an age appropriate gift or gift card to benefit Orchards.

é  And finally, New Years Eve brought a welcome, but completely unexpected invitation from Piston’s great Rodney Stuckey, who sponsored and hosted a year-end bash at Auburn Hills’ Post Bar to benefit Orchards and the families we serve. Rodney’s own experiences as a young man help him appreciate the importance of the work Orchards does, and we couldn’t think of a better friend or a better way to start the New Year off.