March Issue - Oxford/Orion FISH

March, 2016
‘God is so good to me, I just want to share.’
Inside this
Issue:
* It’s a team effort 2
getting those food
donations from TV
studio to the pantry
* FISH food
drop-off locations
*
*
*
*
Bulletin board
Election notice
Next meeting
Prayer line
3
* An early Easter 4
will soon get
FISH pantry
shopping carts
rolling
We welcome your
comments and letters.
Don Danko, editor, at
ddanko@comcast.net.
Pantry is located at 487
First Street, Oxford
Township, MI 48371.
Hotline: 248-628-3933,
Option 0.
Those are the words of Lake Orion resident Becky
Bryant, one of the hundreds of Oxford and Lake
Orion homeowners who came to the ONTV studio
last month to contribute to the station’s sixth annual
food drive. Her heart-felt desire to give to those in
need typifies what brought so many other individuals
and businesses to the ONTV studio that day. The
studio was alive with a constant flow of parents,
teens, pre-teens as well as community and business
leaders dropping off food items and thanking their
local TV station for sponsoring the community event.
At the ONTV studio (above): After bringing in
her food donation, Lake Orion resident Becky
Bryant has the delightful task of deciding which
raffle drawing to enter. While at the FISH food
pantry (below), students from the Detroit Arsenal
Middle School and Teen Program delight in
placing those food donations on the shelves.
“How blessed we are to have such a spirit of giving
and sharing in our community,” said FISH President Laurene Baldwin. “We’re grateful to ONTV
for giving our community this chance to come together and help meet the needs of the many hungry families in our community.” She said
although the local economy and employment have picked up recently, the number of families
served by the FISH pantry has increased. This past January 182 families shopped at the pantry,
Continued on the next page
Page 2
From TV studio to food pantry
It takes a team effort to get those donations to the pantry
Continued from page 1
which was 33 more households
than the number of shoppers a year
ago. FISH family members have
also increased, from 338 a year
ago to 428 this past January.
“The need is clearly there,” Laurene added. “And thanks to the
community support that ONTV’s
food drive generates, we’re there,
too, with pantry shelves ready for
our shoppers.” The drive achieved
its goal of collecting 5,000 pounds
of food to add to the pantry
Photos (clockwise): Beth Belanger’s
team of packers, or more precisely,
“unpackers,” emptied a sea of bags and
boxes into nearly 100 plastic crates
filled with donated items brought to the
TV studio. Lions Club President John
“Flaco” Kontos and Lion JoAnn VanTassel
were among the many supporters who
came to the studio in person to make
their donation. ONTV Executive Director
Ian Locke, pictured with producer
George Sinnott, was on hand to welcome
all visitors. James Jewell was one of the
volunteer drivers helping to transport
all those filled crates to the pantry.
Oxford/Orion FISH food drop-off locations
Following is a list of drop-off locations that can be used to contribute items to the pantry. Contributions can
also be dropped off at the Oxford/Orion FISH pantry in Oxford. See our website (oxfordorionfish.org) for
specific hours and days of operation at the pantry and the locations shown below.
Lake Orion Post Office
611 N. Axford St.
Lake Orion, MI 48362
ONTV: Orion Neighborhood Television
1349 Joslyn Rd.
Lake Orion, MI 48360
Oxford Post Office
52 E. Burdick St
Oxford, MI 48371
St. Joseph Catholic Church
714 N. Lapeer Rd.
Lake Orion, MI 48362
Hollywood Market
1101 S. Lapeer Rd.
Lake Orion, MI 48360
Oxford Village Offices
22 W. Burdick St.
Oxford, MI 48371
Lake Orion United Methodist Church
140 E. Flint St
Lake Orion, MI 48361
fLipSpot
233 Kay Industrial Drive
Orion Township, MI 48359
Paul’s Barber Shop
87 W. Burdick St
Oxford, MI 48371
Grondins Hair Center
1041 S. Lapeer Rd.
Lake Orion, MI 48360
Beaumont Medical Building
1455 S. Lapeer Road
Lake Orion, MI 48360
Addison Township Offices
1440 Rochester Rd
Leonard, MI 48367
Page 3
Bulletin
Board
Donors, please note we have two Wish Lists for March. The first . . . is for our pantry shelves and includes
ketchup, chili, canned chicken, canned pineapple, canned mandarin oranges, boxed pasta and boxed rice. The second . . .
is for the Easter dinner baskets that will be prepared for our clients and their families and includes canned fruit, Jell-O,
boxed cake and frosting. Check our website, oxfordorionfish.org, for other items as special needs arise.
A wonderful recap of last month’s ONTV 5or5 Food Drive . . . is available on YouTube and well worth
viewing. Go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxGYY-1bNSA. You’ll be proud of both our local TV
station and our community.
Our Volunteers for the Month of March . . . are Ian Locke and all the staff members and volunteers of
ONTV for their continuing support of our FISH pantry through their annual food drive. Over the past six
years 25,000 pounds of food items have been placed on our pantry shelves thanks to their “rallying cry” to
our community businesses and residents on behalf of the many hungry families in our neighborhood. Our
thanks also goes to all food drive volunteers who helped collect, crate and transport the donated items to the pantry,
including drivers David Delisle, James Jewell, Mike Evola, Paul and Sheila Mansfield and Mike and Ann Glasby.
We are in need of office volunteers . . . If you have a few hours of volunteer time that you can give us each
month, we’d love to have your support as one of our office volunteers. You would be asked to work in our pantry
office in Oxford Township from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. two times a month and primarily be responsible for scheduling
clients for their monthly shopping visits to the pantry. If you can help us, please call 248-628-3933.
Interested in being on the FISH Board?
An election ballot for the Oxford/Orion FISH Board of
Directors for 2016-2017 will be in next month’s issue of
FISHline. If you are interested in being a candidate for
one of the five two-year terms that will be on the ballot,
please email us at oxfordorionfish@gmail.org and we’ll
be happy to pass your name to the Nominating Committee.
Pantry totals for January
Households served:
Individuals served:
Amount of food:
Number of new clients:
182
428
16,913 pounds
13
Our next General Meeting will be held at 9 a.m.,
Thursday, March 10, at the
Lake Orion United Methodist Church.
Everyone is welcome to attend.
The Prayer Line
For the family and friends of Rudy Rie on his recent passing into eternal life.
In thanksgiving for the strong community support FISH received in last month’s ONTV food drive.
For all our FISH clients and their families who will be receiving Easter dinner baskets this month.
For John Jarvis and Mary Boberg on their continued recovery from health issues.
Almighty God, whose great commandment is that we shall love our neighbors as ourselves, and who has taught us that
we should do to others as we would have them do to us, we ask your blessing upon the work and growth of the FISH
movement throughout the world. As our purpose is to help our fellow persons, and to promote all that is good in the
life of our community, so we pray that you will strengthen our hands in all our undertakings, and that your work may
spread the spirit of fellowship and goodwill among all people.
Page 4
An early Easter will soon get pantry shopping carts rolling
The month of March may begin with hopes for
melting snow and excitement over St. Patty’s Day
celebrations, however it will end with nearly two
weeks of Spring already behind us. In addition,
well over 100 Oxford/ Orion FISH clients will
have received the gift of a complete Easter dinner
compliments of FISH volunteers and donors.
Volunteers are planning to assemble those Easter
dinner baskets on Friday, March 18,with clients
coming to pick them up at the pantry from 1-3 p.m.
on Saturday, March 19. Dinners will include all the
trimmings, including a gift
certificate for whatever
main course the client chooses
for his or her family, potatoes,
gravy, stuffing, vegetables, a
sidedish and, of course, dessert.
Photo: There were smiling faces
on last year’s “assembly line
crew” as volunteers went up and
down pantry aisles filling the
Easter dinner gift baskets.
Oxford/Orion FISH
P.O. Box 732
LAKE ORION, MI 48361
Nonprofit Organization
U.S. Postage Paid
PERMIT NO. 44
Lake Orion, MI