OFFICER’S NOTE
Singing police detective’s Christmas album raises money for the hungry
Ferndale police Detective Brendan Moore sings holiday songs to help feed the hungry.
His “Christmas in Detroit” album is available this season on a charity GoFundMe page. People who visit the site and make a donation of $10 or more to Gleaners Food Bank can download Moore’s album or purchase a CD.
“For me it’s about giving back,” he said. “If God allows me to sing, I want to use my voice to help others when I can.”
His album of seven songs includes traditional favorites, such as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Let it Snow,” “Little Drummer Boy,” and others.
“One-hundred percent of donations go directly to Gleaners,” Moore said. “There is no middle man.”
Headquartered in Detroit, Gleaners partners with more than 500 soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters and other groups in five counties, including Wayne, Macomb and Oakland. Each dollar donated to the group provides three meals.
Moore, who is set to retire next year, said he has enjoyed singing ever since he started back when he was a student at Ferndale High School.
In the past few years, he has used his Christmas album to benefit other nonprofit groups such as Forgotten Harvest.
Moore raised enough money during his first year to provide about 14,000 meals that were distributed.
He wanted to do something this year because of the effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on people.
“Especially this year, with the pandemic, it seems like food banks are in need of a little assistance because of businesses closing and people in need,” Moore said.
Since the pandemic, Gleaners now distributes about 6.7 million pounds of food a month — roughly 40 percent more than the organization’s pre-pandemic amount — and serves 150,000 households each month.
“We are incredibly grateful for and inspired by the creativity and generosity we are seeing from the community to help our hungry neighbors,” said Stacy Averill, vice president of community giving for Gleaners, in a statement. “Now that we’re in the holiday season and winter is here, expenses are going up for families in our neighborhoods, making the juggle of resources even harder.”
For the past decade, Moore has performed with the Twelfth Night Singers and the Troy Community Choir.
He originally put out the “Christmas in Detroit” album in 2017 with local help. Jack and Annette Aronson, who founded and later sold Garden Fresh Salsa in Ferndale, helped fund the project. EJ Keyz did the music, and Moore recorded his vocals at FBT Studios in Ferndale, which gave him a discounted rate on studio time.
Six years ago, the singing detective gained media attention when he put his voice to use for another good cause.
Moore won Comerica Bank’s Home of the Brave National Anthem contest. He ended up singing the National Anthem before two Detroit Tigers games and got a $10,000 grant for the Ferndale Police Department. The money went to Ferndale Youth Assistance and partially funded police bicycle patrols at the time.
The songs Moore sings on the “Christmas in Detroit” album were chosen because they are well known and easy to sing along with, he said.
But the album isn’t about him. “It’s about helping others,” he said.
To download the album visit charity.gofundme.com/christmasindetroit